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By The Hour VS. Per Foot

Emerald Coast Diving Services charges Per Dive Hour for labor. Please feel free to contact us for current hourly charge for labor based on what area or dock your vessel is located.

Per Dive Hour  method is calculated by the time spent by each diver on cleaning or maintaining your vessel combined.
           
                    Example:
                           If there are 3 divers working on your vessel for 30 minutes each, your labor  charge will  
                           be1.5 dive hours.

Below I will explain the difference between by The hour and by the foot methods I hope this makes sense to you and if you would  like to discuss anything with us please feel free to call.


By The Hour VS. Per Foot

In the past 10 years of doing on water marine maintenance we have build-up both methods By The Hour and Per Foot.  We have found many differences between the two Methods and have chosen to charge per hour. In this section I will explain those differences in their reasons behind our choice so you may better understand it.

By The Foot Method:

In by the by the foot you are charged on the total length of your boat not taken into account many number of factors.  Since every boat is different and I cannot account for every difference I will go over a couple factors that are not considered in billing By The Foot.
             
                     1- Number of props
             
                     2- Number of blades per prop
             
                     3- Number of strokes
             
                     4- Length of shaft
             
                     5- Number and size of thru hulls. Including difficulty to clean.
             
                     6- Size kind and positioning of trim tabs. Number of actuators
             
                     7- Swim platforms. If it is a movable swim platform it takes substantially longer time to clean.
             
                     8- Bow and or stern thrusters including number of blades type of props number of props and depth 
            
                     9- Paint condition
             
                     10- Usage

You will find the company's that charge this way do not take an account those factors in if they do they will of charge for them. This up charge is figured out on site by the diver with no set amount.
             
           Example:      
                *** For this example let's assume that the company charges $2.65 per foot. ***
             
         Vessel 1- This is going to be your typical fishing vessel. This vessel consists of 2 to 4 bladed props, 
                     standard length shaft, one strut per shaft, normal number and size of thru hulls, standard  size 
                     trim tabs with one actuator tucked up under the hull, no bow or stern thruster, no swim platform, 
                     has been painted in the last 12 months and cleaned in the last 45 days.
             
         Vessel 2- This is going to be a 50 foot yacht. This vessel consists of two 5 bladed props, since the motors 
                     are located closer to the bow the shafts are longer with two struts per shaft, extra thru hulls for extra
                     equipment that a normal size, bigger trim tabs with two actuators per tab that are located protruding 
                     from the stern, bow and  stern thruster, movable swim platform, has not been painted in the last 12 
                     months, and  has been cleaned in the last 45 days.

For both vessels if there were no up charges they would be charged $132.50.  Vessel one may only take divers 1.5 dive hours where vessel 2 might take 3 dive hours. If vessel 2 gets up charged  than price per foot goes up and is now unpredictable.  If there is no up charge that means the divers or dive company will make this same amount for cleaning both boats. This usually results that vessel 2 will not be cleaned fully so the company or diver doesn't get a 50% pay cut.  You will find in this situation diver will usually clean the waterline and areas you can see from the dock perfectly.  The rest of the vessel will get a once over leaving bases and crossed on running gear and oysters in growth in thru hulls.  So basically vessel two will only get poorly cleaned the resulting in clog a thru hulls resulting in overheating or AC not running, poor fuel economy, lower speed and  poor performance.



Per  Dive Hour Method:

In Per Dive Hour Method you were billed by total time spent on your vessel.  This method that allows for the divers to do what is needed for the vessel to run efficiently without overheating or performance issues.  This method addresses those factors mentioned above by dealing with and cleaning them to their maximum performance level every time.  This method also allows owners to lower  their maintenance cost by running the vessel in keeping the bottom paint in good  shape.
 
                 Example: 
                         *** For this example let's assume that the company charges $65.00 per dive hour. ***
                                ***  We will use the same two vessels as before: here they are read listed. ***

             
                Vessel 1- (1.5 dive hours*)- This is going to be your typical fishing vessel. This vessel consists 
                                of  two 4 bladed props, standard length shaft, one strut per shaft, normal number and 
                                size of  thru hulls, standard size trim tabs with one actuator tucked up under the hull, 
                                no bow  or stern  thruster, no swim platform, has been painted in the last 12 months and
                                cleaned in the last 45 days.


             
                 Vessel 2- (3 dive hours)- This is going to be a 50 foot yacht. This vessel consists of two bladed props,
                                 since the motors are located closer to the bow the shafts are longer with two struts per 
                                 shaft, extra thru hulls for extra equipment that a normal size, bigger trim tabs  with two
                                 actuators per tab that are located protruding from the stern, bow and stern thruster, movable
                                 swim platform, has not been painted in the last 12 months, and has been cleaned in the last 
                                 45 days.

 In this situation:            
 
                     Vessel 1 would be billed  $97.50
             
                      Vessel 2 would be billed $195.00

 We understand in this method vessel 2 up here is  being charged more in the,  by the foot method then by the by the hour, but what you need to understand is that vessel 2 is cleaned to the same quality and will have the same optimal efficiency as vessel 1 has. 

             
                     Example2:
                         
                             We currently do a 60 Foot Yacht with a movable swim platform, bow  thruster, 2 to 5 
                             bladed props, one strut per normal length shaft, and normal size thru  hulls.  We have 
                             cleaned  this vessel every 30 days for the last three years. The owner of this vessel reads our 
                             invoices where we clearly state the condition of paint in when needed gets his boat bottom 
                             painted (our customers can usually get 2 to 3 years in between bottom paint assuming there is
                             adequate paint applied). For the last three years this customer has been billed an average of 
                             $1.75 per dive hour that makes this vessel is billed  an average of $105.00, where if he was
                             paying by the foot he would be billed $159.00.
 
We understand that not every vessel or owner is in the same condition or circumstances. We also understand that being charged by the hour might seem a little risky. Let me start by saying that at this time Emerald Coast Diving Services does somewhere between 80 and 110 jobs per month. We sharpen all of our scrapers, use new brushes when needed, and make sure we have an underwater writing slate and a watch to keep track of time.  You will see that we usually have three or four divers per boat this allows for each diver to do the job that they do best .  This ensures that the divers do not get tired and maintain a fast but efficient pace while knowing that their work usuality and time will be judged (and fixed when needed) by at  least two other divers.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us. Unless I'm under water I am free to discuss any issues you may  have.