STRUCTURE
1. AdviceLine - what I can advise about
2. How It Works
3. Cost & When it`s free 
4. Why Ask Me?

1. AdviceLine
I can advise on a wide range of topics from my experience of sailing, teaching, the Royal Navy, restoring our 1908 Polperro Gaffer and 18 years as a professional boatbuilder:

• starting sailing, rowing, paddling (or pedalling!) a boat
• choosing a boat which will suit you and your family`s needs
• how to buy boats - new vs. used boats,  wood vs. GRP
• how to enjoy maintaining your boat
• how to repair or rebuild traditional wooden boats
• how to make any boatbuilding job easier
• repair, maintenance, new build of any wooden structure e.g. house windows, conservatory

For example:
One couple bought the right boat for their family`s needs at less cost by using AdviceLine.
Another customer has built a complete boat, using my experience to avoid pitfalls and solve problems.

Others have simply repainted/varnished in less time and achieved a better, longer lasting finish than they could otherwise have done.

But one enquirer I remember particularly.  He wanted a classic wooden Canadian canoe.  I suggested places near him where he might look and urged him to seek my advice before buying.

He didn`t.  But having bought a canoe asked me to price a restoration.  There would have had to be a lot of unavoidable major structural work, plus weeks of finicky scraping to get rid of the blackened, soft timber.  He had paid a hefty sum for a boat he couldn`t use, was facing a sum running to many thousands of pounds to restore, and he would find great difficulty in selling the canoe to recover at least some of the money he had paid.
Half an hour`s AdviceLine and some travelling would have saved him a mint of money!

2. How it Works:
First fill in the ENQUIRY form, or telephone me directly (evening is best).  You can briefly outline your project, and I will tell you what information, advice and `hands on` help I can provide for your specific need.

• Then, when you agree that AdviceLine is what you need, you can continue and ask your first questions.  Or ring off, prepare a notebook and some questions, and ring later.  Either way I will ask you to print the CONDITIONS page (link in right hand sidebar), sign the cut-off slip and send it to me.
• This will open all my expertise to you at very modest cost (see below).  Just ring me anytime, but in the evening if possible when I`m not in the workshop.  It`s best to keep notes if you possibly can.  When you`ve got the information you want, just stop the conversation.  I will agree with you the time you have had, and record it.
• Every so often I send you an invoice including details of dates & times.  You will be able to check how much time you have had, and what excellent value AdviceLine is.

3. Cost:

• 10 minutes is only £5, i.e. £30 per hour, a very modest cost compared with garage charges for your car.
• Do ring whenever you need, but bear in mind that I do charge a minimum of 6 minutes i.e. £3.
• I send out invoices monthly, but if you`ve only had a small amount of time, I wait until you`ve had about £10 worth.
• AdviceLine for Build-a-Boat customers is free right up to your launch party!
• When you ring me about a Build-a-Boat Course or Building to Order a new boat, we may take some time to decide on the design, construction method, specification etc.  I treat this as AdviceLine time, and charge for it then.  If you go on to book a Build-a-Boat Course or order your boat, as I hope you will, I subtract that sum from the final balance, due at your launch party.
• Remember `signing up` commits you to nothing.  If you are getting on fine and don`t need to ring, there is no charge.
  But a 20 minute call can resolve several knotty problems, and that`s only £10.  You could have struggled for days and perhaps not achieved a satisfying result in the end.  If you are building a dinghy from scratch, you may only need half a dozen or so calls during the whole project.  That`s £60-£80, a minute sum compared to the cost of the project in your time and materials.  It will have ensured the satisfying achievement of your project.

4. Why Ask Me?:
I have been sailing & rowing since the age of 8 - over 50 years.
Please see my BIOGRAPHY page for details of some of this experience.

• Royal Navy training in engineering, and driving motor boats at Dartmouth & in H.M. Fleet.
• Teaching: 18 successful years teaching French, German & English as Foreign Language.  A good language teacher becomes adept at explaining complex ideas in ways that ensure success, and rewarding your success with encouragement.  Sailing and boatbuilding use a `foreign` language, and depend also on the cumulative build-up of skills - e.g. getting a razor edge on tools before trying to plane accurately -  just like learning French.
• Boatbuilding: My skill as a boatbuilder rests on building many flying model aircraft in my `teens - you soon learn where the weak points are!  Physics & Maths to A level at school were a good grounding in mechanics and, crucially, observation.
  I have acquired considerable knowledge of boat construction, the strengths & weaknesses of structures, hollow masts & oars, gluing & laminating, fastenings, wood treatments, sealers, paints & varnishes.  I can `read` the plans and tell you what any particular design is likely to be good for, and her drawbacks.
  Wide reading keeps me up to date on modern techniques.

5. Finally:
This service has three great advantages for you:

• Firstly, you need not be concerned about imposing on my time.
• Secondly, you need consider yourself under no obligation whatever to order a boat or book a course.  If you do order, the AdviceLine time is, of course, free.
• Thirdly, it ensures that my advice is completely impartial and not directed in any way towards your making use of any other of my services.

Enquiry Form

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