Sailboat Roller Furling Installation Break-Even: $36K/Month

Fixed costs $8.6K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 69% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $12.6K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 7 Launch ramp

Break-even calculator

Check whether monthly revenue covers variable expenses and fixed monthly costs.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that covers variable spend and fixed overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These rise with each job, like hardware, supplies, fuel, and referral fees. $ Lower costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $29,100 $42,500 revenue - $13,400 variable expenses

Margin ratio

68%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base revenue has to cover. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in this marine service business?

Cost classification

Break-even gets reliable only when fixed overhead stays below gross margin and job-linked items move with revenue. Month 7 break-even depends on pricing hardware, supplies, fuel, and referral fees into each install.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office and Warehouse Rent	Fixed	$3,200/month overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating rent as job-level spend instead of monthly overhead.
Business Insurance	Fixed	$1,850/month coverage burden across the full planning period.	Ignoring the monthly burden until renewal pressure hits cash.
Vehicle Insurance and Maintenance	Semi-fixed	$1,200/month baseline tied to fleet size and service capacity.	Treating all vehicle spend as fuel tied only to jobs.
Roller Furler Systems and Hardware	Variable	18.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 16.0% by the fifth year.	Forgetting hardware price movement when quoting installs.
Installation Parts and Supplies	Variable	8.0% of revenue in the first year, improving to 6.5% by the fifth year.	Underpricing sealants, fittings, fasteners, and small job materials.
Vehicle Fuel and Mobile Service Costs	Variable	3.5% of revenue in the first year, moving with booked field work.	Missing long-yard travel time and mobile service load.
Sales Commissions and Referral Fees	Variable	2.0% of revenue in the first year, rising to 3.0% by the fifth year.	Counting referral work as free customer acquisition.
Marine Technician Labor	Semi-fixed	$62,000 annual salary per full-time role, stepping from 1.0 FTE to 3.0 FTE.	Assuming every paid technician hour becomes billable revenue.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full booking flow for sailboat roller furling installs?

Scenario table

Break-even improves as booking flow scales because fixed overhead is spread across more billable work and the contribution margin stays near 69% to 71%. The full case is safer only if parts supply, scheduling, and rigging labor stay tight.

Planning assumptions only, not guarantees.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean year 1 pace	$42,500	$13,388	$24,958	68.5%	$4,154	Clears break-even, but the cushion is thin.
Base year 2 pace	$92,333	$28,064	$32,125	69.6%	$32,144	Overhead is covered comfortably, so growth helps spread fixed cost.
Full year 3 pace	$138,417	$40,833	$39,583	70.5%	$58,000	Best fit for steady technician use, if supply and labor hold.

What breaks the break-even plan for a sailboat roller furling installation business?

Stress test

The launch case is profitable, but the cushion is thin. Slower bookings, higher hardware quotes, longer travel days, or more subcontract labor can push it into loss fast, and a 10% overhead bump moves break-even revenue close to the opening run rate.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	Revenue stays at $42,500 per month and variable costs stay at 31.5%.	$36,434	$4,155 cushion	Small cushion, so early delays matter.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 20% to $34,000 per month; variable costs stay at 31.5%.	$36,434	$1,668 gap	Slower bookings turn profit negative fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Overhead rises 10% to $27,454 per month; variable costs stay at 31.5%.	$40,080	$1,659 cushion	More overhead quickly eats launch profit.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 31.5% to 36.5%; fixed costs stay at $24,958.	$39,302	$2,017 cushion	Higher hardware quotes or travel costs squeeze the cushion.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls to $34,000, fixed costs rise to $27,454, and variable expenses rise to 36.5%.	$43,251	$5,864 gap	Fewer installs and higher labor cost create a clear monthly loss.

What should you verify before you sign the yard lease and buy the second service vehicle?

Founder checklist

Use booked quotes, not hope, to prove this marine installation service can clear about $36.4K in monthly revenue and reach break-even by Month 7. If the Year 1 CAC near $425 and the $665K cash trough do not hold, do not lock in the yard or vehicles yet.

1Booked Quotes$36.4K/mo

Prove signed work can hit this revenue floor before you commit to the yard and vehicle spend, because it is the level the model needs to clear.

2Overhead Load$8.6K/mo

Check whether you really need the $3,200 rent line, because the fixed stack already sits at about $8.6K a month before more payroll lands.

3Margin Mix68.5% CM

Keep each install and service job near this contribution margin after parts, supplies, fuel, and referral fees, or the Month 7 break-even target slips.

4Crew Ramp2.0 FTE

Stage work around the owner/lead rigger and one marine technician first, then add people only when the opening-month workload is real and repeatable.

5Cash Reserve$665K

Hold this cash through Month 9, because the model’s minimum cash point hits before payback and the extra vehicle spend is already large.

6CAC Check$425 CAC

Test whether each new customer can still be won near this acquisition cost in Year 1, since higher lead costs make the 27-month payback harder to hit.