Ready to leave, or not??

OK so we have a crew, we have a schedule and the boat's mostly sorted, then the clutch went! I was heading for Palma Nova when I realised that the Starboard engine wasn't driving forwards. After a brief check, the engine was pulling happily in reverse, but almost nothing in forwards???? Out with the bible of boat mechanics and I find a picture of my Hurth Gearbox. They have seperate clutches for forwards and reverse, so it looks like the forwards clutch has gone! I phoned a mechanic and described teh symptons and he offered to visit that night and have a look. All confirmed, new clutch, he would order the parts, then drop the gearbox out, replace the clutch and put it back for me. He would phone me in a couple of weeks when the parts arrived. I waited a couple of weeks, then called and he hadn't received the parts yet. I waited another week and still no parts, then he stopped answering my phone calls! Only one answer, do it yourself! So I disconnected the prop shaft, unbolted the gearbox housing and removed the gearbox! I wish I'd done it 3 weeks earlier as it only took half an hour to remove it. 20 minutes later it was stripped down and the difference in the 2 sets of clutch plates was obvious, so I needed a set of plates. I bolted it back together finger tight and took it to Marine Machine in Palma, they are the main importers of Hurth gearboxes in Mallorca and sure of course they could do it! Their quote however was 500€ for a clutch kit and 8 hours labour at 50€ per hour! Total cost 900€, however they could sell me a complete brand new gearbox for 1080€ which he obviously recommended! As I had stripped the gearbox in 20 minutes, I questioned the 8 hours labour and was told that was what it would cost! I also queried the price of the 5 clutch plates and a gasket set, as this would cost me £50 on a motorbike back home! They ordered the parts only for 210€ and I rebuilt the gearbox myself, saving 700€ and only taking about an hour to rebuild and refit in total! All works fine, and I now understand how the gearbox works which is a bonus!