Finally figured it out!! Prototype underway!!

I looked into patent things I`ve built, once discovering lawyers should be involved, and costs, I gave up the idea of patening anything I`ve invented.
If you build a prototype and is shown to someone from what I understand it is public knowlage and therefor unpatenable?
Everything I`ve come up with is to aid/make my job easier.
Alot of guys would come up and say, man you need to patent that and sell em. yeah right.
A non mechanical guy can just draw an Idea with a description of what it does, 50 years ago, and he has the rights to it. Maybe I`m wrong?
I wish the OP luck though.:)