Boat repair question.?

Question

Im trying to get an idea of about how much this would cost me in a shop, so i dont get ripped off. In a center console 18' sea pro. How much would it cost approx. to have all the wiring in the center console redone. By that i mean all the gauges working all the switches, and the rats nest of wires organized. Just ball park. What you think it would cost. to take it in and say here have at it.

Answer 1

Depends on the shops hourly rate.  Get it done over winter, and they might charge you less, because that is their slow time.

Maybe a few hundred bucks?

Answer 2

Most of the wiring jobs I've done have been on the side, and I've only charged $25/hr. But my labor rate here at the boatyard is $65/hr.  

If it's a real c-f, all of the wiring needs come out and be replaced with good tinned wire and heat-shrunk terminals and connections. I'd tell you no less than 4 hours, JUST to do the center console. There's a good chance that some of the other wiring needs to come out of the rest of the boat as well.

Answer 3

3-4 hours...$195-$260 here.

Answer 4

Just an observation for you regarding the "Rats Nest" you mentioned.  This is one situation where a disorganized looking pile of wires may actually do you good.  If you have a compass on the console, a neatly organized set of wires under the panel can create different deviations in the compass reading, depending on what's turned on and off.  You may find that during the daylight hours your a trip to a destination reads out as one compass heading while at night, when the nav and console lights are turned on, you may be using the same compass heading but be going in a direction several degrees off what you think.  When organizing the wires, at the very least, try to twist groups of wires around each other to help counteract the effect.

Answer 5

If it ain't broke......don't fix it !!

To have someone rewire all the gauges in a center console in my opinion would take at least 4 to 5 hours for a Pro. When you hire the marine electrician, is he truly the right guy? It's a fairly easy job, but tedious. In cost, I would imagine that it would be a minimum of $400.

If your wiring is working, I would inspect all the connections to the gauges and clean them with a small brass wire brush. Then find all the grounds and insure they are also clean. Many times the wiring issues are related to corroded grounds or rusty connectors.

I bought a Tester a Radio Shack and little by little have corrected many wiring problems on my boat which is over 20 years old in a Salt Water Environment.



You'll be amazed with how much success you will have with a Terminals Kit and a tester!

I would strongly recommend for you to consider doing the work yourself....

Answer 6

if you need a new harness then budget a grand.