7500 - 10000 just for remove and install on a repower??!!

woodster · Mar 23, 2016

SailMaster said:
Hello all,

I was just quoted 7500 to 10000 to remove an Volvo MD2B and replace it with a Yanmar 3YM30. That is installation only. Can that be real? Still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Thanks,
SM

lol if you will pay that price i will come there and do it for you at that price

Maine Sail · Mar 23, 2016

SailMaster said:
Hello all,

I was just quoted 7500 to 10000 to remove an Volvo MD2B and replace it with a Yanmar 3YM30. That is installation only. Can that be real? Still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Thanks,
SM

At $90.00 per hour that is an 83 hour estimate at $7500.00. 83 hours may not be all that unrealistic depending upon engine beds, wiring, shafting etc. etc... Without knowing what "installation" includes it is even tougher to guess at...

Capt jgw · Mar 23, 2016

That's why I DIY everything. Takes me five times as long, doesn't always look as nice, but it's not $10000. That's more than I paid for my whole boat.

Bill Roosa · Mar 23, 2016

I'd say they don't want to do the job and are pricing them self out of it. Get a second estimate.

Johnb · Mar 24, 2016

If you do get additional estimates please share with us - thanks

seadaddler · Mar 25, 2016

How much for the 3YM30.
I would shop around for other shops,but I have found out the hard way that the cost of having work done on Boats and RV's is not so cheap like years ago.
Back years ago I always did my own work on everything I owned but do to my old body
I am finding that I need to have other younger people do some of it for me.
I had a shift cable repaired last year on my RV and just labor was $1600.00 up on LI,NY
and $500.00 for new metal battery fram,I thought both were very high.
I really think the area in which you have repairs done can be very different for sure.
Nick

centerline · Mar 25, 2016

well... all you naysayers who feel you could do it cheaper, lets hear how long you feel it would take you to prep the boat (and dismantle the cabinetry) so that you could take the original engine out, swap everything necessary over for the installation of a completely different brand, bed it with new motor mounts, in the proper spots so the shaft exits the hull in the correct position, and, dont forget to fill the old mounting holes in the stringers and make the other repairs to them that may be needed...
then, after fitting and removing the engine so the mounts could be drilled and bolted, and the exhaust routed for the new engine, RE-install it all, set it up and align it properly..... then reroute all the existing wiring to match the new engine, with possibly a couple new gauges to match the engine sensors, and then reinstall all the cabinetry to original... dont forget the fuel lines and bleeding them, hooking up the water lines, and while you have the engine out it would only be a fool who would not fully service the shaft/bearings at this time....
and then warranty it......
keep in mind you will be taking all the risks and the customer will return to you, within the warranty period, each time something doesnt seem right (even if everything is fine), so that you can work on it for free....

swapping brands of engines is a very time consuming process that is very much different than removing the engine from your boat, making a repair to it, and then reinstalling it and reconnecting all the wires, cables, tubes and lines to their proper places.

it doesnt seem so unreasonable to me, BUT it is still expensive... this is why old boats with bad engines are pretty much worthless, and why we are driven to be DIY'ers... (I do NOT mean to say the OP's boat is old or worthless, but old boats with bad engines, in general, have little value)
but for those who are not DIY'ers, luckily, there is always someone willing to do the dirty work for them... but always at a price.

Maine Sail · Mar 25, 2016

SailMaster said:
Well MaineSail might be right on in his assessment. I also have to consider that this quote is from a top level boat yard with a great reputation. They are in a pricy resort town so I know their property taxes are through the roof.

Top that off with the fact that their yard is FULL of projects right now. All of that adds up in the price. So I do not think they are trying to price themselves out of the project. Nor is the project manager willing to give up her pricy Lexus so that I can have a cheaper install.

I was on a job yesterday with a local diesel mechanic I work with. He is pretty reasonable at $65.00 an hour. He is installing a new engine on a big sailboat and did not quote the owner a fixed price as he works by the hour. Why?

Yesterday he was prepping the engine beds for the new isolators (motor mounts) and when he drilled into the port stringer brown gooey water came draining out. The wood inside is mush and the only thing holding the old engine was some embedded and very rusted 1/4" steel. The entire engine beds now need to be re-constructed and the stringer problem may extend well beyond the engine bay. A glass guy has now been brought in and he will be there for nearly two weeks.... The diesel guy was led to believe, by the owner and apparently owner association rumor, that the stringers were hollow & solid glass with embedded stainless steel for the motor mounts. When he sounded the stringers, they "sounded" hollow. They were only hollow because the wood inside, most likely spruce, was totally rotted.

What he found was 1/8" of fiberglass mat & roving covering rotted wood and rusty mild steel embedded plates not stainless steel. Unfortunately he can't really drop a 85HP engine on top of that without addressing it..... I suspect the labor on this one will exceed 10k pretty easily. Oh and they also discovered the shaft log and strut do not line up...... Do you tackle a 20k re-power and not address the chronic alignment isues? Cha-ching...$

My point is that it is nearly impossible to put a fixed price on a motor swap and this is why they likely gave you a range of low & high, most likely based on previous experience.

jibes138 · Mar 30, 2016

Why not remove the old one yourself and see what you save? A lot of labor is spent just cleaning up the engine compartment. As MaineSail noted having someone clean at 90 bucks an hour is not a good investment. Maybe hire a college kid for ten bucks an hour. Let the mechanic focus on his specialty.