Hourly Rates for maintenance work

[Peterlewis321]

Am sure lots if folk are having annual maintenance work done at the moment on their pride and joy. Am curious to see how the labour rates fare by location.....we use a great company in Denia to keep our boat in shape and they typically charge labour at €40 per hour for basic maintenance work (gelcoat, teak, etc), €45 per hour for anything electrical or related to the Volvo engines and drives, and €55 for works on the Williams jet tender. All plus the dreaded IVA of course!
Am guessing the rates in the Balearics etc are much higher than this.....? And maybe lower in some other areas.....? Be good to see how it differs!!

 

[Seastoke]

Am sure lots if folk are having annual maintenance work done at the moment on their pride and joy. Am curious to see how the labour rates fare by location.....we use a great company in Denia to keep our boat in shape and they typically charge labour at €40 per hour for basic maintenance work (gelcoat, teak, etc), €45 per hour for anything electrical or related to the Volvo engines and drives, and €55 for works on the Williams jet tender. All plus the dreaded IVA of course!
Am guessing the rates in the Balearics etc are much higher than this.....? And maybe lower in some other areas.....? Be good to see how it differs!!

Well are they main agents

 

[Sneds]

We pay around £50 per hour for engineering
We are in Portishead and pay around the same if in Cardiff

 

[Peterlewis321]

Well are they main agents

Main agent for Williams but not Volvo. They are well regarded and I have no complaints at all-just curious as to how the rates compare.

 

[Sneds]

great company in Denia to keep our boat in shape and they typically charge labour at €40 per hour for basic maintenance work (ge, teak, etc), electrical or related to the Volvo engines and drives, and €55 for works on the Williams jet tender. All plus the dreaded IVA of course!
Am guessing the rates in the Balearics etc are[/QUOTE]

 

[Sneds]

Sorry
Not sure what I did there!

 

[BruceK]

Dunno. I am the first to admit that I hate not being quoted for a whole job but told an hourly rate (because I cant then budget) and am also the first to admit that anything boat is difficult to put a time limit to because each boat is unique and when you start scratching the surface all the gremlins pop out. I have extreme respect for marine engineers because I invariably end up having to do the work myself because I can then at least budget on parts. In so saying, any marine engineer selling himself at your prices is under selling himself because working on these things is nothing but pain and frustration.

 

[markc]

In France I pay €100 p/h for MTU main agents (avoided whenever possible) and € 42 p/h for general maintenance

 

[Peterlewis321]

In France I pay €100 p/h for MTU main agents (avoided whenever possible) and € 42 p/h for general maintenance

Yikes-€100 per hour for MTU!!!! I thought VP were bad.....

 

[Peterlewis321]

Dunno. I am the first to admit that I hate not being quoted for a whole job but told an hourly rate (because I cant then budget) and am also the first to admit that anything boat is difficult to put a time limit to because each boat is unique and when you start scratching the surface all the gremlins pop out. I have extreme respect for marine engineers because I invariably end up having to do the work myself because I can then at least budget on parts. In so saying, any marine engineer selling himself at your prices is under selling himself because working on these things is nothing but pain and frustration.

Agreed-and being a contortionist as well as an engineer seems to be a prerequisite requirement in order to fit into the various small spaces!

 

[Portofino]

Was paying in France €70 + Tx for engineer ....stuff like hydraulic hose replacement, and sea cocks and the black hoses with the engines .
In Italy the same inc electrical is €30 .
When it comes to paying you can loose the tax with cash .
As always here “ there’s two prices ....a white price ( on paper ,hard drive with invoices etc ) and another price “
Tend to opt for the “ other price “

 

[Peterlewis321]

Was paying in France €70 + Tx for engineer ....stuff like hydraulic hose replacement, and sea cocks and the black hoses with the engines .
In Italy the same inc electrical is €30 .
When it comes to paying you can loose the tax with cash .
As always here “ there’s two prices ....a white price ( on paper ,hard drive with invoices etc ) and another price “
Tend to opt for the “ other price “

Sounds like Italy is pretty good value then So far!!

 

[Just_sayin']

I had a quite large job done, a (fair) price was given when the work was completed and the comment was made that it would be more expensive if we had to go back to the office ?

 

[Hooligan]

Sounds like Italy is pretty good value then So far!!

I agree re Italy. Found also that solutions to issues were quite creative and at very reasonable prices. I needed a new part for the generator that was either out of stock or discontinued and the engineers machine made a new one that works perfectly. Costs are substantially below the Balearics where I was before in general and the quality of work is excellent so far. And as Porto said there are always two prices (I am told )

 

[AndieMac]

Dunno. I am the first to admit that I hate not being quoted for a whole job but told an hourly rate (because I cant then budget) and am also the first to admit that anything boat is difficult to put a time limit to because each boat is unique and when you start scratching the surface all the gremlins pop out. I have extreme respect for marine engineers because I invariably end up having to do the work myself because I can then at least budget on parts. In so saying, any marine engineer selling himself at your prices is under selling himself because working on these things is nothing but pain and frustration.

yes, plenty of gremlins lurking in the engine room of an older boat, and managing the cash haemorrhage and frustration to rectify can be challenging for a fussy owner.
If you think about the hourly rate vehicle owners pay at major dealerships for 1st year apprentices to perform a basic service to your car, it brings the charge rate of the experienced marine mechanic into perspective.
I often hear local boat owners complaining about the hourly rate of a clever, experienced mechanic at $110 p/h, instead opting for a cheaper less efficient person for $75 p/h.
The experienced guy will always save you time, money and grief in the long term by foreseeing issues developing and the best ways to sort them out with sound advice.

 

[BruceK]

yes, plenty of gremlins lurking in the engine room of an older boat, and managing the cash haemorrhage and frustration to rectify can be challenging for a fussy owner.
If you think about the hourly rate vehicle owners pay at major dealerships for 1st year apprentices to perform a basic service to your car, it brings the charge rate of the experienced marine mechanic into perspective.
I often hear local boat owners complaining about the hourly rate of a clever, experienced mechanic at $110 p/h, instead opting for a cheaper less efficient person for $75 p/h.
The experienced guy will always save you time, money and grief in the long term by foreseeing issues developing and the best ways to sort them out with sound advice.

In my experience the most experienced guys just stick to their guns and keep mum. Nor do they always give sound advice. In this respect I could mention a piecemeal repair of an outdrive that ended up costing more than a new drive once labour was factored in. Not a happy chappy was I. But these are the gremlins I speak of. Had I been doing the job I could prioritise. He couldn't. His work is guaranteed and he carries liability so it's perfect or nothing. As I said. They have a tough time and I'd hate the job.

 

[spannerman]

When I rebuild a drive or lower gearbox on an outboard, or have an inboard or outboard to overhaul/rebuild, I always look at the condition and if its going to be labour intensive offer the alternative of a new unit v lots of hours and parts on something that will still be basically old. Its not in either of our interest to do a big expensive job to then have it fail because some other worn component lets go, nobody wins there. Its not so interesting for me as an engineer to just put a new unit in as I like to fix things but I try to give the customer the best value for his money. At the end of the day his wallet will decide over my recommendations.

 

[starfire]

Am sure lots if folk are having annual maintenance work done at the moment on their pride and joy. Am curious to see how the labour rates fare by location.....we use a great company in Denia to keep our boat in shape and they typically charge labour at €40 per hour for basic maintenance work (gelcoat, teak, etc), €45 per hour for anything electrical or related to the Volvo engines and drives, and €55 for works on the Williams jet tender. All plus the dreaded IVA of course!
Am guessing the rates in the Balearics etc are much higher than this.....? And maybe lower in some other areas.....? Be good to see how it differs!!