rewire boat

[CARL]

Hi ,can any one tell me the sort of cost to expect for a complete rewire of yacht 47ft south coast uk ,instalation of new fridge,just ball park figures ,allso if you can recomend a yard would be great
regards Carl

[rcmpegasus]

I am sure prices are different in UK, but I am currently replacing all my plumbing and electrical on a Formosa 51. Work is being done in Port Townsend WA by a real good Shipwright crew. Right now it is looking like about $50000 for electrical, not including battery's ($4000), two Victron multis ($1500 each). Lots of custom wood work for new cabinets for electrical, but gives you some idea. Labor was 2 guys for six weeks, plus some additional hours for cabinet work.

[CARL]

thanks for that Bob ,i think if you took into account exchange rate it would be much the same,my worry is getting good people to do work,and still think word of mouth is best form of advertising,good luck with yours
regards Carl.

[Tony B]

Keep in mind that usually a yard is the most expensive place to get work done and often times you get the lowest quality.
My rule of thumb is: If the yard also sells new high dollar boats, then they probably have good help. If it's just a yard that does repairs, you may end up with some homeless crackhead that lives in the yard in an old abandoned boat and the yard uses him when they can. Pay him $8/Hr and charge you $90/Hr. This may not necessarily be true where you live, but I have seen it in Ms. and La.
You would probably save quite a bit if you had an electrician do the work on your boat where it is now.

[Stumble]

If you are considering doing a full rewiring job, I would highly recommend looking at a distributed power buss system. They are much cheaper to install, require less wiring, and make adding new stuff later a whole lot easier. I got to play with one, and have been drooling over them ever sense. I just can't justify the cost of redoing the boat just to add it though.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by rcmpegasus

I am sure prices are different in UK, but I am currently replacing all my plumbing and electrical on a Formosa 51. Work is being done in Port Townsend WA by a real good Shipwright crew. Right now it is looking like about $50000 for electrical, not including battery's ($4000), two Victron multis ($1500 each). Lots of custom wood work for new cabinets for electrical, but gives you some idea. Labor was 2 guys for six weeks, plus some additional hours for cabinet work.

Is that correct? FIFTY thou!? How much of that is parts?

[rcmpegasus]

Originally Posted by xymotic

Is that correct? FIFTY thou!? How much of that is parts?

Fifty covered all the electrical, about $19000 labor for electrical and $8000 for cabinets and interior cable ways. The remainder was parts including a diesel generator. The guys doing the work are high end professionals, mainly doing commercial vessels and specialty yachts. Being a Marine engineer I did all the design work and drawings. I don't have the skills or time to do the installation so they are doing it while I do my regular job.

[Eleven]

You've got to nose out some of the diy'ers in your area by visiting the liveaboard marina's.
Finding the right one is a task in it's self. personally I prefer to do the wiring myself.
Things to watch for is that marine wiring needs specific treatments to protect the copper from the salt. You'll have to search here for that sort of stuff, I don't bother, just replace as needed.

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by rcmpegasus

Fifty covered all the electrical, about $19000 labor for electrical and $8000 for cabinets and interior cable ways. The remainder was parts including a diesel generator. The guys doing the work are high end professionals, mainly doing commercial vessels and specialty yachts. Being a Marine engineer I did all the design work and drawings. I don't have the skills or time to do the installation so they are doing it while I do my regular job.

Sounds like a pretty reasonable price actually. And having seen some of the work by yard 'professionals' I would take really experts, and their higher cost any day.

Nothing is prettier than looking at an electrical instillation where everything is run neatly, the wires are all labeled, everything is fastened down... Sadly most boats look like what happens when you toss a bunch of uncoiled line in an bag and throw it in the dryer.