Per-Metre, Per-Hour, Per-Job: How Marine Quotes Stack Up

Marine yards quote three completely different ways for three completely different services, often on the same boat in the same week. The trick is knowing which model belongs on which line, and pricing the haul-out, the hardstand, and the supplies separately every time.

Marine quoting is one of the few trades where three different pricing models live on the same job sheet. Antifouling and hull cleaning price per metre LOA (length overall). Mechanical repair and electrical work price per hour. Refits, electronics installs, and paint jobs price per job. Bundle them all into one lump sum and you lose money on at least one of them every time. Quote them as three blocks on the same proposal and the customer signs the whole thing on signature.

The structure is simple once you see it. Per-metre lines for surface area work. Per-hour lines for diagnostic and repair work. Per-job lines for scoped installs. Plus a separate hardstand and haul-out section for the yard fees that are not your labour. Keeping a set of free quote templates for each service type carries all three pricing models onto one PDF, which is what makes a marine quote scan as professional rather than chaotic.

Per-metre LOA: antifouling, hull cleaning, polishing

Antifouling is the cleanest example of per-metre pricing. State the LOA on the quote, the rate per metre, and the antifoul brand and tin count on separate lines. 'Antifouling, two-coat application, Hempel Tiger Pro: $ 145 per metre LOA. Vessel: 11.5 metre. Total: $ 1,667.50.' A free quote calculator turns the metre rate and LOA into that line total without arithmetic on the dock. Then list materials separately: '4-litre tins, 3 required at $ 380 each: $ 1,140'. The customer sees the labour rate and the material cost on separate lines.

Hull cleaning and polishing follow the same logic. Per-metre LOA for the labour rate, plus consumables (compounds, polishes, pads) as separate lines. State the assumptions: 'Hull cleaning rate assumes wet-sanding to remove existing antifoul. Heavy fouling or stripping to gel-coat is quoted separately'. The variation, when the yard finds the hull is in worse shape than the photos suggested, is a per-metre rate against the same agreed scope, not a renegotiation.

Per-hour: mechanical, electrical, electronics troubleshooting

Outboard mechanics, marine electricians, and electronics troubleshooters price per hour because the job is unknown until it is opened up. State the hourly rate on the quote: 'Marine mechanic labour: $ 145 per hour, charged in 30-minute increments'. Add a minimum charge so a 5-minute fix does not net you nothing: '1-hour minimum on all callouts'.

On a diagnostic-then-repair job, quote the diagnostic as a fixed fee and the repair separately. 'Diagnostic and report: $ 280 fixed (1.5 hours). Repair quoted separately on completion of diagnostic'. The customer agrees to the diagnostic, you find the fault, you raise a follow-up quote for the repair against parts and labour. Two clear conversations instead of one open-ended one.

Per-job: refits, installs, paint

A new electronics package, a refit, a paint job, or a hardware install is a per-job quote because the scope is defined upfront. List the kit (chartplotter brand, model, screen size, antenna, transducer), the labour estimate (cabling, mounting, commissioning), the consumables, and the warranty. Each on its own line. The total is a single per-job number that the customer compares against the next yard's per-job number.

Per-job pricing is where marine yards win or lose on perceived value. The customer is not actually choosing the cheapest yard; they are choosing the yard whose proposal demonstrates expertise. A Garmin install with cable runs in inches, transducer placement specs, and a clear commissioning paragraph wins against a competitor's 'electronics install: $ 8,500' lump sum every time, even at a higher price.

Hardstand, haul-out, and lift fees: their own section

Yard fees (haul-out, hardstand per night, splash, water, power, jacking) are not your labour. List them as a separate section on the quote, billed at the yard's published rate, marked as a pass-through. 'Yard fees, billed at cost: 1.2 metre keel haul-out: $ 480. Hardstand at $ 38 per night, estimated 6 nights: $ 228. Splash and rig: $ 240. Total estimated yard fees: $ 948'.

Why separate? Because yard fees can change (the yard might bump rates mid-month, or the boat might stay on the hard longer than planned), and bundling them into your fee means you absorb the difference. Pass-through with 'billed at actual' avoids the dispute. The variations guide covers the same logic for any trade where third-party costs flow through the quote.

Booking the slot: the deposit conversation

Marine work is calendar-bound. The yard has a finite number of haul-out slots. The customer who books and ghosts costs the yard the slot. A 30 to 50 percent deposit at signature locks the booking. State the deposit on the quote and the cancellation terms ('Deposit non-refundable inside 14 days of slot date'). Customers who object to a deposit on a $ 6,000 antifouling and refit are usually the customers who would have moved their booking once the next yard quoted $ 200 less.

On larger refits ($ 30,000+), some yards take three payments: deposit at signature, interim at slipway (boat on the hard), balance at splash. State the schedule on the proposal as line items. The customer sees what is owed and when, and the yard's cash flow tracks the actual progress of the work.

Insurance and survey jobs

Insurance-driven work (after a grounding, fire, or theft) has its own quoting conventions. The quote needs to read as a procurement document: itemised against the loss adjuster's schedule, with photographic evidence references where appropriate. The acceptance comes from the insurer, not the boat owner, and the payment terms are usually 30 days from invoice rather than at completion.

Survey-driven work (pre-purchase, condition, insurance renewal) is quoted as a separate fixed-fee line: 'Pre-purchase survey: $ 580 fixed, 4 to 6 hours on board, written report within 5 working days'. The survey is a standalone product. Any remediation work the survey identifies becomes a follow-on quote, often issued in the same week.

The bottom line

A marine quote with per-metre, per-hour, per-job, and pass-through yard fees on one professional PDF is what separates a working boatyard from a cheap one. The customer sees what is being measured and how. The yard manager sees what is profitable and what is not. The variations, when they arrive, are at agreed rates against signed scope. That is the discipline that keeps a small marine business in the black through a quiet winter and a busy summer.

If this is your day-to-day, QuoteGenio handles quotes and invoices for marine electronics installers. Branded PDFs, WhatsApp send, deposits, and online acceptance are built in.