Marine electrical cost in California: published rates

Published marine electrical work rates by region

These are prices that businesses publish on their own websites and rate sheets. We read 3 pages from 3 businesses in Southern California and the Bay Area. They are not DockDash prices, and your quote may differ.

Across the regions we have, the largest group is all published prices: $140–$250/hr (3 published prices from 3 businesses in Southern California and the Bay Area).

How marine electrical work is priced

Marine electricians troubleshoot and install DC and AC systems, batteries, chargers, shore power and electronics. Published prices are almost always hourly.

Per hour, often with a minimum or a trip charge for mobile work.

What drives the cost

• Time to diagnose: troubleshooting can take longer than the repair.
• Access on the boat.
• Parts, wire and electronics, usually billed separately.
• Mobile trip charges and after-hours rates.

What’s usually included, and what’s extra

How to read a quote

• Ask about minimum billing and the trip charge.
• Ask for an estimate before work beyond diagnosis.
• Get the price in writing, with what is included, before work starts.

To check a price for your boat, try the service cost estimator; to line up two or three quotes on the same basis, use the quote comparison tool. What the job involves: Marine electrical explained.

Every published price we found

• AnythingYacht.com San Diego · San Diego

  • $250/hr — electrical work hourly rate (plumbing also $250/hr)

  San Diego Engine repair and maintenance ... at AnythingYacht.com, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Berkeley Marine Center Berkeley · San Francisco Bay

  • $140/hr — Yard labor: Skilled Marine Technician rate (electrical, electronics included in skilled rate)

  Yard Rates - Berkeley Marine Center, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

• The Boat Yard at Grand Marina Alameda · San Francisco Bay

  • $160/hr — Yard rate shared with engine/rigging/electronics

  Services and Rates - The Boat Yard at Grand Marina, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

Methodology and limitations

• Sources: only the business’s own website or rate sheet. No reviews, directories, forums or quotes we requested. We did not contact any business.
• Sample: 3 published prices from 3 businesses on 3 pages. This is the set we could find, not a survey or a random sample, and many businesses don’t publish prices at all.
• Dates: we read every page on 2026-11-11. 0 of the pages carry a date or fiscal year, 2 show only a copyright year, and 1 have no date. Each price below shows what its page said.
• How we summarize: prices are grouped by unit (per foot, per hour, flat, per visit, per gallon) and by kind of job, and never mixed. The range runs from the lowest published price to the highest. The median gives each business one vote (the middle of its own range), so a yard with many size tiers doesn’t outweigh a diver with one price. Where a business wrote “starting at”, we used that figure, so real bills are often higher.
• Region pages exist only where at least 3 published prices from 2 or more businesses are available.
• Your quote may differ. Condition, access, season, and what’s included all change the price. Use these figures to ask better questions, not as a price promise.