Sounds like it will be around $1,600 (20 hours @ $65 per hour + parts). If you're mechanically inclined at all, I would take the heads off yourself, drop them off at the machine shop, and pay the mechanic to put everything back together. It should save you about 1/2...

I was not including removing the heads. There is no need to remove them if you are just changing the springs. If it needs a valve job, then obviously the heads will need to be removed.
Eddie

You should be more concerned with the quality of the mechanic performing the service than the cost ...cheap , unqualified labor always bites you in the ass later .

Very, very true words. And how many "good" mechanics have you known who support the idea of putting something together that they did not take apart.

It usually creates more problems in the end but not always i guess..

$65 an hour for labor is cheap and rare. I would expect at least $90-100 per hour.

5-6 hours a side to pull engine and drive and reinstall seems a bit high. I guess that is a fair estimate but I would expect it to take less time than that depending on the room available in the engine compartment.

they alwayz come out fast Phil but going back in and hooking everything up and chasing down a gremlin that alwayz shows up all takes time and time is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ..

And it may. You are correct in that it depends on the boat. Some are much worse than others. Some need interior removed, some have rusted fasteners, some need the hatch removed, etc. It takes time to do it right. Everything needs to be covered to protect the paint and upholstery. As a shop, you have to factor in all the time it takes to cover everything, take them out, remove the bell housing, coupler and flywheel, and get them on a stand, and pick up everything. It's not just the removal.
By the way, my shop rate is only $65/hr. That's not an excuse to charge more hours, just stating my rate, as most are at $90+/hr.

It took me 10 hours yesterday to pull 2 engines start to finish on stands and hatch back on. And I'd done these many times. I'd think on a boat that is unfamiliar to you it would take much longer.

If you have more than about 200hrs on those engines I would certainly opt for pulling the heads and doing a valve job at the same time. The incremental expense will be minimal.

This is why I made the comment about the compressor not fitting through the spark plug hole but it did not translate well.

Geez, my humor -