i am in the process of sending 2 boats to a merc certified mechanic to swap out a 500 efi/Bravo xr combo in a nordic heat with a Merc 525 whipple/IMCO SC Drive into a cat. the cat already has all the plumbing from a previous whipple motor, so no additional drilling. the mechanic wants the rigging to look good, so i will allow some time for filling in old holes and new plumbing. Same motor mounts, etc...

my question is...how many hour should a certified mechanic charge for a job like this? any insight would be helpful!

Do it right and allow enough time to rig it and test it

My guess would be 15 hrs min and possibly as high as 30 hrs.
Too many variables with 2 boats involved.

110 bucks an hour

Thanks Griff...that's kind of what i was thinking. so i got my first bill on pulling motors and rigging the 500EFI. 30 hours...and he said the SC could be double! my sucker light must be on my forehead!

Is he doing it one handed???

Pulling 2 engines and 2 drives should be 8 hrs max.
Reinstall 1 engine and 1 drive and clean up rigging. 8 more hours should be plenty.

For years I have wanted boat shops to standardize pricing. The variability and sticker shock when the bill comes is nauseating.

$1,800-$2,500 tops!

Don't forget to add time for broken bolts, to clean electrical connections, change impellers, plugs, whatever, lube linkages, clean and grease splines, liquid electrical paint/dielectric grease connections, install floor/seat coverings, clean bilge, the extra guy helping remove hatch and align engine, filling stripped wood screws, the drive to the lake, launching, running, and returning to shop, looking up, ordering, checking in parts, running computer checks, set timing, fix all the crap the last hack did, and ?????
With that I'd say:
remove prop, drain drive, pull drive-30 minutes
clean bellhousing area, bellows, input/output splines, bolt corrosion-1 hour
grease everything, reinstall, fill drive-1 hour
cover/protect body/seats-1/2 hour
remove hatch with 2 people-15 minutes X2 = 1/2 hour
ready engine for removal-1.5 hours
remove engine with 2 people-1/2 hour X2 = 1 hour
clean bilge-1 hour
change plugs, cap, rotor, wires, impeller-2 hours
clean/fix misc-1 hour
reinstall engine with helper-45 minutes X2 = 1.5 hours
finish reinstalling engine, adjusting linkages-3 hours
reinstall hatch with 2 people-1/2 hour X2 = 1hour
test run engine at shop-1 hour
drive to lake, launch, park, run, retrieve, drive back-3 hours
looking up, ordering parts-1 hour
17-20 hours in about ideal conditions/same engine going back in-not too much corrosion, no broken bolts, grounds, etc, boat has fuel, owner told you about special switch under dash to start engine, trailer wiring doesn't need a special bayou connector and has air in the tires, ????

Thanks everyone. I truly feel like I can't be mr. Nice guy and just trust a merc platinum dealer. Sucks!