Boat electrical repair prices, in writing.
Marine electrical work has a habit of staying a mystery number until the invoice arrives. We would rather print the numbers. The table below carries the diagnostic fee, the common jobs, and what moves each price, and when we quote your boat the quote comes off this same menu.
The price menu
| Job | Typical price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Dockside diagnostic visit | $125 | Flat, anywhere in the core service area; credited toward the repair when you approve the work |
| Battery system service | $150 to $400 | Load testing, terminals and cables, parasitic drain tracing; batteries themselves priced at cost plus |
| Dual-battery setup with switch | $250 to $500 | Switch type, cable runs, whether an isolator or charge relay is included |
| Onboard charger install | $150 to $350 | Bank count, mounting, AC inlet condition; charger hardware priced separately |
| Bilge pump and float switch circuit | $150 to $350 | Access, wire run length, whether the pump itself needs replacing |
| Navigation light repair | $125 to $300 | Fixture condition vs wiring fault; LED upgrades quoted with hardware |
| Gauge and sender troubleshooting | $150 to $400 | Fault location (gauge, sender, or harness); fuel senders run the top of the range |
| Trolling motor circuit, 12/24/36V | $200 to $500 | Voltage, wire gauge and run length, breaker and plug hardware |
| Fish finder / graph install | $150 to $400 per unit | Transducer mounting, network cabling, dedicated power; hardware separate |
| Accessory circuit added properly | $125 to $300 | Fused feed, relay if the switch cannot carry the load, sealed connections |
| Full accessory rewire | $200 to $600 | Boat size and how much existing wiring is worth keeping; jon boats at the low end |
| Shore power inlet and cord service | $150 to $400 | Inlet condition, breaker work, galvanic isolator questions quoted after inspection |
| Pre-season electrical checkup | $150 to $300 | Battery load test, connection inspection, pumps, lights, and charging verified with a written list |
Labor ranges for our 2026 season. Parts and hardware (batteries, pumps, electronics, chargers) price separately and get itemized on the quote.
How a visit works
- You describe the symptom. What the boat does, where it sits, and any history. Photos texted to (501) 214-5882 sharpen the plan before the drive.
- The truck comes to the boat. Dock, slip, ramp, driveway, or barn. The diagnostic starts with a meter, not a parts catalog.
- You get a menu-priced quote at the boat. The diagnostic fee credits toward it. Approve it and most repairs happen the same visit from truck stock.
- The repair follows marine standards. Marine-grade tinned wire, proper fusing, sealed connections, to ABYC wiring practice.
- The invoice matches the quote. If something could have moved a number, you heard about it at the boat in step three, not in the mail.
Context worth checking
Boat wiring standards are not our invention: the American Boat and Yacht Council publishes the standards marine electrical work is built to, and following them is what separates marine wiring from automotive-store improvisation. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission boating rules cover the navigation light requirements our light work is checked against, and the US Coast Guard boating safety program documents why electrical faults sit high on the list of boat fire causes. Printed prices and cited standards go together; both let you check us.
Get your number
Call (501) 214-5882 with what the boat is doing, or use the form. Symptom explanations live on the troubleshooting page, installs on the electronics page.
Cost questions, answered straight
How much does a marine electrician cost in the Little Rock area?
Our mobile service runs a flat $125 dockside diagnostic, credited toward the repair, with most common jobs landing between $150 and $500 off the published table above. Marine shop labor in the region and nationally typically runs $110 to $160 an hour; our menu prices the job instead of the clock so you know the number before the truck rolls.
Why a diagnostic fee instead of a free estimate?
Because on electrical faults, the diagnosis is most of the work. Finding a parasitic drain or an intermittent connection takes a meter, method, and time, and a business that gives that away has to hide the cost somewhere else. The fee is published, flat, and credited toward the repair, so when we do the work the diagnosis was free after all.
What makes a job cost more than the published range?
Three honest things: access (wiring buried under a floor or console takes longer), condition (corroded or brittle harnesses need more replaced than planned), and hardware (batteries, pumps, and electronics are priced as parts on top of labor). Anything that moves a number gets said at the boat before the work happens.
Do you charge extra to come to me?
The core service area, North Little Rock, Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle, and Jacksonville, is covered by the flat diagnostic. Farther calls, Conway, Cabot, Mayflower, Scott, add a stated trip charge of $25 to $50 depending on distance, named when you book, never discovered on the invoice.
Arkansas River Marine Electric publishes this menu for the whole service area, from Little Rock and Maumelle out to Conway and Scott. Start at the homepage for everything the truck handles.