Old gasoline smells like varnish when it sits too long. Before we could winch the boat onto our flatbed, our crew had to pump out half a tank of sour fuel into grounded transport cans. Once the tank was empty, we could safely handle the Chaparral 186. The 18 ft fiberglass bowrider sat in a gravel driveway beside a house in Berkley. It had a tan hull with a brown accent stripe.
A June storm brought down a heavy tree limb that crushed the windshield and broke through the deck. The hull was already weak from years of sitting outside, and that branch finished it off. We backed our rig up the gravel drive and hooked our trailer winch to the bow eye. Gasoline vapors can ignite from a single spark, so we used a manual brass hand pump to clear the fuel lines before moving the hull an inch. We strapped the boat down tight and pulled out onto the road.
We hauled the bowrider to a yard where our crew stripped the usable motor parts and hardware for salvage. The clean fiberglass hull was cut into section panels and taken to a facility that handles composite recycling. A project like this falls under our standard rate for boats under 20 feet, which runs around $75 a foot. Call 833-658-4847 if you need boat removal in Berkley or anywhere in Oakland County.
In our experience, Michigan winters do more damage than summer storms. Rain gets into cracks, freezes solid, and splits the fiberglass until the hull soft-rots from the inside out. As a rule, we always pump the fuel tank dry, drain the engine block oil, and disconnect the lead-acid battery before any cutting begins. When you hand the boat over, we take the title or sign a release of liability to clear your name.
Job notes
| Boat | 18 ft Chaparral 186 bowrider |
|---|---|
| Where it sat | Gravel driveway beside the house |
| Coverage area | Oakland County |
| Outcome | Stripped for parts, with the hull cut and recycled |
Illustrative example: a representative boat removal in Oakland County, not a record of a specific customer job. Photos are illustrative too.
Boat disposal questions
How to get rid of a bad boat?
Call us to handle the heavy lifting. We haul the boat from your property, pump out hazardous materials like old gas and oil, and haul the hull to a facility for salvage or proper disposal. You do not need to tear it down yourself.
Is my old boat worth anything?
Most junk boats cost more to tow and chop than the scrap metal is worth. If the motor or drive unit still has good parts, a scrap yard might salvage them. Otherwise, boat owners usually pay a crew to haul and dispose of the fiberglass.
Boat removal throughout Oakland County
Crews cover Oakland County: Troy, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills and Novi. Late spring brings many calls across this area. Homeowners clean up their yards after the snow melts and realize an old hull sitting behind the garage has turned into a dangerous eyesore that needs to go.
If a boat like this is taking up space in Berkley, call 833-658-4847. Tell us the length and where it sits.
