“I need this sailboat out of the yard before the movers get here.” That is what the Waterford homeowner told us when he called. He was moving out of state and had a white 27 ft Catalina sailboat sitting in the tree line behind his house. The fiberglass hull had a red boot stripe, but brush had grown up past the keel.
Our crew cleared the saplings around the trailer first. The trailer tires were flat and cracked down to the cords, so they would not roll. We used bottle jacks to raise the frame and swapped the rotted wheels for our own service spares. Before winch loading, we checked the keel bolts to make sure the ballast was stable on the frame. Once the frame sat on solid rubber, we winched the rig onto our flatbed trailer and pulled it out to the road.
We hauled the boat to a salvage yard where the fiberglass was prepped for recycling, and the clean boat trailer went back to work. For a boat over 20 feet, we give a quote on the phone since the length and setting dictate our crew size. Boats over 20 feet are priced over the phone, because size and setting change the work. Call 833-658-4847 for boat removal in Waterford and Oakland County.
In our experience, water left inside a hull through Michigan freeze and thaw cycles splits the gelcoat and ruins structural wood. Snow loads also tear vinyl covers during the winter. Our crew drains all fuel and engine oil, then removes the battery for proper disposal before recycling the fiberglass. When you have a title, we take it; if you do not, we sign a release of liability so the boat is off your name.
Quick facts from this job
| Boat | 27 ft Catalina 27 sailboat |
|---|---|
| Where it sat | Tree line behind the house, half in the brush |
| Coverage area | Oakland County |
| Outcome | Trailer cleaned up and reused, boat recycled |
This post describes a typical job in Oakland County as an illustration, not a real customer record. The pictures are illustrative too.
Questions owners ask about a job like this
How much does it cost to remove a boat?
Small aluminum boats and small runabouts cost less because one truck can move them. Large cabin cruisers or sailboats stranded off a trailer take heavy equipment and extra labor, which raises the cost. Call us with your boat details, location, and trailer condition for a price.
Can you scrap a boat at a scrap yard?
Most scrap yards only buy the metal from the engine, hardware, and trailer. They do not accept the raw fiberglass hull because it has no melt value. We haul the entire boat away, strip the recyclable metals, and bring the fiberglass to a facility that handles proper disposal.
Our boat removal crews in Oakland County
Crews cover Oakland County: Troy, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills and Novi. In June, boat owners clearing out properties or preparing for summer real estate sales call us to remove old project boats. Yard clearings across the county often start right after spring yard work wraps up.
Ready to have your boat gone from Waterford? Call 833-658-4847 or use the estimate form.
