Size and type
A 14-foot aluminum fishing boat is one job. A 30-foot cabin cruiser is a different one. Length, beam, and weight decide the crew and the equipment.
Delaware
Delaware Boat Removal and Disposal
Twenty years of hauling junk boats out of driveways, marinas, and backyards. Firm quote before the truck rolls.
Licensed & Insured
Delaware Statewide
Fast Response
The calls I get from Delaware often start with a letter, not a phone call. A code enforcement notice flags a boat sitting on the creek side of the property. Some boats came with an estate nobody wanted to inherit along with the house. Others got parked once the storage bill passed what the boat itself was worth. A junk boat removal request usually follows within the week.
My crew handles it as one job: pickup, transport, and disposal together. We take it off a trailer, out of a lot, or from wherever it sits. No registration on the boat changes nothing here. It is still an unwanted boat to us, and we still take it. Details further down.
How much does boat removal cost?
Starting from
$250
Junk boat on a trailer that rolls, with room for the truck to reach it. From there, four things move the number.
I will tell you which ones apply to yours before we schedule anything.
Where it sits
Driveway on a trailer is the cheapest boat removal there is. On blocks in the backyard takes more work. In a slip, it needs a haul-out. Sunken, it needs recovery.
Condition
Engine already out is cheaper. Fuel still aboard, a hull full of rainwater, a trailer that will not roll: each adds handling.
Distance
Miles to the processing yard are part of the quote. Boat hauling cost scales with them.
Not sure which factors apply to your boat?
Can it be free?
People ask about free junk boat removal. Sometimes the boat has enough going for it, a running outboard, decent aluminum, and we take it for nothing. Sometimes it does not, and there is a fee. We will tell you which one you have.
The number is firm before the truck rolls.
Twenty years in, nobody has heard a different price at the curb.
Local read
What pricing looks like in Delaware
There is not a lot of ground to cover in Delaware, so marina slips, storm-damage pulls, and driveway jobs all end up close to the yard. Hauls here stay short almost every time. Spring cleanout brings the busiest stretch, and the calls even out and stay steady through the rest of the year. I take a look at the hull, the location, and the boat pickup itself before I quote anything. Whatever number I give is the number that gets collected.
Junk boats we hauled out
Real crew snapshots from recent Delaware pickups. Watermarked photos are placeholders while we swap in the real jobs.
Junk boat pickup, salvage, and old boat removal
One boat, a whole yard, or an emergency. Old boat removal from a driveway or an estate. Junk boat pickup for the one that never sold. Marinas and boat yards call us to clear a season of abandoned slips in one visit. Insurance adjusters call after storms. My crew has floated sunken boats, hauled sailboats out of backyards, and moved a 40-footer through a neighborhood that was not built for it. One call covers removal, transport, and disposal. If it floats, floated, or was supposed to float, we haul it.
Getting rid of a boat legally in Delaware
State legal briefDelaware
Reviewed August 25, 2026
Delaware does not title boats. Registration runs through DNREC's Division of Fish and Wildlife, which issues only a Certificate of Number, regardless of a boat's length, year, or horsepower. Trailers are titled separately, by DMV.
To hand a boat to us we need a photo of the HIN, a copy of the buyer's ID, and one of: an original ownership document from another state, a registration plus notarized bill of sale, an MCO for a new boat, or an old Delaware registration plus a notarized bill of sale. For a boat with no paperwork history at all, we could not find a published procedure. A duplicate Certificate of Number costs $2.30.
Delaware confirms it has no removal program. DNREC can seize, remove, store, and dispose of abandoned boats under 23 Del. C. Sections 1303-1305, but there is no dedicated fund, only the general Division of Watershed Stewardship budget.
If the boat is not yours. Delaware has a legal path: as a property owner you can ask DNREC under Section 1304 to remove the boat, and Section 1305 fines an owner $100 to $500 once a boat has sat abandoned more than 30 days. The catch is DNREC's help is discretionary, available only when funding permits, and does not cover unpaid dockage. If you would rather have the boat gone than wait on DNREC's funding, removal is the shorter road.
Skip the paperwork.We take Delaware boats with or without titles. One call, one price.
Counties We Serve in Delaware
We pick up boats across all 3 counties in Delaware. Cities below are the ones we reach most often; if yours is not listed, call and we will confirm coverage.
Kent County
Dover, Smyrna, Milford, Camden, Rising Sun-Lebanon, Clayton, Highland Acres, Harrington, Dover Base Housing, Riverview, Kent Acres, Woodside East, Cheswold, Wyoming, Felton, Rodney Village, Frederica, Houston, Bowers, Magnolia, Kenton, Little Creek, Woodside, Leipsic, Viola, Farmington, Hartly
New Castle County
Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, Bear, Glasgow, Brookside, Hockessin, Pike Creek Valley, Claymont, North Star, Wilmington Manor, Pike Creek, Edgemoor, Elsmere, New Castle, Greenville, Townsend, Delaware City, Bellefonte, St. Georges, Newport, Arden, Odessa, Ardentown, Ardencroft, Port Penn
Sussex County
Seaford, Georgetown, Millsboro, Laurel, Milton, Lewes, Selbyville, Long Neck, Ocean View, Bridgeville, Delmar, Millville, Lincoln, Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Greenwood, Blades, Dagsboro, Frankford, Ellendale, South Bethany, Bethel, Dewey Beach, Fenwick Island, Slaughter Beach, Henlopen Acres
Boat removal across Delaware
Top 3 cities by population. 79 cities covered across Delaware.
Boat removal in Delaware: what owners ask
How do I get rid of an old boat in Delaware?
In Delaware you can sell it, donate it, drop it at a salvage yard, or call a removal service to haul it away. Selling a marina-slip or driveway boat takes longer than most owners want. We load the unwanted boat and handle the rest.
How much does boat disposal cost in Delaware?
Boat disposal cost in Delaware depends on size, condition, where the boat sits, and distance to the yard, which is usually short here. The pricing section above breaks down how those factors add up.
Where can I dispose of a boat in Delaware?
Take it to a salvage yard or recycler yourself, or hand the whole boat dump to a removal service end to end. Delaware landfills generally refuse hulls outright. A removal service is the option that actually takes it off your hands.
Can I get free junk boat removal in Delaware?
Free junk boat removal happens in Delaware when the boat still has value, a running outboard or solid aluminum for example. Otherwise abandoned boat removal comes with a fee, and we tell you which applies before we schedule anything.
Are there boat salvage yards near me in Delaware?
Yes, Delaware has boat junkyards and salvage yards, but they take boats delivered on a trailer. Storm-damaged and marina boats often can't make that trip on their own. That's where a removal service becomes the missing piece.
How do I dispose of a fiberglass boat in Delaware?
Delaware landfills generally turn away fiberglass hulls. It gets cut into sections and hauled to facilities built to process it, which is exactly the job boat removers do. Don't count on tackling that breakdown yourself.
Can you remove a boat without a title in Delaware?
Delaware doesn't title boats at all, so there's no title question to sort out before we come get it. We pick it up either way. The legal section above explains how Delaware actually handles boat ownership.
Recent boat removal jobs
Real jobs we've run in Delaware — click any card for the full story.
Get a free boat removal quote
Delaware pickup, salvage, disposal. Firm quote before the truck rolls.