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.

Montana
Twenty years of hauling junk boats out of driveways, marinas, and backyards. Firm quote before the truck rolls.
The story usually starts with a dead motor on the boats I pick up around Montana. The repair quote comes in higher than the hull is worth, and the boat just stays put. Sometimes it is simpler than that, a boat that came with a property through an estate, sitting in the same spot for years. Either way, somebody eventually wants it off the lot.
Boat removal is what my crew does, start to finish, from pickup to transport to disposal. Whether it is a junk boat on a trailer, on blocks, or parked in a storage lot, we handle the load out. You can get rid of a boat here without a title in hand. That part is explained further down.
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.
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.
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.
Engine already out is cheaper. Fuel still aboard, a hull full of rainwater, a trailer that will not roll: each adds handling.
Miles to the processing yard are part of the quote. Boat hauling cost scales with them.
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.
Twenty years in, nobody has heard a different price at the curb.
Montana's boats tend to be parked, not moored, so most of my pickups start in a driveway, a barn, or a storage lot, with water pulls being rare. These jobs often mean a long haul back to our yard, and that distance is a real part of what shapes the quote. Spring de-winterizing gets people moving, and fall brings another push once storage deadlines close in. I give you the firm number before my crew ever loads the boat, and that's what you pay when we're done.
Real crew snapshots from recent Montana pickups. Watermarked photos are placeholders while we swap in the real jobs.



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.
Montana titles boats by length: any motor boat or sailboat 12 feet or longer needs a title before use on Montana waters. One exception lets a boat owned continuously since July 1, 1988 with a valid number wait until sale or renewal. Under 12 feet, or unpowered, is exempt.
Transferring a titled boat runs through Form MV1A. Without one, Montana law has you file a sworn affidavit plus Form MV10 and Form MV20, a VIN/HIN inspection certificate. A motorboat, PWC, or sailboat only needs to prove the title is lost, not post a value-based bond like a car. If a bond is required, it matches the boat's value and returns after three years.
Montana is absent from NOAA's list of derelict-vessel-program states, and no agency claims one. A general abandoned-vehicle law lets police and Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff seize a vehicle left on a highway, street, or public or private land, but whether that covers boats is unconfirmed.
If the boat is not yours. We could not find a Montana procedure letting a property owner take ownership of a boat left behind; the general vehicle law might reach boats, but that is unconfirmed. Your option is general civil process: find the owner, sue for removal costs, and hope they are solvent. Most people skip that and call a removal service instead. We take Montana boats without a title.
We pick up boats across all 56 counties in Montana. Cities below are the ones we reach most often; if yours is not listed, call and we will confirm coverage.
Dillon, Lima, Wisdom, Argenta, Maverick Mountain, Glen, Grant, Lakeview, Dell, Wise River, Jackson, Dewey
Hardin, Crow Agency, Muddy, Pryor, Busby, Lodge Grass, Wyola, Fort Smith, St. Xavier, Forty Mile Colony
Fort Belknap Agency, Chinook, Hays, Harlem, Lodge Pole, Turner, Turner Colony, North Harlem Colony, Zurich, Hogeland, Hartland Colony
Townsend, Wheatland, Spokane Creek, The Silos, Toston, Winston, Radersburg
Red Lodge, Joliet, Fromberg, Rockvale, Roberts, Belfry, Bearcreek, Edgar, Montaqua, Fox, Luther, Boyd, Roscoe, Silesia
Ekalaka, Alzada
Great Falls, Malmstrom AFB, Sun Prairie, Vaughn, Ulm, Black Eagle, Cascade, Belt, Simms, Sand Coulee, Fort Shaw, Stockett, Gibson Flats, Tracy, Hardy, Sun River, Pleasant Valley Colony, Neihart, Monarch, Big Stone Colony, Cascade Colony, Centerville, Riceville, Fair Haven Colony
Fort Benton, Rocky Boy West, Big Sandy, Parker School, Boneau, Geraldine, Highwood, Carter, Loma, Twin Hills Colony, Floweree, Square Butte, Sunnybrook Colony
Miles City, Ismay
Scobey, Flaxville, Whitetail, Peerless
Glendive, West Glendive, Richey, Bloomfield, Lindsay
Anaconda
Baker, Plevna
Lewistown, Lewistown Heights, Denton, Moore, Winifred, Roy, Grass Range, Fords Creek Colony, Ayers Ranch Colony, Coffee Creek, King Ranch Colony, Deerfield Colony, Warm Spring Creek, Danvers, Hilger, Brooks, Spring Creek Colony
Kalispell, Whitefish, Evergreen, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Lakeside, Marion, Helena Flats, Somers, Hungry Horse, Batavia, Coram, Kila, Martin City, Forest Hill Village, Rhodes, West Glacier, Olney, Little Bitterroot Lake, Essex, Pinnacle, Polebridge, Snowslip, Niarada
Bozeman, Belgrade, Four Corners, Big Sky, Manhattan, King Arthur Park, Three Forks, West Yellowstone, Churchill, Gallatin Gateway, Ponderosa Pines, Willow Creek, Springhill, Gallatin River Ranch, Bridger, Amsterdam, Logan, Sedan, Hebgen Lake Estates
Jordan
Cut Bank, North Browning, South Browning, Browning, Glacier Colony, Babb, East Glacier Park Village, St. Mary, Starr School, Blackfoot, Little Browning, Santa Rita, Horizon Colony, Seville Colony, Zenith Colony, Hidden Lake Colony, Glendale Colony, Big Sky Colony
Ryegate, Lavina, Golden Valley Colony
Philipsburg, Drummond, Maxville, Hall
Havre, Havre North, Sangrey, St. Pierre, Azure, Beaver Creek, Rudyard, Rocky Boy's Agency, Saddle Butte, Gildford, West Havre, Hingham, Box Elder, Kremlin, Herron, Gildford Colony, Hilldale Colony, Inverness, East End Colony, Laredo
Montana City, Clancy, Boulder, Whitehall, South Hills, Jefferson City, Rader Creek, Basin, Elkhorn, Cardwell
Stanford, Hobson, Geyser, Raynesford, Moccasin, Windham, Sapphire Ridge, Utica, Surprise Creek Colony
Polson, Ronan, Pablo, St. Ignatius, Woods Bay, Arlee, Lindisfarne, Finley Point, Charlo, Kings Point, Bear Dance, Kerr, Swan Lake, Jette, Ravalli, Big Arm, Elmo, Rocky Point, Turtle Lake, Rollins, Dayton, Kicking Horse, Lake Mary Ronan
Helena, Helena Valley Southeast, Helena Valley West Central, Helena Valley Northwest, Helena Valley Northeast, East Helena, Helena West Side, Lincoln, Unionville, York, Augusta, Rimini, Marysville, Canyon Creek, Craig, Gilman, Wolf Creek, Milford Colony
Chester, Riverview Colony, Joplin, Eagle Creek Colony, Sage Creek Colony, Whitlash
Libby, Eureka, Troy, Trego, White Haven, Pioneer Junction, Fortine, Yaak, Bull Lake, West Kootenai, Sylvanite, Rexford, Happys Inn, Stryker, Indian Springs
Ennis, Sheridan, Twin Bridges, Virginia City, McAllister, Pony, Alder, Silver Star, Brandon, Jeffers, Norris, Harrison, Mammoth
Circle, Vida, Brockway, Prairie Elk Colony
White Sulphur Springs, Martinsdale, Springdale Colony
Superior, Alberton, Riverbend, St. Regis, Cyr, De Borgia, Haugan, Saltese
Missoula, Orchard Homes, Lolo, East Missoula, Seeley Lake, Frenchtown, Bonner-West Riverside, Wye, Clinton, Piltzville, Evaro, Carlton, Turah, Condon, Twin Creeks, Huson, Potomac
Roundup, Klein, Camp Three, Melstone, Musselshell, Flat Willow Colony, Kilby Butte Colony
Livingston, Pray, Gardiner, Clyde Park, Emigrant, South Glastonbury, Pine Creek, Wilsall, Wineglass, Corwin Springs, Silver Gate, Cooke City, Jardine, Springdale
Winnett
Malta, Saco, Dodson, Whitewater, Landusky, Zortman, Loring Colony, Sleeping Buffalo, East Malta Colony
Conrad, Heart Butte, Valier, New Miami Colony, Dupuyer, Birch Creek Colony, Brady, Pondera Colony, Midway Colony, Kingsbury Colony
Broadus, Biddle
Deer Lodge, Elliston, Avon, Garrison, Helmville, Ovando, Racetrack, Goldcreek
Terry, Fallon
Hamilton, Stevensville, Corvallis, Florence, Victor, Pinesdale, Darby, Conner, Charlos Heights, Sula
Sidney, Fairview, Savage, Crane, Fox Lake
Wolf Point, Poplar, Culbertson, Brockton, Froid, Bainville
Lame Deer, Colstrip, Forsyth, Ashland, Birney, Rosebud
Thompson Falls, Plains, Hot Springs, Heron, Trout Creek, Dixon, Noxon, Lonepine, Paradise, Weeksville, Old Agency, Camas, Belknap
Plentywood, Medicine Lake, Westby, Outlook, Reserve, Redstone, Homestead, Antelope
Butte, Walkerville
Columbus, Park City, Absarokee, Reed Point, Fishtail, Rapelje, Nye
Big Timber, Greycliff
Choteau, Fairfield, Dutton, Power, New Rockport Colony, Rockport Colony, Bynum, Pendroy, Miller Colony
Shelby, Sunburst, Hillside Colony, Kevin, Rimrock Colony, Camrose Colony, Sweet Grass
Hysham
Glasgow, St. Marie, Frazer, Nashua, Hinsdale, Fort Peck, Opheim
Harlowton, Judith Gap, Shawmut, Springwater Colony, Martinsdale Colony, Twodot, Duncan Ranch Colony
Wibaux
Billings, Lockwood, Laurel, Shepherd, Worden, Huntley, Ballantine, Broadview, Custer, Nibbe, Acton, Pompeys Pillar, Mountain View Colony
Out here it comes to four moves: sell it, donate it, run it to a salvage yard, or bring in a removal service to clear it out. Jobs sit in a driveway, a barn, or a storage lot, and hauling distance is what we handle.
The pricing section above gives the starting range, and the number depends on size, where the boat sits, its condition, and the distance our crew covers. A boat parked in a barn far from the nearest yard costs more to move than one near town.
A salvage yard, a marine recycler, or a removal service are your real choices, since landfills here won't take a hull under any circumstances. There's no boat dump set up for this out here, so most people call a removal service to close the gap.
An outboard that still runs or decent aluminum often carries enough value that we take the boat for nothing, and I say so first. Nothing salvageable means a fee, and I tell you which situation you're in before we ever schedule a pickup.
Boat junkyards exist out here, but they almost always want the boat delivered on a trailer, tough for something parked in a barn for years. That gap is exactly where boat removers like us come in, since we handle the pickup ourselves.
An old fiberglass hull won't get accepted at any landfill here, so we cut it into sections before hauling it off. That cutting happens on-site, whether the boat came from a barn or a storage lot holding an unwanted boat for years.
Montana titles boats past a certain length. We still handle abandoned boat removal whether the paperwork exists or not. The legal section above covers what actually applies to your boat.
Real jobs we've run in Montana — click any card for the full story.







Montana pickup, salvage, disposal. Firm quote before the truck rolls.
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