Rhode Island

Rhode Island Boat Removal and Disposal

Twenty years of hauling junk boats out of driveways, marinas, and backyards. Firm quote before the truck rolls.

Licensed & Insured Rhode Island Statewide Fast Response

Title rules

Rhode Island titles boats over 14 feet; anything 14 feet or shorter is not required to have one, though registration is required for all motorized boats and anything over 12 feet.

Legal path

The state runs a funded program. You likely cannot apply.

Coverage

5 counties, 63 cities we pick up from

Pricing

See how pricing works

A slip bill that outlasts the boat is the most common story I hear out of Rhode Island. The bill keeps climbing on something nobody has taken out in years. Storm damage leaves a hull with repairs that cost more than the boat is worth. Sometimes it is a notice about a boat sitting somewhere it should not, and that is the push that finally gets someone to call.

Boat removal from a driveway, a storage yard, or a marina works the same way: pickup, transport, and boat disposal in a single visit. People call wanting to get rid of an old boat without a title search first, and that part is fine. We cover the paperwork angle further down the page.

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.

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.

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?

(877) 371-5145 Get free quote

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.

Our guarantee

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 Rhode Island

I've worked plenty of marina slips and storm-damaged docks in Rhode Island, right alongside ordinary driveway calls. The haul to our processing yard is short here, so distance isn't what drives the number. What matters more is the boat itself, whether it's still sitting on a trailer or tied up in a slip. Spring de-winterizing and fall storage deadlines are when my schedule fills up fastest. I nail down the number before that truck ever pulls out of the yard.

Junk boats we hauled out

Real crew snapshots from recent Rhode Island pickups. Watermarked photos are placeholders while we swap in the real jobs.

junk boat removal, 16 ft aluminum fishing boat abandoned by a garage — 16 ft aluminum fishing boat, no trailer, loaded from the ground

junk boat removal crew loading a 20 ft bowrider onto a trailer — 20 ft bowrider winched out of a driveway

junk boat removal, 26 ft cabin cruiser on stands in a storage yard — 26 ft cabin cruiser off jack stands at a storage lot

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 Rhode Island

State legal briefRhode Island

Reviewed August 25, 2026

Rhode Island titles boats over 14 feet; anything 14 feet or shorter is not required to have one, though registration is required for all motorized boats and anything over 12 feet. Rhode Island calls itself a title state.

Hand over a notarized bill of sale plus a title signed and notarized by the seller. From a non-titling state, a current registration stands in. A lost title goes through a Duplicate Title Application. An original title without a lien runs $25, plus $15 with a loan; duplicate or correction is $5.

Rhode Island does run a removal program, the Derelict and Abandoned Vessel and Obstruction Removal Commission, created in 2012 under DEM's Division of Law Enforcement. It reimburses removal costs, but only for an authorized public entity, meaning DEM or a municipality with harbor jurisdiction, applying twice a year, by July 1 and November 1.

If the boat is not yours. The Commission's fund is real, but only DEM or a municipality with harbor jurisdiction can apply, not a private owner, and no separate procedure exists for landowners at all. That leaves no statutory path to take ownership or force a state-funded removal yourself. Most people in that spot call a removal service instead. We can take a Rhode Island boat without a title.

Skip the paperwork.We take Rhode Island boats with or without titles. One call, one price.

(877) 371-5145 Get free quote

Counties We Serve in Rhode Island

We pick up boats across all 5 counties in Rhode Island. Cities below are the ones we reach most often; if yours is not listed, call and we will confirm coverage.

Bristol County

Warren, Bristol, Barrington

Kent County

Warwick, Coventry, West Warwick, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Greene

Newport County

Newport, Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton, Newport East, Jamestown, Little Compton, Melville

Providence County

Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cumberland, North Providence, Johnston, Central Falls, Lincoln, Smithfield, Burrillville, North Smithfield, Valley Falls, Scituate, Glocester, Cumberland Hill, Greenville, Pascoag, Foster, Chepachet, Harrisville, Harmony, Foster Center, Clayville

Washington County

South Kingstown, North Kingstown, Westerly, Narragansett, Wakefield-Peace Dale, Hopkinton, Richmond, Charlestown, Kingston, Exeter, Narragansett Pier, Hope Valley, Ashaway, New Shoreham, Bradford, Carolina, Weekapaug, Quonochontaug, Misquamicut, Wyoming, Watch Hill

Boat removal across Rhode Island

Top 16 cities by population. 63 cities covered across Rhode Island.

Providence Warwick Cranston East Providence Woonsocket Cumberland Coventry South Kingstown West Warwick Johnston North Kingstown Newport Westerly Central Falls Lincoln Smithfield

Boat removal in Rhode Island: what owners ask

How do I get rid of an old boat in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island you can sell it, donate it, drop it at a salvage yard, or call boat removers to take it off your hands. Selling sounds easy until buyers see what the hull needs. We show up, load the boat, and haul it away.

How much does boat disposal cost in Rhode Island?

Boat disposal in Rhode Island doesn't have one set price, it comes down to the boat itself. Size, location, condition, and how far we haul it move the number, and the pricing section above lays it out.

Where can I dispose of a boat in Rhode Island?

Your options in Rhode Island are a salvage yard, a recycler, or a removal service that handles disposal for you. Landfills generally refuse a boat dump because fiberglass hulls do not decompose. We take care of that final step ourselves.

Can I get free junk boat removal in Rhode Island?

It depends on what the boat has going for it, a running outboard or good aluminum sometimes means we remove the unwanted boat at no charge. If not, there's a fee, and we say which before scheduling.

Are there boat salvage yards near me in Rhode Island?

Yes, Rhode Island has boat junkyards and salvage yards like most states. They take boats that roll in on a trailer, hitched and ready to go. If yours can't travel under its own power, removal is what's missing.

How do I dispose of a fiberglass boat in Rhode Island?

Fiberglass hulls get refused at most landfills, the resin and glass just don't break down. The real process is cutting the boat into sections and hauling them to a facility built for fiberglass. That's a removal service's job, not a curbside one.

Can you remove a boat without a title in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island only titles the larger boats, smaller ones were never required to have one. We still come get the boat either way, title or not. The legal section above covers the paperwork angle, abandoned boat removal on our end works the same regardless.