A Vermont dealer's lot near Colchester fills up every spring, trade-ins piling up faster than the floor can move them, and somebody has to get that inventory onto the next buyer's driveway. I handle a lot of that quietly, boat by boat, near Burlington. Vermont is lake country, so runs here tend to be short, driveway to driveway.
My crew brings our own trucks and trailers, loads and lashes each boat correctly, tows it to the next stop, and handles boat hauling door to door whether it is one boat or a dealer's whole spring lineup. Oversize paperwork is ours to pull. A boat that changed hands without its paperwork fully sorted can still move; we work that out first.
Boat hauling in Vermont starts at $600. The final number depends on distance, hull size, trailer type, and whether the load needs an oversize permit. Per loaded mile runs $2.50 to $3.75 on shorter in-state work; longer runs price lower per mile because loading and rigging cost the same whether the boat travels forty miles or four hundred.
The quote you get covers loading, transport, permits, and delivery. One firm number, and it does not change at the curb.
Hull sizeLength, beam, and height set the trailer and permit path.
RouteShort runs cost more per mile; long hauls average down.
Trailer typeYours, ours, or hydraulic. Wide loads add oversize paperwork.
SeasonSpring launch and fall haul-out weeks fill first.
Local read — Vermont
Vermont runs short. Most hauls here go between lake towns like Colchester, Essex Junction, and Milton rather than clear across the state, and the calendar fills hardest during spring de-winterizing and again when fall storage deadlines hit. A typical hauled boat is whatever comes off a lake-place driveway, pontoon or small runabout more often than not. Send photos, hull length and beam, and both ZIP codes, and I will send back a flat quote.
How boat transport works
Send photos, hull dimensions, and both addresses. The quote comes back the same day, flat, with permits and fuel inside it.
On pickup day the crew loads and lashes the boat, checks tie-downs and lights, and photographs everything before the wheels turn. You get the same photos at delivery, door to door, whether the drop is a marina, a storage yard, or a driveway. The boat rides on our insurance from load to unload, and you see the certificate before you book, not after something goes wrong.
Carrier, not broker
A hauler, not a broker
Type boat transport into a search bar and most of what comes back is brokers: platforms that take your job, post it to a board, and sell it to whichever driver bids lowest. You find out who is actually towing your boat when the truck shows up. That is not how this works here.
My crews run their own trucks and trailers, the person who quotes the job is the person responsible for it, and the driver's name and number are in your hand before pickup. Twenty years of moving boats, and the job never gets handed to a stranger.
What we haul in Vermont
Powerboats & runaboutsBow riders, deck boats, and ski boats on our trailer or yours.
Cabin cruisers & center consoles24–40 ft hulls loaded, lashed, and delivered.
PontoonsRebuilt, aging, or straight from the dealer. Tubes strapped and rolled.
Anything wider than 8.5 feet is an oversize load on every road in the country — that permit is our paperwork, not yours. Dead hulls headed for the scrap yard fall under Vermont boat removal, not this page.
Transport itself needs no title, and a boat bought without paperwork can still be moved. What Vermont requires when a boat changes hands is on the state boat-removal page. Read Vermont title & sale notes → Oversize permits are our job, not yours.
Boat hauling in Vermont: what owners ask
How much does it cost to haul a boat in Vermont?
Cost in Vermont mostly comes down to how far the boat has to travel, and even our longer runs tend to be short compared to bigger states. I always point people to the rates in the pricing section above rather than guess on the phone. Photos, hull length and beam, and both ZIP codes get you a firm number quickly.
How much is a mile to transport a boat?
Per-mile rates are not one number here. The rates in the pricing section above set a baseline, but a short hop between Milton and Colchester costs more per mile than a longer run, since loading and rigging are fixed costs regardless of distance. Vermont's short in-state routes feel that math more than most.
Can you move a 40 ft boat?
My hydraulic trailers handle a forty-footer without strain, and any oversize paperwork it needs is mine to pull, not yours. Size rarely stops a job in Vermont, even coming off a tight lake-place driveway near Rutland. Lead time matters more, since a bigger vessel needs the right trailer scheduled ahead, especially during busy season.
Are you the actual hauler or a broker?
Nobody at a bid board ever touches your Vermont job, because the trucks and drivers are ours from start to finish. The person who gave you the quote is the person accountable if anything goes sideways along the way. Before the truck leaves for pickup, you get that driver's actual name and phone number, not a call center.
Is my boat insured during transport?
The policy covering your boat is ours, active from the moment it goes on the trailer until it comes off at the far end. I will send a certificate before you commit to anything, so you have it in writing. My crew takes photos at both ends of the trip, pickup and delivery, so condition is never in question.
Do I need a permit to move my boat, and who handles it?
A wide load can trigger an oversize permit requirement, and chasing that down is my job, not yours. Whatever the specific load needs, we pull the permit before the truck ever leaves for Colchester, Milton, or wherever the pickup happens to be. That paperwork cost is already folded into the quote you receive, nothing extra shows up later.
How far in advance should I book boat hauling in Vermont?
Spring de-winterizing fills my Vermont calendar fast, and fall storage deadlines do the same later in the year. Two to three weeks out is a safe window most of the season. If a truck is already routed near Burlington or South Burlington, a shorter notice sometimes works, but I would rather you book ahead.
