The first thing I checked was the drain plug at the transom. Rainwater had settled inside that 31 foot express cruiser and frozen solid over the winter, turning the bilges into two thousand pounds of ice. The owner called us from his home in St. Charles because his wife wanted the vessel off the grass after fifteen years. He bought it cheap back then, but one engine never turned over and the fuel line was cracked clear through. It sat on rotting wooden jack stands behind his house, high above the turf with no trailer under it.
We checked for fuel leaks and drained the remaining fluids before touching a bolt. Getting our rig back there meant steering through a locked gate with three inches of clearance on each side. Once inside the side yard, our crew used heavy hydraulic jacks to lower the fiberglass hull off the rotted blocks, rolled it upright, and slid our trailer directly underneath it. A lot of boat yards try to drag these out on their keels, but that just tears up the grass and ruins your winch wire.
We brought the vessel to a yard where the metal was recycled and the remaining fiberglass went to a disposal facility that accepts large hulls. The owner kept his copy of the signed release of liability, and he had a clean patch of lawn for the first time in a decade. If you have a junk boat sitting anywhere in St. Charles or St. Charles County, call us at 866-994-1769 to set up an estimate.
How our boat removal process really starts
Typically, we see hull weight double after a long Midwest winter. Ice builds up in the floor stringers, and rubber tires freeze flat to the dirt, which makes a boat removal process much harder on equipment. That is why the property owners sign a release of liability before our crew moves anything off the property. It settles the paperwork completely, protecting you from any future claims or municipal tickets once the non-running vessel leaves your driveway.
What this boat removal in St. Charles, MO involved
| Job | Boat removal with salvage and recycling |
|---|---|
| Boat | 1990 express cruiser, about 31 feet |
| Where it sat | On jack stands in a back corner of the yard, no trailer under it |
| Who called | A man who bought it cheap fifteen years ago and never got it running |
| What was wrong | An engine that had not turned over in years and a fuel line cracked through |
| Estimate | Estimate agreed before booking |
| Paperwork | Signed release of liability |
| Area | St. Charles County, MO |
Illustrative case from St. Charles County. It does not describe a particular customer, and the photos are examples.
What callers in St. Charles want to know
Do you handle hurricane-damaged boats?
Yes. We take storm-damaged vessels, sunken hulls, and derelict boats from any waterfront property, dock, or marina. Our crew brings the heavy winches needed to extract cracked hulls safely, and we sort the scrap for proper disposal after the boat removal.
Can you get a boat out of my backyard?
Yes. Our boat removal services cover tight backyards, side lots, and spaces without driveway access. We inspect the path, check the weight, and dismantle the vessel on site if the side clearance is too narrow for a boat trailer to pass through.
Our boat removal service areas in St. Charles County
We pick up boats across St. Charles County, in O’Fallon, West Alton, St. Peters and Wentzville. January temperatures in Missouri turn trapped water into solid ice blocks inside an open cockpit. That extra weight can shatter old jack stands, so getting an unwanted vessel hauled off the property early keeps it from crushing into the mud.
Call 866-994-1769 with the boat’s size, where it sits and whether it has a trailer, and we’ll take it from there in St. Charles.