Boat donations
Two good days a year isn’t worth twelve months of slip fees.
A boat you’ve stopped using is the most expensive thing in the yard.
Slip or storage, insurance, bottom paint, winterizing, a battery and impeller that need replacing before you can even sell it. The market for used boats is slow and seasonal, and brokers take their cut of a number that keeps drifting downward. Every season you wait, the survey gets worse and the price gets softer.
Donating settles it in one conversation. We handle transport — trailer, haul-out and yard coordination if she’s in the water — at our cost, and we deal with the marina or storage facility directly so the billing stops. Paperwork for your deduction follows afterward.
We take center consoles, runabouts and bowriders, cruisers, sailboats, pontoons, personal watercraft and trailers on their own. A sound, well-kept boat is one of the most valuable donations we receive, and it’s put to work where the need is furthest from help: funding medical assistance for families facing bills they cannot absorb, and supporting partner organizations doing relief work in places where a check goes considerably further than it does here.
We haul
Transport and haul‑out at our cost.
48 hrs
Typical time to hear back from us.
Marina
We deal with the yard so you don’t.
Tell us about your boat
One short form. A real person from our team replies within two business days — no obligation, no pressure.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (888) 228‑7320
Four steps, and we do three of them
Trailered boats move quickly. In-water boats depend on the yard’s schedule.
1
You tell us about it
Type, length, year, engine hours if you know them, and whether she’s on a trailer or in the water. Recent survey helps but isn’t required.
2
We confirm and plan transport
Within two business days. In-water boats need a haul-out slot, so we coordinate with the yard before committing to a date.
3
We collect her
Trailered boats go on a truck. In-water boats are hauled, blocked and moved. You don’t need to be there for either.
4
Your paperwork arrives
A receipt at collection, then the tax form once the boat is sold or placed.
Questions people ask us about boats
What condition does she need to be in?
Sound and sellable. A boat that runs, or one with a tired engine but a solid hull, is worth talking about. What we generally can’t take is a hull with structural damage, a saturated core, or a vessel that has been sitting neglected long enough that the cost of moving and disposing of her exceeds anything she could return. We’ll tell you honestly and quickly which side of that line you’re on.
She’s in a slip and the fees keep coming. Can you handle the marina?
Yes, and this is the most common reason people call us. Give us the marina and your account details and we coordinate the haul-out and release directly, so billing stops as soon as the yard can fit us in.
Do you take the trailer too?
Yes, and we prefer it — a boat and trailer together are far easier to move and worth more as a pair. We also take trailers on their own if you’ve already sold or scrapped the boat.
What about documentation and registration?
Both are workable. Coast Guard documented vessels transfer differently than state-registered boats, and rules vary by state. Tell us which you have and what paperwork exists, and our team will walk you through anything missing.
Should I strip the electronics and gear first?
Take anything personal, but leaving electronics, safety gear, ground tackle and canvas with the boat is genuinely better — a complete boat is worth meaningfully more than a stripped one, which means a larger deduction for you and more funding at the other end.
What can I deduct?
For most boats it’s the sale price, which we send you in writing. Where a vessel is placed directly into service rather than sold, fair market value may apply. Boats very commonly clear $5,000, and above that the IRS requires a qualified independent appraisal arranged and paid for by the donor — a recent marine survey is not the same thing, so plan for both.
More on deductions, paperwork and timing — all donor FAQs
Boats with Causes
Our dedicated marine site goes deeper — documented versus registered vessels, what surveyors look for, haul-out logistics, and how sale proceeds are put to work. Boat donations, trailer to title
You don’t need it to donate. The form on this page starts everything, and our team handles it from there.
Ready to stop paying for a boat you don’t use?
Tell us what you have and where she sits. There is no obligation, and we handle the transport.