Cash for Houseboats and Pontoon Vessels

Pontoons are the biggest single factor. A vessel sitting on aluminium pontoons carries a substantial recyclable metal value on its own, and the pontoons are usually the last part of a houseboat to fail. Steel pontoons are also recoverable, though corrosion and weight change the numbers.

After the hull, the drivetrain and the house systems matter most. Outboards, inboard diesels, generators, inverters, solar arrays, battery banks, water makers, air conditioners, fridges, cooktops and marine electronics all have a resale market. So does the internal fit-out on a well-kept vessel.

When you call, the most useful details are the length, the pontoon material, the engine setup, whether it currently floats and moves under its own power, and where it is moored. Photographs of the pontoons and the engine bay speed the quote up considerably.

A large share of the houseboat calls we take come from owners who have been served a removal notice by a marina, council or waterway authority, or from marinas dealing with an owner who has walked away. Both situations are workable, but they need to be dealt with in the right order.

Tell us early if there are outstanding berth fees, a yard lien, a shared ownership structure or a deceased estate involved. Ownership has to be clean before a vessel can be moved, and we would rather sort that out in the first phone call than discover it with a crane already booked.

Access is the other variable. Some vessels can be craned straight onto a low loader; others have to be moved by water to a suitable ramp or hardstand first. We plan and pay for that either way - it affects our scheduling, not your price.