Recycling Your Derelict Boat in the Pacific Northwest

Recycling a fiberglass boat costs around $6,000—and salvaged winches, engines, and lead keels are redirected from the landfill into further use.

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Don’t bite off more than you can chew. After the “delicate” salvage/recycle work is done machinery is brought in for some heavy lifting. (Photo/ Gonzo Boat Recycling)

“Every once in a while people say we are crushing dreams,” explains Frank Gonzales of Gonzo Boat Recycling, “but we aren’t trying to crush every boat. We are in this business to make boats last longer—sometimes that means taking them apart.”

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Roxanne has sailed 11,000+ blue water miles since 2018 on six boats ranging in personality from dirtbag cozy to fancy-cheese-in-the-fridge. Her favorite voyages are the alchemical ones that transform a group of strangers into friends who embrace the trials and joys of sea together. She races with a Young 88 team in Aotearoa, New Zealand to keep her hands familiar with the lines and salt on her shoes. Winning is the occasional perk.

5 COMMENTS

  1. On Long Island, NY (Bohemia) there is a business called Marine Consignment of Long Island. They are a great resource for buying or selling salvaged or surplus marine parts. They also have an eBay store where they tend to list the better quality, higher value stuff.

  2. There is another option in the Pacific Northwest. The Sailboat Wrecking Yard in Lynden, WA has been in business for much longer than Gonzo’s serving as a walk in used parts place & recycling lead keels into fishing weights. Check out his website. He is only open limited hours & he doesn’t ship parts. I keep worrying he is going to close but not yet… I think he get’s all the boat’s he recycles (or repairs & sells) from marina’s and the DNR. Gonzo’s serves a different source for boats but being able to walk in & peruse the parts is nice.

  3. In the NYC area is King Marine, Verplanck, NY. This is an old fashioned yard with about 300 boats being cycled through and many more parts. No online presence and phone calls are not always productive. You go, tell them what you want, if they have something, they send you out into the yard. No posted prices.