Dead car on Peaks Island, Maine? How the car ferry works

Published 24 September 2026

Casco Bay Lines runs the car ferry to Peaks Island, the Machigonne II, and its rules shape what you can do with a car that will not start on the island. Its rate pages cover tickets, lane times, commercial vehicles and what cannot come aboard, but they do not spell out whether a tow truck or a car that cannot drive can ride.

So we do not promise island tows. As a tow truck service around Portland, we can quote the mainland side and talk through the options with you. This guide covers which islands are part of Portland, how the Peaks ferry works for a car, what the ferry will not carry, how the down-bay car ferry works, and what to ask us.

The City names five: Peaks, Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Cliff and Cushing. Its 2025 Emergency Operations Plan lists them as the islands that receive City services and are part of City Council District 1. Long Island is not one of them; it became the separate Town of Long Island on July 1, 1993.

The same plan names Casco Bay Lines as the ferry link to the islands and calls it critical for evacuation and supply delivery. For cars there are two boats: the Machigonne II to Peaks, and the Maquoit II to the islands down the bay.

First come, first served, for anything without commercial plates. Casco Bay Lines' Peaks Island car ferry page says non-commercial vehicle tickets are first-come, first-served, every Peaks vehicle ticket is a round trip, and your vehicle must be in line in the car ferry staging lane at least 15 minutes before departure.

Fares go by total length, counting trailers, bike racks and anything else that sticks out. A vehicle wider than 8 feet 6 inches pays a 50% surcharge, and tickets for vehicles over 20 feet long are sold at the freight window in the freight shed. The Casco Bay Island Transit District board was weighing a Peaks vehicle reservation system in February 2025, but the rates page, last updated July 22, 2026, still says first-come, first-served, so check it before you plan a crossing.

Work out what is wrong first, because the ferry rules decide which fixes are practical. A car that can be made to run, with a jump for instance, rides back like any other car, through the staging lane.

An empty tank is harder than it sounds. Casco Bay Lines says U.S. Coast Guard regulations bar containers holding gasoline of any kind on its scheduled runs, down to the fuel in a lawn mower or chainsaw, so a gas can cannot come over on a scheduled boat. The ferry also will not carry hazardous materials or dangerous goods unless special charter arrangements are made in advance, so check with Casco Bay Lines before bringing parts or fluids over.

A car that cannot drive aboard is the case the rate pages leave open, so ask Casco Bay Lines directly whether it will carry a disabled vehicle or a tow truck, and on what terms. For anything with commercial plates, the Peaks rules are different:

• Freight ticket: any vehicle with commercial plates is ticketed through the freight system, priced by registered gross vehicle weight.
• Reservations: taken at the CBITD office between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and made at least 24 hours before the run.
• Weekends: one commercial vehicle per run, from the Friday 3:15 p.m. run through the last Sunday car ferry.
• Arrival: a reserved commercial vehicle must be at the terminal at least 30 minutes before departure.

By reservation only. The Maquoit II carries cars and light pickup trucks to Great Diamond, Long, Chebeague and Cliff islands, and Casco Bay Lines says the service is not regularly scheduled: reservations are required and are taken first come, first served.

The limits are strict. A vehicle can weigh no more than 5,500 pounds including cargo, can be no taller than 6 feet 6 inches, and cannot carry anything on the roof. Vehicles leaving Portland must be at the terminal at least 90 minutes before departure, charges are one-way, and no vehicle can make a same-day round trip. Those limits belong to the Maquoit II, so do not assume they apply to the Peaks boat; the down-bay car ferry page has the details.

Quote the mainland tow and help you plan. Once the car is back in Portland, whether it made it aboard under its own power or Casco Bay Lines agreed to carry it, we can take it from the terminal to your driveway or a repair shop, and we quote that total on the call. Our towing services page lists what we tow and how. What we will not do is promise an island tow the ferry rules have not confirmed.

When you call, have these ready:

• What is wrong: no start, no fuel, a flat or a collision.
• What Casco Bay Lines said about carrying the car or a truck, and on which run.
• The car: year, make and model, plus its length and width, since the Peaks ferry prices by length and surcharges wide vehicles.
• Where it should go on the mainland: home, a shop or a dealer.