Cruising Outpost

I'm trying to locate a lender for a 1982 Morgan 462. Every lender and broker I contact tells me they don't have loans for boats 30 years old or older. It's really hard to live your dream when you need a small ($35,000) loan to complete your cruising boat purchase! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Fair winds,
The Davidson Family
S/V Dragonfly

Check on the SSCA website I believe there is someone there that possible can help you.

Thanks. Who? I perused the SSCA site (again ... GREAT resource) and didn't see anything particularly helpful.

I have a loan with Suntrust Bank. I had no problems dealing with them and they were very fast and friendly. Suntrust.com. I don't think they have a restriction but not 100% sure. My boat was 25 years old but I was approved for a 1978 Morgan Out-Island 41 that fell through due to serious issues during the survey. That was about 3 years ago, hopefully they haven't changed. Good luck!

Unfortunately things have changed a lot. The other hurdle, believe or not, is the size of your loan. If you wanted to borrow 100k after putting 60k-70k down on a boat of that vintage you would have a better chance.

If your credit score is a decent amount north of 700 and you don’t mind the rate, there are a few companies that will sign you up. It won’t be pretty though.

try a credit union

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Dragonfly,I hope you dont give up on your dream because of the banksters.We decided to save and pay cash for a boat to liveaboard.It wont be a Gemini or Lagoon cat BUT we will own her and have funds to upgrade and cruise instead of worrying about a crazy payment.We are constantly trying to downsize and simplify to achieve our goals.Sometimes we dont meet our goal completely and we reset to a new one.In the end it will be worth it when your soaking up sea air and salt spray!

Back in the day....you know, when dirt was new. Those of us actively cruising ranged on 25 to 35 footers. Sometomes bigger is not better, espesscially when you are looking at boat loans. If you are looking at a newish boat with a 100k mortagae, the loans are out there. Older, as in over say, 5 yrs and back. The older the boat is, the harder it is to find a lender. Navy federral was more than happy to give me a personal loan. But turned down evwn the 15k I wanted dor the 32 footer we looked at. The loan officer said that despite pristine credit, boat loans for older voat and loans well under 100k are not proftiable.

If you have equity in your home try a second mortage or go smaller and pay cash. You never know how little you need until you have to try it.

Good luck.
JR

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~~ Just a little ditty about Jack n Diane, two American kids traveling in the heartland. ~~

There's an old saying that if you can't afford to buy an old boat in cash, you can't afford the loan payments plus the maintenance and upgrades it's going to need for you to use it.

That's not true for a boat that's been restored, but if you're looking at taking a loan for a fixer-upper, it's worth considering.

Don't know what your situation is, so it might make good sense to be looking for a loan, but there's a kernel of truth to the saying. Don't bite off more than you'll be happy chewing.

This. I just went through this myself. Most banks refused altogether due to the age of my boat ('79.) The ones that WOULD consider 30+ wouldn't finance anything less than 100k. Ultimately, I went through Navy Federal. They are fantastic, and they don't care how old the boat is or what it's made of. If they can assign a value, they'll lend on it. They've been really great to deal with, and I've since moved all my accounts to them as well. Best of luck.

- H3

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