I just
sold a boat with a note from Key Bank, they were good to
work with in general. They allowed me to defer the loan for several months last year when I was carrying two boat loans.
My
new boat is financed by SunTrust. So far so good, but not much more to report than I send a payment once a month. You'll need to have 700+ FICO score and rates are not nearly as good as a home mortgage.
I disagree with others opinions on
financing a boat. I would never be able to afford a boat this nice with cash. Cruising is an important
counterpoise to my hectic life, and it gets my discretionary income and forces me to be more disciplined in general with my modest salary. But here I am at
anchor in Cape Lookout, NC and I'm the happiest man alive.
The interest is tax deductible. If you make a careful
purchase, you'll have a valuable asset after some years for the
price some spend on restaurants, booze or drugs. Next to my house, this is definitely my best investment.
Couple other tips on getting a boat loan these days: you need to show a bunch of liquidity, good credit, low balances on credit cards. They will not finance boats that are too old, might be specific to model though. You'll need a
survey appraisal. In general, it is much harder to get a boat loan these days. When I got my other one in 2005 they threw the
money at me; I was really astonished at how easy it was.
Good luck-
Chase