Financial institutions for Canadians?

[roryclaire101]

We can't find a Canadian institution to get finance from - any suggestions?
My wife and I are looking to buy a catamaran. But as Canadians, we can't seem to find a financial institution to help us (other than the Moorings who have now joined forces with LH Finance to assist Canadians)
Any advice would be much appreciated.

[VanIslandGuy]

Go to the big boat shows when you can as there is often financiers working the shows. Also any decent brokerage should be able to help you out with recommendations.

Unless you have a house paid off or significant collateral, Canadian banks tend to be very risk averse. A power-plan credit line against the equity in your home may be your best bet.

[roryclaire101]

Thanks for the advise.
We did go to the boat show">Miami boat show and chatted to LH finance there - but, like I mentioned, they are only assisting Canadians who put a brand new Leopard into the Moorings...we did that math..why would anyone want to do that?

We are very new to this... are there many boat shows in Canada? If so, when are they and where?

Thanks

[VanIslandGuy]

Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria all have good sized boat shows. There is one this weekend in Nanaimo as well.

If you're new to this, strongly suggest getting your sail training done, buy your personal gear, (life jackets, etc) before even considering looking at a boat with a six figure price tag. Where do you reside?

[roryclaire101]

Thanks so much!
We live in central Alberta, but are looking to move to Vancouver island - that process has already begun as I was out there last year for a few months with the new company I will be working for. Naniamo actually - now that I know there is a boat show there this weekend, I wish I was there now!
We would be looking at a Catamaran that is under $300,000.00 for now and do as much sailing around the islands there until we can afford a newer boat, and feel more comfortable sailing alone. We have sailed in the Caribbean on a friends boat, but we are nowhere near ready to be out on our own yet. We have looked into doing our sail training this summer out on the island - just waiting for a few more couples to join the group.

[Mirage35]

A few thoughts:

If you’re moving to Nanaimo you’ll probably have chances to do more sailing even before you buy a boat - find them and take them!

As noted Canadian banks are pretty risk averse. But your budget number also looks high to me: you sound like you’re looking for a starter boat to build experience - it should be possible to find one for well under $ 300k.

You’ll get more useful information at Canadian boat shows - at least there you’re the target market.

(And just out of curiosity - where in central Alberta? I grew up in Lacombe.)

[roryclaire101]

You are absolutely right - we have found a Cat for sale out there for less than $3000,000.00. That would be the max we would spend on our first boat - thanks for the advise though! And we will definitely take our time finding the right starter boat. I'm a diesel Mechanic, so a little "fixer upper" doesn't scare us at all.
We are east of Olds - very close to your old stomping grounds for sure!
Where are you located?
We are heading out to the island in a few weeks - once the Coquihalla is in better shape - just to check in with the new company, on our holiday trailer that I live in while there, and to check out the boat we are interested in.
Perhaps we can stop by and meet you.

[VanIslandGuy]

We love catamarans and have chartered them numerous times down south. Be advised though that they aren't very easy to find moorage for here on Vancouver Island. Even getting a slip for a 40'+ monohull can be challenging.

Before buying anything you should really charter on your own several boats out here, as well as try to join a yachtclub as a social member to get some sailing experience. Diesel maintenance knowledge is great, however right now experience wise you are like a 16 year old shopping for their first car, and looking at Porsches. What looks right today may look a lot different with some time at the helm as just a family and nobody with you to help out. Once you're out on the island feel free to PM me if you want to get out sailing. We always welcome eager crew.

[astokel]

Have you got your zeros right? 3 million or 300 thousand?

I'm a Canadian in Toronto and the banks are falling all over themselves to lend me money. Mind you, I don't owe any and do own property. Is there something we should know? Have you checked your credit rating?

There may be a reason the banks won't lend you money. We Canadians did avoid the sub-prime crisis by being a bit more careful.

[roryclaire101]

Thanks for the info VanIslandGuy. We will definitely like to do a bit more sailing before we purchase. We have been looking for about 3 years now, and have done a little sailing in the Caribbean, but nothing that makes us know what we are doing! lol Heading to the island in the summer for a few weeks and will contact you. We really want to meet more sailors and hear their stories. thank so much

Too many 0000000's lol sorry about that astokel, my fingers were a little trigger happy there I think.
We haven't even applied for loans - all we have done is go into some banks and asked if they offer loans for boats, and they say no. Without even looking at our credit score or history.
We own our own home and are self employed - we will keep looking.

thanks again for the info

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by roryclaire101

Thanks so much!
We live in central Alberta, but are looking to move to Vancouver island - that process has already begun as I was out there last year for a few months with the new company I will be working for. Naniamo actually - now that I know there is a boat show there this weekend, I wish I was there now!
We would be looking at a Catamaran that is under $300,000.00 for now and do as much sailing around the islands there until we can afford a newer boat, and feel more comfortable sailing alone. We have sailed in the Caribbean on a friends boat, but we are nowhere near ready to be out on our own yet. We have looked into doing our sail training this summer out on the island - just waiting for a few more couples to join the group.

Give Michael a call; he’s the best broker we’ve ever worked with, and I have no commercial interest - we bought our trimaran from him in Naniamo and had it shipped here to Maryland. Tell him Lee said hi!

Mike Carkeek
YACHT SALES WEST
9835 Seaport Place, Port Sidney Marina, Sidney, BC
Office 250.656.6644 | Mobile: 250.588.6047
E | mike@yachtsaleswest.com W| www.yachtsaleswest.com

[TrentePieds]

We had a somewhat similar thread a coupla weeks ago: Somewhat similar circumstances, identical “initial” budget. The OP in that thread seems to have thought our advice was sensible. Hope you will too :-)

Both Anglais and VIG are worth listening too. Let me throw some more stuff into the mix. If you are in Nanaimo, you'll be half an hour's drive from Ladysmith, VIG's stomping ground, as far as I can divine. Ladysmith is also my homeport. Join the Ladysmith Maritime Society. LMS operates the Ladysmith Community Marina. That will get your foot in the door, and buying a round of drinks in the club house is likely to generate several invitations to “come aboard” From there, it won't be long before some informal teaching happens :-). There are probably similar organizations in Nanaimo, though I'm not familiar with them. Buying an expensive boat right off the bat is NOT, IMO, the best way to get started.

You might like to dig out the thread I referred to above. Stuff about financing boats.
In the Salish Sea you do NOT need a 300K catamaran, and, as a professional sailing instructor in a former life, I hold the opinion that the care and feeding of such a beast would be a severe impediment to learning what you have to learn if you intend in the future, whether it be sooner or later, to run away to sea.

I would imagine that you have real estate on the prairies. And that, if you are moving to The Island permanently, you will be trading in your prairie estate for an island estate, for you are no doubt already aware that few if any marinas will permit their moorage customers to “live aboard”. My moorage contract certainly forbids doing so most specifically! So a “floating condo” will do you no good in that respect. I probably don't need to tell you that anywhere from Campbell River south to Victoria the price of real estate is much what it is in Vancouver – i.e. outta sight. But remember that HERE, in Beastly Columbia, real estate values will continue to rise. Prices of used boats will continue to DROP – seriously – so don't make the mistake of hocking your real estate, let alone selling it, for the sake of buying a 300K boat that here, in the Salish Sea, will have no greater utility than does a $30K mono. No man should ever, IMO, pay more for a boat than he can walk away from, still with a smile on this face.

So now, if you are interested, we can direct the conversation into a contemplation of what is required for a happy cruising life in the Salish Sea :-)

All the best

TP

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by VanIslandGuy

We love catamarans and have chartered them numerous times down south. Be advised though that they aren't very easy to find moorage for here on Vancouver Island. Even getting a slip for a 40'+ monohull can be challenging.

Before buying anything you should really charter on your own several boats out here, as well as try to join a yachtclub as a social member to get some sailing experience. Diesel maintenance knowledge is great, however right now experience wise you are like a 16 year old shopping for their first car, and looking at Porsches. What looks right today may look a lot different with some time at the helm as just a family and nobody with you to help out. Once you're out on the island feel free to PM me if you want to get out sailing. We always welcome eager crew.

I couldn't agree with this more. There is a reason you don't see a lot of catamarans at high latitudes like Vancouver. Most just weren't designed for high latitude sailing. The ones that were designed for it, require some experience.

As to a fixer upper not scaring you off. I really encourage you to research what you are getting into. I thought the same before I bought our boat. After "fixing it up" I will NEVER fix up another boat. Don't underestimate how long things will take you (300X longer than initially estimated is usually a good number) Frankly its just not worth it.

Anyway, have fun and I hope you find what you are looking for.

P.S. We are from Edmonton but have been cruising full time for the last 2 years.

[Greg Mason]

We had CIBC put a marine mortgage on your vessel after returning from sailing. You may want to mention that you are not leaving the country.

[Mike OReilly]

We are in different financial brackets roryclaire101 (down by a zero), but I’ve had no trouble financing two boats via my local credit union. In both cases boats were used as collateral.

Issue might be self-employment. I too am self-employed. Large financial institutions seem to be challenged by this concept. Doesn’t always fit easily in their system’s simple check boxes. But like I say, I found my local CU to be easy to deal with.