Navigating Boat Financing and Where to Buy

[RomanManning]

Hi All,

This is my first time using CruisersForum, so bear with me on this. My Fiancé and I will be getting married on Thanksgiving of 2022 in Turks & Caicos. Our plan is to have our sailboat ready to set sail from there, heading south for at least one season, getting to Aruba/Bonaire by Hurricane season.

That being said, here is where we would like some advice and guidance. We have a general idea of budget and type of boat. We plan on being somewhere in the range of 100k-150k for a boat. We would like to finance the boat. I have read many different articles on the process, but would like any recommendations you may have on financing. We have the money saved for a down payment, but I am curious as to how banks view paying for the boat payments through our remote jobs? Is it realistic to think that we can find reliable internet along the way, so that we may work about 20 hours a week each? Also, in order to get the boat to Turks by Thanksgiving, when would you recommend starting the buying process? We plan on buying in Southeast US, Bahamas, or Caribbean. Are there any advantages for where to buy, along with ease of transaction?

I know this is a relatively uneducated post and there are plenty of resources out there. Needless to say, we have our homework cut out for us. We have some experience, previously owning and sailing a Catalina 250 along the Southern California coast. We are taking US sailing courses now and are doing everything we can to learn before we embark on this adventure. Any help to make this dream a reality is greatly appreciated. If you have any contacts or resources to guide us on this journey, that would be great.

Cheers,
Roman