If you're going to pay it off in a year and a half why are you concerned with the terms of a 5 year loan?

Because bonuses are NOT guarnteed, and if we were not to meet bonuse for a quarter, it would be a bit hard pressed to pay out 500.00 a month for six months, I'm not one to just go out and max out my credit limit just because i can, i don't have 16,000 cash it's somnething that has to be done as not to burden my living,

great words of advice doc! However, the boat companies are counting on the majority of people to do just that. How many of you know someone that has a 40,000 truck and boat to match, both being financed? they are a dime a dozen around these parts. Just go look at the used boats being sold on Ifish and other sites. these guys are in over their heads and trying to sell thier used boats for what a new one costs.........good luck. I'll keep my 1987 Olympic runaboat. it may be old and ugly but it's paid for.

Dr.Rick,

$6,000.00 for the drifter and $20,000.00 for the frozen seat defroster I was using the morning we ran into each other.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

My account is at TwinStar Credit Union.....I just called them....could go up to 10 years on a $20,000 loan.

LMAO,
I thought you were going to knock a hole in the bottom of the drift boat the way you were swinging that english pete.

fd

To only pay cash sounds like a great deal but most working people just dont have that kind of money sitting around . In todays world if you waited till you had the money there may not be any fishing by the time you put it all together.
We bought a Sea Sport 1n 1994 ( it was new ) with a payment of 330.00 a month for 15 years @ 8% and I never regretted for a minute doing it . The final payment was last summer .
You can not put a value on all the good times and good people that would have been missed if we had waited not to mention filling a few freezers over the years with fresh fish.
It took another few years to rig it the way we wanted it with All the goodies including LCDTV for the kids but we don't Smoke and Drink very little so in the long run it was a Very inexpensive form of entertainment that the whole family can enjoy
The kids hated going fishing every weekend but as they got older they have boyfriends and now husbands who fish they look back on all the weekends on the boat and would not trade them for anything
Just a thought

I agree that having a loan for a boat is not a big deal at all. If you are going to have a loan it is important to be buying a boat you will have for a long time and also get the best deal that you can. I personally am different than most people in that I can not stand having a car payment and refuse to but a boat payment I never think twice about. There are some really good deals on boats right now. I bought mine last year for $50,000 less then the MSRP. I paid what the dealer paid for it. Look around and if getting a loan choose carefully. Best rates are to be had by taking out an equity line of credit on your house if you can.

If you use an equity line to buy a boat, pay off the line when you sell it.

If you are buying something on credit, it is just as important to negotiate the interest rate as it is the price. The interest rate can save thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars over the course of the loan depending on size of loan and how many years involved.

I let the sales person know that I needed a 5% interest or no deal on the boat I was looking at after a price was worked out. She came up with a 5.25% through a credit union.
They have sources they work with to make the deal--- it's their job.

In your case where you appear to be looking for a loan yourself, I wouldn't rule out a credit union. Some have a niche in the boating industry.

a friend of mine once gave me $20 the day before we went shrimping (to bring him some shrimp) went we got back, I gave him 1 shrimp he said WTFMan? I said; boat payment, gas, insurance, shrimp pots, line, buoys, bait, luanch fee, beer = 1 shrimp! you do the math

Damn....

Doug asked if anyone knew of a good source for a boat loan.

I didn't see him asking for financial advice on the pros and cons of boat ownership via a bank loan.

Nor did I see him requesting information on the hidden operating costs associated with boat ownership.

Just like so many times on the internet, people don't let the original question get in the way of sharing points of view that most people couldn't care less about.

Bottom line is if you enjoy fishing or just generally being out on the water and can afford the payments, go for it and enjoy yourself.

School employees credit union has boat loans up to 120 months. Check to see if you qualify to join, lots of people do even if they are not a school employee.

A thanks to DrifterWA, Twinstar is willing to do what works for me, unfortunally the boat was sold out from under me because of haveing to wait on my bank which would not come through for me, I will become a member at twinstar and get pre approval, and Doctor Rick, the boat was a bayliner 2459, 228 hrs, full electronics, stored indoors since new, looked like it came off the show room floor, The reason i wanted the payments to be carryed out was i didn't want the big monthly payment knowing the majority goes to interest i could pay it off, worst case senario 3 years, and if for some reason with the down payment, could turn around and sell the boat with minimal loss, what works for some doesn't work for all, but thank you all for your opinion, any body have a Bayliner 2459 for sale?????? Doug

Too bad, Doug. Maybe the next one will be even better!

+1 for sure, and I might even go as far as to question whether it would be wise to borrow against your home for a boat at all (provided you have options, of course). A boat loan is probably pretty close to the same interest rate as a home equity line, and the risk is significantly less.

Miss payments on your boat loan, you lose your boat, which would suck. Miss those same payments on a home equity loan, you lose your boat and your house, which would be catastrophic for most.