Charter boat finance
Funding for boats bought to earn, from a single skippered charter yacht to another hull added to an established fleet.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a charter boat?
Yes, and it is assessed very differently from a leisure boat. A charter vessel is funded on hire purchase or lease as a commercial asset, and the underwrite rests on the trading income the boat will generate, the booking history behind it and the MCA coding that permits paying passengers. Used boats are fundable and most fleets grow that way. The point operators underestimate is documentation: coding category, passenger numbers, skipper qualifications and insurance for hire and reward all have to be in place, and a funder will want last season’s figures rather than a projection alone.
Used kit: Yes — most fleet additions are used, and older hulls place where coding is current, survey is clean and the trading figures support the commitment.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
What would a charter boat cost per month?
Asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what the buttons show, with the equivalent APR beside it. Your exact rate depends on the asset, the term, the deposit and the lender.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £628 a month; total amount repayable approximately £30,150, of which £5,150 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
How lenders treat it
Charter is where marine underwriting stops being about the boat and starts being about the business. Funders on this panel want accounts, booking records and evidence that the coding category matches the waters and passenger numbers the operator is selling. They also know the resale market: a coded commercial hull has a narrower buyer pool than the same boat in private hands, so the security is worth less than a leisure valuation suggests. Ownership still has to be evidenced through bills of sale and Part 1 registration rather than a logbook, and any marine mortgage cleared at completion. Berths, mooring contracts and the shore base are separate liabilities and cannot form part of the boat agreement.
Makes and models we fund
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Beneteau Oceanis 46.1 coded | MCA coded charter yacht |
| Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449 | Skippered or bareboat charter yacht |
| Cheetah Marine 9.95m catamaran | Coded passenger day boat |
| Ribcraft 7.8 coded RIB | Charter and passenger RIB |
| Blyth Workcats 8.5m catamaran | Passenger and dive charter catamaran |
| Haines 32 hire cruiser | Broads hire fleet cruiser |
| Aqualine Canterbury hire widebeam | Canal hire fleet boat |
| Cygnus GM 32 | Sea angling charter boat |
| Ocean Master 630 charter boat | Small passenger charter vessel |
| Volvo Penta D4-320 repower | Charter vessel engine replacement |
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Who buys one
Usually an established operator running day charter, corporate hospitality or sail training out of the Solent, Falmouth, Oban or the Yorkshire coast, adding a hull because last season sold out. Sometimes a skipper going out alone after years working for someone else, with a boat identified and bookings already provisionally taken. The trigger is almost always the season calendar — the boat has to be coded, crewed and on the water before Easter to earn in its first year.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
How it is treated for tax
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Charter boat finance questions
Does the boat need to be coded before finance completes?
It needs to be coded before it earns, and funders want a clear path to that. Buying an already coded vessel is simplest. If the boat is coming out of private ownership, the cost and timescale of getting it coded should be built into the plan we put to the lender.
Can I finance a boat for a first charter season with no trading history?
It is harder but not impossible. Without accounts, a funder leans on your own experience, any related trading record, forward bookings and the strength of the asset. A skipper with years of commercial sea time and a berth secured presents very differently from someone starting cold.
How is charter income actually assessed?
On what the boat has earned or can realistically earn against the cost of running it. Lenders look at booking patterns, the length of the season in your waters, crew costs and maintenance. A short northern season with weather cancellations is judged differently from a year-round base.
Can I add a second boat before the first is paid off?
Yes, and that is how most fleets grow. The funder will look at the total exposure across your agreements and the trading the fleet produces. A clean payment record on the first boat is the strongest argument you can bring to the second. Funders also want to know that crew and a berth are in place for the extra hull.
Is the mooring or shore base fundable too?
No. Berthing contracts, office space and shore facilities are separate agreements with separate providers and sit outside the boat finance entirely. Some shore equipment may be fundable in its own right, but the berth itself never is. Build the berth, the licence and the hire and reward insurance into the running budget from the start.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
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See everything we fund in boat and marine finance →
Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 0333 772 4864 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.