Day boat finance
Funding for trailed day boats, bowriders and small launches used for coastal fishing, watersports and unhurried afternoons out on the water with the family.
- FCA regulatedAppointed Representative, FRN 1031964
- 60+ lendersWhole-of-market panel, not one bank
- 5.0 from 19 Google reviews
- No credit checkEnquiring leaves no mark on your file
Yes. Day boats are funded as marine assets, generally on hire purchase or an unsecured marine loan depending on the size of the craft, and most are bought with the engine and trailer as one package. Used boats are readily fundable and dominate the small boat market. What surprises buyers is how thin the paperwork is at this end: private sales often come with nothing more than a handwritten receipt, and a funder needs a proper bill of sale, the hull identification number and the outboard serial number before it can identify what it is lending against.
Who finances this
Typically a family buying a first boat to tow to Whitby, Anglesey or the West Coast, or a keen sea angler moving up from a dinghy to something with a cuddy and a chart plotter. The trigger is often a summer spent hiring, or a second-hand boat coming up locally at the end of a season. Buyers are usually funding the whole package at once and want the boat, engine and trailer covered on a single agreement.
How lenders see it
Small craft are a volume business for a handful of marine funders and are invisible to everyone else, so the placement question is which of those few has appetite for the size and age in front of us. Below a certain value a full survey may not be demanded, but the funder will still want the hull identification number, engine serial and trailer details recorded, because outboards are stolen and reappear at this end of the market more than anywhere else in boating. Nearly every purchase is a private individual buying for leisure, so the agreement is likely to be regulated. A launching slot, club membership or dry stack space is a separate contract and cannot be funded as part of the boat.
Buying used
Yes, second-hand is the norm and hulls of fifteen years or more are commonly funded where the outboard is serviceable and properly identified.
Also in boat and marine finance
See everything we fund in boat and marine finance →
Machines we have funded
| Orkney Longliner 16 | Traditional GRP day fishing boat |
|---|---|
| Orkney Pilot House 20 | Cabin day boat for coastal use |
| Quicksilver Activ 555 Open | Open sports day boat |
| Warrior 165 | British-built sea angling day boat |
| Warrior 175 | Fast fishing and day boat |
| Bayliner VR5 bowrider | Family bowrider day boat |
| Jeanneau Cap Camarat 6.5 | Outboard powered day cruiser |
| Honda Marine BF100 outboard | Four-stroke outboard for day boats |
| Mercury F115 outboard | Outboard engine and controls package |
| Indespension roller trailer | Braked road trailer for launching |
Is there a minimum size of boat lenders will fund?
In practice there is a floor, though it is set by value rather than length. Very small craft can fall below what a marine funder will write an agreement on, in which case a different funding route is usually the answer. Tell us the boat, engine and trailer together and we will know quickly.
I am buying privately with only a receipt. Is that a problem?
It slows things down but is usually workable. We prepare a proper bill of sale, record the hull identification number and engine serial, and check the seller genuinely owns the boat. A handwritten receipt on its own does not give a funder enough to take security against.
Can I add a new outboard to an older hull on finance?
Yes, that is a common request. The engine is often worth more than the boat at this end, so it can be funded in its own right and matched to the hull on the agreement. We record both so the package is properly documented from the start.
Does the boat need to be registered?
Not legally for private use on most waters, but a Small Ships Register entry is inexpensive and gives the funder a reference point. Some inland navigations require their own licence, and that is separate from both the finance and any registration. Check with the club or harbour authority before you buy rather than after.
Can I use the boat for a bit of paid angling charter?
Only with the right coding and the right agreement. Taking paying passengers moves the boat into commercial use, which needs MCA coding and changes the underwrite to a trading income assessment. Tell us upfront, because retro-fitting commercial use onto a leisure agreement causes problems. Coding also brings survey and equipment requirements the boat may not currently meet.
Tell us what you need
About a minute of plain questions, and no documents to dig out.
Prime is established and profitable with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining, the asset carries part of the risk, so finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Illustrative only, not a quote, a flat rate is not an APR, so the APR on a given agreement will be higher. VAT and fees excluded.
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Conor reads every enquiry himself. We will call you within 24 business hours, and it will be the person who actually arranges the finance, not a call centre, and not a form that disappears.
A real person on your side
One adviser from your first enquiry to the money in your account. No call centres.
Your adviser
Conor HullMon to Fri, 9am–6pm
5.0 from 19 Google reviews
Thinking about day boat finance?
A few questions, and we will tell you what the panel can do. No obligation, and no call centres.
