Boat Finance & Jet Ski Loans

A boat loan is usually a secured consumer loan, so two sets of numbers get assessed: yours, and the vessel's. Boats are not cars, and lenders treat them differently. A general asset lender will knock back a hull that a marine specialist would fund the same week.

Age at the end of the term. This is the one that catches people out. Lenders rarely ask how old the boat is today. They ask how old it will be when the final repayment is made. A twelve-year-old hull on a seven-year term is a nineteen-year-old hull at the end, and that is where some lenders stop. Shortening the term can bring a lender back into play, which is why the term is worth discussing before the application rather than after a decline.

Hull type and material. Trailerable fibreglass and plate aluminium boats are the easiest to place, and jet skis are treated much the same way on smaller numbers. Flybridge cruisers, larger sailing yachts, timber hulls, home-built or heavily modified boats and anything kept permanently on a mooring are harder work, because resale is less predictable and the lender has to think about recovery.

The hull identification number. Boats built or imported for Australia should carry a HIN, usually stamped on the transom. Lenders use it the way they use a VIN on a car: it identifies the asset on the security register. If the boat has no HIN, or the HIN does not match the paperwork, expect questions before anything settles.

Specialist or generalist. Marine specialists understand hull age and resale in a way a generalist does not, and they will often go further back on age. For a near-new trailer boat a generalist is usually faster and simpler. Having both on our panel means the boat picks the lender, rather than one bank's rulebook deciding what you are allowed to buy.

How you buy changes the paperwork, the timeline and sometimes the lender itself.

• Dealer purchase. The simplest path. A tax invoice, the dealer's bank details and a delivery date are usually all the lender needs from the seller's side.
• Private sale. Very common with boats and a well-worn path, but there is more to check. The lender wants evidence the seller actually owns the vessel, a PPSR search so there is no finance owing on the hull, the motor or the trailer, and the funds paid into the seller's own account rather than a third party's. We do that legwork as part of the job. Some lenders will not fund private sales at all and others treat them differently, so tell us which way you are buying before we approach anyone.
• Buying sight unseen or from another part of the country. Plenty of boats are bought off photos and a video call, then trucked or skippered home. Lenders will usually fund it, but they want the asset verified independently, and transport is generally a cost you carry rather than something rolled into the loan. Build delivery into your budget from the start.

One request either way: do not pay a deposit you cannot get back, and do not lock in a settlement date, until you have an approval in writing. Sellers push for speed. An approval in writing is what makes speed safe.

Marine survey. On trailer boats and jet skis a survey is rarely asked for. Once a vessel gets larger or older, or the loan amount climbs, a lender may want a report from an accredited marine surveyor before it will settle. A survey is a real inspection: hull condition, moisture readings, engine hours, safety gear, sea trial. It costs money and it takes time to book, and it is the single most common reason a bigger boat deal runs long. It also protects you, because a surveyor finds what a weekend walk-around does not.

Valuation. Lenders check the price against market data, and boats are harder to value than cars because condition and fit-out vary so much. If you are paying well above what the data says, the lender may lend against its own figure instead of your contract price and you cover the gap in cash. If you are paying well below, expect a question about why.

Insurance. Comprehensive marine insurance is a settlement condition with most lenders, and the policy usually has to be in force before any money moves. Check whether it is agreed value or market value, check that the trailer is covered, and check that the way you intend to use the boat is covered. Offshore use, racing, towing watersports and any charter work are often excluded or priced separately.

The trailer. On a trailer boat the hull, the motor and the trailer are normally financed together as one asset, which is how most buyers want it. Worth knowing that they carry separate identifiers and the trailer can have its own finance history, so the PPSR search needs to cover all three, not just the hull.

Registration and licensing. The rules are not the same everywhere in Australia. Depending on where the boat will be kept and the size of the motor, you may need a recreational marine licence, the vessel registered, and the trailer registered separately. None of that is finance, but all of it affects your handover date, so sort it alongside the loan rather than afterwards.

What usually goes in the loan. The boat, the motor and the trailer. Often the electronics fitted at the point of sale, such as sounders and chartplotters, plus safety gear, covers and dealer delivery, where they appear on the same invoice.

What usually does not. Transport from the other side of the country, mooring, berthing or hardstand fees, annual insurance premiums with some lenders, and upgrades you buy later from somewhere else. If you want something included, get it onto the one invoice before the loan is written, because adding it afterwards means a fresh application.

A lot of boat buyers run their own business, so payslips are thin on the ground and last year's tax return does not tell the real story. Low doc options exist for exactly that. Depending on the lender it can mean BAS, business bank statements or an accountant's letter instead of full financials, and the trade-off is usually a tighter loan-to-value or different pricing. Our pages on low doc finance for ABN holders and loans for self-employed borrowers cover how that is assessed, or you can skip the reading and just tell us your situation in the enquiry.

Two boundaries worth flagging. This page is about recreational boats. If the vessel will earn its keep through charter, hire, commercial fishing or guided tours, it is a commercial asset: assessed on the business, with stricter survey and insurance requirements, and it belongs on our commercial lending path. Tell us at the enquiry, not after an application is lodged.

And if you are weighing up buying in your own name against a company or a trust, that is a question for your accountant. We arrange finance. We do not give tax advice.

Have these ready for when we come back with your options. We fill in your income, expenses and debts from them, so there is far less for you to type.

• Driver licence. A photo of the front and the back.
• Your two most recent payslips. Or your latest tax return, BAS or business bank statements if you are self-employed.
• 90 days of bank statements. For every account you hold, including savings and credit cards.
• Details of the boat. Make, model, year, engine hours and the hull number, plus the dealer invoice or the private seller's details.

Only the licence is strictly needed to get started. Sending the rest in one go is simply the fastest route to a real answer instead of an estimate.