Boat Loan Calculator

Amount financed = boat price − down payment; payment = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) with n = term in years × 12

P

Amount financed: the boat price minus the down payment

r

Monthly interest rate: the annual rate divided by twelve

n

Number of payments: the term in years multiplied by twelve

A

The level monthly payment, rounded to the cent

%

Down payment as a share of the price — what lenders check against their minimum

Use it to find out what your deposit actually buys, and then to see what the extra years cost. The down payment percentage is the number the lender will look at first: on a boat, twenty percent is the usual floor, and the figure here tells you whether you are at it, above it, or short of it. Then work the term. A boat loan is the clearest case in this whole category for asking what a longer term is really for — the payment falls by nearly three fifths going from five years to twenty, while the interest more than quadruples, so the low payment is buying you a much smaller amount of breathing room than it looks like. If you are deciding how much boat to buy rather than how to pay for it, run the price you are considering and check that the payment still leaves room for mooring, insurance, fuel and maintenance, which are not in this calculator and are not small.

1. A 60,000 boat, 12,000 down, 8% over fifteen years

   1. Amount financed: 60,000 − 12,000 = 48,000
   2. Down payment share: 12,000 ÷ 60,000 = 20% — exactly the usual minimum
   3. Term in months: 15 × 12 = 180
   4. Monthly rate: 8 ÷ 12 = 0.666667% a month, which is 0.00666667 as a decimal
   5. Payment: 48,000 × 0.00666667 × 1.00666667^180 ÷ (1.00666667^180 − 1) = 458.71
   6. Total interest: 82,568.99 repaid − 48,000 borrowed = 34,568.99

   This is the page's default and the loan behind the reference chart below. Fifteen years is a normal boat term — longer than any car loan — and the interest over it comes to about seventy percent of the amount borrowed.

2. The same boat and deposit over twenty years

   1. The amount financed is unchanged: 60,000 − 12,000 = 48,000
   2. Term in months: 20 × 12 = 240
   3. Payment: 48,000 × 0.00666667 × 1.00666667^240 ÷ (1.00666667^240 − 1) = 401.49
   4. Total interest: 96,358.35 − 48,000 = 48,358.35
   5. Extra interest against the fifteen year loan: 48,358.35 − 34,568.99 = 13,789.36, for 57.22 a month less

   The interest is now larger than the amount borrowed — 48,358.35 against 48,000 — and larger than the 60,000 the boat cost before the deposit. Five more years bought 57.22 a month and cost 13,789.36, which is the trade this page is built to show.

3. A 30,000 used boat, 6,000 down, 9% over ten years

   1. Amount financed: 30,000 − 6,000 = 24,000
   2. Term in months: 10 × 12 = 120
   3. Monthly rate: 9 ÷ 12 = 0.75% a month, which is 0.0075 as a decimal
   4. Payment: 24,000 × 0.0075 × 1.0075^120 ÷ (1.0075^120 − 1) = 304.02
   5. Total interest: 36,482.71 − 24,000 = 12,482.71, which is about half the amount borrowed rather than the seventy percent of the fifteen year loan above

   A smaller, older boat on a shorter term: a higher rate but far less interest in total, because the term is what drives the total. Compare the interest against the amount borrowed here — 52% — with the 72% on the fifteen year loan above.

There is no trade-in field, and that is a deliberate omission rather than an oversight: cars have published trade-in values and a used boat has no equivalent standard allowance, so any figure the page invented would be worse than leaving the field out. Sell the old boat first and put the proceeds into the down payment here. Boat financing is also far less standardised than car or mortgage lending: rates are higher, terms and minimum deposits vary by lender and by whether the boat is new or used, and some lenders price on the boat's age and will not go past a certain number of years from the model year. Sales tax, use tax and in some places a luxury tax are all excluded — they differ by state and by country, and a few jurisdictions tax boats differently from cars. Also excluded: registration and title, insurance, mooring or storage, winterising, maintenance and fuel, none of which are monthly loan payments and all of which are real running costs a boat owner pays every year. Finally, the term is accepted in whole years only, the rate is assumed fixed for the whole term at monthly compounding, and the amounts carry no currency symbol — they are right in whatever currency you typed them in and meaningless in any other.

Why does this boat loan calculator ask for the term in years?

Because that is how a boat loan is quoted. Nobody says a boat is financed over 180 months; they say fifteen years, and the loan documents say it too. The page multiplies the years by twelve internally, so 15 years and 180 payments are the same loan — the field is just in the unit you would say out loud.

How much down payment do I need for boat financing?

Twenty percent is the usual minimum, which is why the page reports your deposit back as a percentage — enter 12,000 on a 60,000 boat and you are exactly at it. Lenders on older boats often ask for more, and the terms available above twenty percent are usually better. Below it, financing is possible but the rate tends to rise.

Why is the total interest on a boat loan so much larger than on a car loan?

Because the loan lasts far longer, and time is what multiplies interest. A car loan runs three to seven years; a boat loan commonly runs ten to twenty. On 48,000 at 8%, five years costs 10,395.95 in interest and twenty years costs 48,358.35 — more than the amount borrowed — for a payment that is only about 570 a month lower.

Is a longer term always a bad idea on a boat?

It lowers the payment and raises the interest, always, so the question is what the lower payment is for. If it is the only way to keep the payment comfortable alongside mooring, insurance and maintenance, a longer term is a reasonable choice. If it is only to buy a more expensive boat, remember that boats depreciate while the loan is still running, which is how owners end up owing more than the boat is worth.

Can I enter a trade-in value on this page?

No, and the field is missing on purpose: there is no standard allowance for a used boat the way there is for a used car. Sell the boat separately, then enter the cash you actually have as the down payment — the arithmetic is the same, and you are not relying on a number nobody published.

Does the boat loan payment include insurance and mooring?

No. It is the loan payment only: principal and interest. Insurance, mooring or storage, registration, winterising and maintenance are separate running costs that a lender may require proof of but will not collect with the payment. Add them to the monthly figure here before deciding whether the boat fits your budget.

• Compound Interest Calculator — why a balance kept for twenty years costs more in interest than the amount borrowed — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor.gov)
• Consumer Resource Center — consumer credit and borrowing basics, including what a lender looks at beyond the payment — Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (United States)