SBA loans for marinas and dry boat storage operators

What lenders check

Each lender sets its own checklist. SBA sets the basic eligibility tests.

A lender reviewing a loan to marinas and dry boat storage operators looks at the business's numbers and these items for the trade:

• Dock permits and submerged-land leases, which often come from a state or port authority and can be hard to replace or transfer
• Revenue from short-stay transient boaters versus long-term slip renters, since SBA applies a short-stay test to marinas, campgrounds and hotels
• Flood and storm insurance on waterfront buildings, and the environmental review of fuel tanks and repair areas that SBA requires on pledged property

Common uses of the money

Businesses like these use SBA loans for:

• Replacing docks, pilings and bulkheads damaged by storms or age
• A forklift, travel lift or boat hoist, and racks for dry-stack storage
• Upgrading the fuel dock and pump-out station, or adding a ship's store and service bay

Collateral

Waterfront land, buildings and dry-storage racks carry the value, while docks and pilings over leased or state-owned bottom land add little on their own.

How much they borrow

Half of these loans were between $150,000 and $1.94 million.

The median loan was $500,000, larger than the $150,300 median for all SBA 7(a) loans. Half of the loans fell between $150,000 and $1.94 million. The most common size band was Over $2,000,000.

By business age, 46% had operated for more than 2 years and 35% for 2 years or less.

How the money comes

24% of the loans went through SBA Express and 16% were lines of credit. The median term was 12 years.

Across all industries, 36% of loans went through SBA Express and 28% were lines of credit. Express counts here include Export Express.

The median term was 12 years (144 months). For equipment, SBA's maximum term is 10 years, or up to 15 years if the IRS asset class useful life supports it. For real estate, it is 25 years, plus any reasonable construction or renovation period. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1: App. 17, Para. A.2 (p. 390); App. 17, Para. A.3 (p. 390); 13 CFR § 120.212(c).

Where the loans are

Florida had the most loans from October 2019 to June 2026, 13 of 116 (11%).

Location is the state of the business, not of the lender.

Compare every state on SBA loans by state.

How often these loans went bad

0% of 67 seasoned loans were charged off, below the 3.6% rate for all SBA 7(a) loans.

None of the 67 loans approved October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2022 were charged offcharged offThe lender wrote the loan off as a loss because it was not being repaid. by June 30, 2026. By dollars, 0% of the approved amount was charged off.

SBA size standard

NAICS 713930 has its own size standard.

For NAICS 713930, SBA's size standard is $11 million in average annual receipts. A business at or under the standard is small for SBA's purposes. To qualify, a business must fit the size standard for the applicant's primary industry in 13 CFR 121.201, measured in annual receipts or employees. SBA measures size on the date the application is accepted for SBA processing, or for delegated loans the date the lender approves the loan.

A business over the standard can still qualify under the alternative standard: tangible net worth of $20 million or less and average net income after federal income taxes of $6.5 million or less over the prior two fiscal years. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1: Sec. A, Ch. 1, Para. D.1 (p. 14); Sec. A, Ch. 1, Para. D.2 (p. 14); 13 CFR § 121.301(b)(2).