A marina is a going concern built on land the borrower may not entirely own. Submerged land leases, riparian rights, permit conditions and dredging obligations all sit between the project and the collateral, and every one of them is a question a lender has to resolve before it looks at the projections. That makes marina underwriting slower than its dock count suggests.
| Route | Where it fits | What it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) | Acquisition, working capital, equipment and some construction; the most flexible federal route for an operating business. | Size standards, owner-occupancy and repayment ability from the business itself. |
| SBA 504 | Owner-occupied real estate and long-lived equipment, in a bank plus CDC debenture structure. | Eligible fixed assets and the borrower contribution rules, which rise for a new business or a special-purpose property. |
| USDA OneRD / B&I | Projects in eligible rural areas, where the guarantee helps a lender hold a longer term. | Rural eligibility, tangible balance-sheet equity of 10 to 25 percent under 7 CFR 5001.105(d), and a feasibility study above $1,000,000 for a new business. |
| Conventional bank or credit union | Experienced sponsors with strong balance sheets, and projects too large for the federal ceilings. | Coverage, leverage, sponsor liquidity and the appraised value of the collateral. |
| Construction and dry stack | New slips, dry stack buildings, fuel systems and haul-out capacity. | Permits, in-water work windows, and the revenue the new capacity actually adds rather than replaces. |
| Acquisition | Existing marinas, frequently with under-managed ancillary revenue. | Slip occupancy and rate history, lease tenure over submerged land, environmental condition, and the state of the fixed docks. |
Where slips sit over leased submerged land, the useful life of the collateral is the remaining lease term, not the physical life of the docks. A twenty-five-year amortisation over a lease with twelve years left is a structural problem that no amount of coverage fixes, and it is one of the first things a careful credit committee asks about. Renewal history, statutory renewal rights and the lessor’s practice all belong in the analysis.
Dry stack changes the economics rather than extending them. It adds density without adding water surface, and it moves the revenue mix toward service and handling — which is why a dry stack projection has to be built from the handling operation up, not from a slip-rate equivalent.
Our marina work is described at marina and boat storage feasibility studies, with valuation under special-purpose going-concern appraisal.
Last reviewed September 2026. Programme figures are quoted from the sources below; everything else is professional commentary.
Independent marina feasibility, market and going-concern analysis. Fixed fee quoted in one business day.
Schedule a Qualification Zoom Marina feasibility studiesLegal disclosure. Wert-Berater, Inc. offices are mailing addresses only. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the firm has elected to work remotely; its office locations receive mail and are not staffed for visitors or in-person meetings. Headquarters mailing address: 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.
Wert-Berater, Inc. is an independent provider of feasibility studies and other related services. The firm does not provide financing or equity investment advice, and does not arrange, broker, or place debt or equity capital of any kind.
All appraisal assignments are performed by Bruce E. Jones, MAI, ASA-GC, BCA, CMEA, a member of the Appraisal Institute since 2006, a staff member of Wert-Berater, Inc. and owner of Special Purpose Realty Valuation.