SBA 7(a) Marina Feasibility Study

A clean 7(a) marina loss record

Marinas took 220 SBA 7(a) loans across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $246.0 million. No single figure in this record stands apart from the rest of it. The 118 marina loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021 show a 0.00% charge-off floor, with 0.00% again at five years. That is a floor, so a later charge-off would raise it. Cancellations are moderate: 14.4% of marina approvals from FY2017 through FY2024 at the floor, 16.0% at the ceiling.

Loan sizes, banks and boating states

The median 7(a) marina loan is $461,750, and the middle half of 7(a) marina approvals runs from $147,600 to $1.8 million, so the record holds both small equipment or working capital loans and full marina purchases. Franchised operators account for 4.5%. The Huntington National Bank holds 26 marina loans worth $14.6 million, and Paradise Bank 10 worth $18.4 million; KeyBank National Association and TD Bank, National Association have 7 each and Regions Bank 5 worth $7.4 million. Florida leads with 34 loans, then Michigan with 18 and New York with 15, with Illinois at 10 and Indiana, Maryland and New Jersey at 9 apiece. FY2020 brought the largest dollar total, $45.7 million on 26 loans, FY2021 the most loans at 34, and FY2026 recorded 11 loans and $10.5 million.

What a 7(a) marina study has to establish

When a 7(a) loan buys an operating marina, the study starts with its history: slip occupancy and waitlist, rate per foot against competitors, storage, fuel, service and ship store revenue, and how much of the income comes in a short season. It should check the condition of docks, bulkheads, fuel tanks and lifts, since deferred repairs are the cost a buyer inherits, and the status of permits and any submerged land lease. For an expansion or new build, demand means boat registrations and waitlists in the area, and cost means dredging, docks and permits that can take longer than planned. Coverage should be tested through a storm year and a weak season at a higher floating rate. The appraisal must separate land, improvements and business value, and it depends on lease terms for any state-owned bottomland, so the study should set out those terms plainly. The data carries no coding caveat for marinas.