Called my credit union today to find out about financing another boat and they said I needed a Marine Survey, Mechanical Survey, and a Coast Guard Cert. no matter which boat or how big. Is this normal? I know both surveys are cheap insurance but required? And what's up with needing a Coast Guard Cert.? Seems a little overkill to me or is it just the sign of the times?

Sounds odd for a credit union. I have a pretty good relationship with mine. Try shopping around for different institutions. :-/ when i graduated highschool (2005) i remember how easy it was to get a loan. Seems we are going to be in this "state" of financial insecurity for awhile longer.

Insurance, and a clean clear title is all my institution requires.

Mine required the same things. The reason for the coast guard cert is if your boat is ever stolen and Taken out of the country the cg will go and recover it. The downside is your boat can be used in the state of an emergency. At least this is what I was told by the lady who did the certification.

Closing one tomorrow. Preferred Marine Mortgage, Full Survey, Coast Guard documentation, USCG title abstract, etc. Many, many documents requested and doesn't even mention all the financial documentation despite putting down 40 percent of the purchase....like doing backflips off a diving board when you can't even swim.....difficult.

Is that true? I can just see them commissioning my boat and picking people up off roofs during the next hurricane...

CG certification also makes things a real hassle if you have a low life that wont pay their bill. You have to pay fees for this & that & it still doesnt give the tech the right to sell the boat to get their money out of it. I lost 6000.00 that way

That seems very odd for a CU. When I purchased my last boat, my CU did not require a survey or CG documentation. It could have been because it was a low loan amount, though.