Turn equity in a qualifying motor yacht, sailing yacht, superyacht, or fleet into working capital while the title stays in your name. During the term the vessel is held in insured, secure custody and returned to you on repayment. LQD's AI-powered underwriting reads the survey, engine hours, documentation, and live market demand rather than your credit file, and can return indicative terms within hours. There is no credit check and no income verification. Eligibility and terms are not guaranteed.
When you pledge a qualifying vessel, you raise capital against the equity you already hold instead of listing the boat and waiting for a buyer. LQD arranges private, asset-backed capital secured by motor yachts, sailing yachts, superyachts, sportfishing and expedition vessels, and select specialty marine assets, from a single hull to a qualifying fleet. Because the vessel stays titled in your name for the term, you keep any upside and recover the boat on repayment, so you can retain ownership while accessing capital.
What a boat can carry comes down to the specifics on the transom and in the file: type, builder, model, year, hull identification number, documentation, registration, flag, title, ownership, condition, survey history, maintenance, engines, refit work, how the vessel has been used, where it lies, live demand, and LQD's own valuation and underwriting. A famous yard is a start, not a pass, and no vessel qualifies on the badge alone. It is worth understanding how valuable property may support private capital before you build a submission.
Keep the numbers on a marine survey report straight, because several of them describe different things. What you paid, the insured figure, the broker's asking price, a survey value, retail and wholesale market prices, and a forced-sale number are rarely the same as collateral value. Collateral value is LQD's view of what a hull can realistically support in the current market, read against condition, documentation, survey history, and demand.
A yacht can sit on the brokerage market for months, and a rushed sale seldom lands full value, so a structured facility can cover a need without giving up the boat and, depending on the deal, without interrupting personal cruising or charter income. Approved files can move quickly, with indicative terms often back within hours and funding within 24 to 72 hours of approval. See how marine assets move through documentation and valuation before you submit. An outstanding lien is no barrier on its own: where one exists, the payoff is folded into the structure, provided the requested amount and the vessel's verified value support it under underwriting. You can begin a yacht submission with whatever paperwork you have to hand.
You need none of the items below to submit. When they exist, they firm up the valuation basis and can shorten the review and improve preliminary terms:
Nothing here is a prerequisite to start. If the vessel carries a lien, the payoff balance is built into the structure, provided the requested amount and the vessel's verified value support it under underwriting.
Qualifying boats across a range of categories come in for review. Ownership, documentation, LQD's valuation, and underwriting apply in every case, and eligibility and terms are not guaranteed.
Planing and semi-displacement motor yachts are graded on builder, model, year, logged engine hours, condition, survey findings, and how the boat is run today. A clean title and a full maintenance binder carry more weight than the builder's name on the hull.
Cruising and performance sailboats come in for review of hull and rig condition, standing-rigging replacement dates, the sail inventory, and survey results. Offshore-capable boats with a documented voyaging record and clear ownership tend to present the strongest.
Larger yachts back larger facilities, with added attention to flag, class or compliance standing where it applies, crew and operating cost, and a complete document set. The size of the values and the complexity of the systems usually mean deeper diligence.
Custom and production sportfishermen are reviewed on condition, engine and systems status, service records, and a documented history. A well-kept platform with clear ownership and steady demand is judged on its own logbook, not the category.
Expedition and passagemaker yachts get particular focus on hull and machinery condition, onboard systems, survey history, and documentation, given how they are built and where they run. Each boat stands on its own record rather than the type.
Certain specialty marine assets can be reviewed where ownership, documentation, condition, and demand are established. Undocumented boats, contested ownership, heavy damage, or unresolved liens pull against a file, and every case is taken on its merits.
Boats titled to an LLC, trust, or other entity can be reviewed, with ownership and documentation confirmed at the entity level and the authorized signers expected to take part. The entity structure and any co-ownership form part of the assessment.
A qualifying fleet is reviewed as one combined position, with each hull graded individually for ownership, documentation, condition, and demand while the whole is weighed together. Not every boat in a fleet necessarily clears the bar.
Qualifying vessels are reviewed on ownership, title or documentation, registration, flag, hull identification, survey history, condition, maintenance, engine status, equipment, location, live demand, and LQD's valuation and underwriting. The list below is a guide, not a limit, and every boat is judged on its own.
Planing and semi-displacement powerboats from established yards come in for review. Engine hours measured against overhaul intervals, hull condition at the last haulout, the service history, and how the boat is used all feed the read, and regional demand is weighed with condition rather than the badge alone.
Bluewater cruisers, performance cruisers, and race boats from established yards come in for review. The sail wardrobe, rig age and inspection record, keel condition, and standing-rigging replacement dates are read against hull survey results, and offshore-capable boats with a documented voyaging record present well.
Larger yachts from established yards back larger facilities. A superyacht review typically takes in flag and class or compliance standing where it applies, crew and running costs, and the maintenance history on top of survey documentation, and each vessel stands on its own records and condition.
Custom and production sportfishermen from established yards come in on condition, engine and systems status, and a documented service history. A well-kept platform with clear ownership and steady demand is judged on its own logbook, and engine hours are read with the service record rather than on their own.
Valuing a boat for capital means reading a stack of technical, ownership, and market inputs together, not leaning on one number or one measure of length. Nothing below is a fixed or guaranteed figure.
These numbers rarely line up. What you paid, the insured amount, an asking price, a broker's opinion, a survey figure, retail and wholesale prices, and a forced-sale value can all sit at different levels, and none of them is automatically collateral value. A survey is one input, not a guaranteed capital amount, and a brokerage asking price does not set collateral value. Collateral value is LQD's read on what a hull can realistically support in the current market, subject to underwriting.
A survey, the document set, and ownership records all feed the review, yet none of them on its own sets collateral value or guarantees eligibility. A current survey helps but may not replace an updated inspection or valuation, and engine hours have to be read with the service history and condition rather than alone. Refit spend does not become market value on its own, and a broker's asking price does not set collateral value.
Coast Guard documentation or state registration helps identify a boat but does not by itself prove clean ownership, which is confirmed during the process. Flag and jurisdiction can shape the review, existing liens or maritime claims may call for extra diligence, and a charter record is taken into account because it bears on condition. A boat lying abroad can complicate inspection, transport, custody, and closing.
Where it helps the file, LQD coordinates the survey, condition assessment, and title work through qualified specialists, and a security interest is typically recorded before funds move. LQD does not itself perform marine surveys, inspections, title opinions, documentation or registration services, insurance, or vessel management, and it is not a yacht dealer, broker, charter broker, vessel manager, operator, captain, surveyor, documentation company, title company, insurer, marina, classification society, flag authority, or maritime authority.
LQD arranges private, asset-backed capital and implies no affiliation with, endorsement by, or authorization from any yacht builder, registry, flag authority, marina, yacht club, surveyor, insurer, documentation company, vessel manager, charter operator, brokerage, classification society, or maritime authority. Any names appear solely for accurate description.
These help a file along; none of them alone guarantees value or eligibility.
A full document set is not always needed to open a confidential review, but whatever you have speeds ownership verification, title and documentation review, condition assessment, valuation, and underwriting. The more that is on hand, the faster a boat can be worked, and a missing item rarely ends the conversation.
Useful records include:
See where the records land in what happens after a yacht is submitted, and the questions about ownership, surveys, valuation, and custody answer many of the practical points owners raise before they submit.
For the term the boat moves into documented custody with a security interest recorded, while the owner keeps title. Custody terms are written to protect the collateral while leaving room for real vessel-management needs, and insurance, usually agreed-value hull cover, is set out in the agreement.
When LQD does hold a vessel, it is not left to sit and deteriorate. A documented program run by a licensed captain or marine specialist keeps it in trim: weekly walk-downs, engines and generators run up, humidity held in check, bilge and shore-power systems verified, and scheduled hull and running-gear inspections, with every visit logged and dated photographs kept on file.
A qualifying fleet can be reviewed as a combined position, each boat graded on its own. Owners with other transportation assets may also look at financing secured by a qualifying aircraft, handled separately from a marine facility.
Selling and borrowing solve different problems, and neither wins by default. A sale turns the boat into cash for good and makes sense when you are genuinely done with it. It also means letting go of the vessel, riding brokerage and seasonal timing, paying commissions and survey costs, and shouldering the job of finding a replacement down the line.
Pledging a qualifying vessel instead lets you keep title, recover the boat on repayment, and skip a forced sale while you cover a separate need or seize an opportunity. It comes with its own line items: financing cost, survey and inspection cost, insurance, any custody or control terms, berthing and operating expense, and ongoing maintenance, plus default risk. A default on the loan can result in loss of the pledged vessel.
Timing and the market usually drive the call. An owner who would rather not sell into a soft or off-season market, or who intends to keep the boat for the long term, may prefer to weigh alternatives to immediately selling a significant asset. A sale suits others, and it is worth holding both against your own situation. There is more on private-capital considerations for owners of significant assets for anyone working through the same choice.
Submissions and conversations stay private, covering ownership and documentation review and a condition assessment. Your boat is never listed publicly or marketed, and the process is kept discreet throughout.
Boats are priced through AI-powered underwriting and independent marine valuation that read condition, survey history, engines and maintenance, and comparable sales rather than any single figure, and rather than your credit.
Documentation and title review, survey scheduling, insurance, and a documented, compliant closing are run through qualified specialists, so the whole transaction is handled securely.
Send the builder, model, year, length, engine hours, documentation status, and any survey or records you have. Nothing is required to open a confidential review, and whatever you provide moves the assessment along faster.
A specialist works through ownership, documentation, condition, survey history, engines and maintenance, and comparable sales while LQD's AI-powered underwriting prepares a valuation, often with indicative terms back within hours. Survey or inspection scheduling may follow where a current inspection is needed.
Qualified files can receive a preliminary capital offer after ownership and documentation review, survey and condition assessment, LQD's valuation, and underwriting, with funding typically within 24 to 72 hours of approval. Final eligibility and terms remain subject to documentation and review.
Put your boat forward for a confidential review. Qualified files can receive a preliminary capital offer after ownership and documentation review, survey and condition assessment, valuation, and underwriting, with no credit check along the way. Eligibility and terms are not guaranteed.
Ready to see what your boat can raise?