One of the early steps on the journey to boat ownership is figuring out how to pay for the boat. If you don't have the cash to buy it outright, you may want to take out a loan.
Most boat loans, sometimes called "marine mortgages", work the same way as car loans and home mortgages: you pay a fixed amount every month (i.e. it's an amortizing loan). Banks will typically not be as generous with boat loans as with home loans, even if you'll be living aboard the boat. Boat loans generally have a higher interest rate and a higher down payment requirement (often 20% of the purchase price). This calculator will let you specify your down payment either has a minimum percentage (as required by your lender) or as a fixed dollar amount. The larger of the two values will be used.
A loan payment isn't the only expense involved in owning a boat! There's also dockage/storage, maintenance, insurance, and more. SailsGoal offers a more in-depth cost estimator to help you estimate these costs.