Buying a marina or marine service business in Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast has 40 established marinas and marine service businesses by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 68% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Marinas and marine service businesses in Treasure Coast come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $107,000 a year
- Price about
- $283,000
- Your cash
- $40,000
- Could pay you
- up to $56,000 a year
- Earns about
- $240,000 a year
- Price about
- $636,000
- Your cash
- $89,000
- Could pay you
- up to $125,000 a year
- Earns about
- $419,000 a year
- Price about
- $1.1 million
- Your cash
- $155,000
- Could pay you
- up to $219,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.6 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 13 |
| 20 to 29 years | 17 |
| 30 to 39 years | 6 |
| 40 years or more | 4 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 9 |
| $1M to $2M | 3 |
| $2M to $4M | 3 |
| $4M to $8M | 1 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Martin | 30 |
| Indian River | 5 |
| Other counties | 5 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Stuart | 19 |
| Tequesta | 5 |
What the best marinas and marine service businesses have in common
- Full slips and storage racks, tenants who have stayed for years, and a waitlist.
- Docks, seawalls, forklifts and lifts in good repair, with inspection and maintenance records.
- A state submerged land lease in good standing, if the docks sit over state-owned water bottoms.
- Fuel tanks that are registered, insured and tested on schedule.
- Factory-trained technicians who have been there for years, and a service manager who isn't the owner.
- Good water access: enough depth at low tide, and no low fixed bridges for the boats you serve.
- Revenue spread across storage, fuel and service, so one slow line doesn't sink the year.
- A hurricane plan that has worked: haul-out procedures, tie-down rules, and insurance that paid when it mattered.
What to check before you buy
Have a marine engineer survey the docks, pilings, seawall, travel lift and dry stack racks. Waterfront repairs are slow to permit and expensive to build, and they can't always wait.
Get the submerged land lease, its term, the rent history and any compliance letters, and ask DEP's Division of State Lands what it would take to transfer the lease to you. Pull fuel tank registrations, leak detection records and any past discharge reports. A boatyard that has done years of bottom painting and engine work deserves an environmental assessment before you buy the land or sign a long lease.
Get your own insurance quotes early, including windstorm and flood, rather than relying on the seller's policy, and ask what past storms cost in damage and lost months. Review the slip and storage agreements: rates compared with nearby marinas, deposits, and any abandoned or unpaid boats, which can be slow to remove. Finally, check that zoning allows every use on the site, from fuel sales to boat repair.
Questions to ask the owner
- How many slips and racks are rented right now, and how long is the waitlist?
- When were the docks, seawall and forklifts last inspected or rebuilt?
- What happened here in the last few hurricanes, and what did insurance pay?
- Is the submerged land lease current, and has DEP raised any issues?
- Which engine brands are your technicians certified on, and would they stay?
- How much of your revenue comes from storage, how much from fuel and how much from service?
- Are there any abandoned boats or unpaid storage accounts on the property?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a marina or marine service business in Florida.
Owning a company in Treasure Coast
The local economy
This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.
The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.
What's different about owning a company here
The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.
Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.