Quick question.

Are these boat loan companies worth while or can one get just as good of
a deal from local banks?

Yes and yes.

Most of the companies that do nothing but boat loans will place your loan with
a bank.
They may get a better "wholesale" rate than you could on the interest, and can
sell the contract to the bank at a premium.
That keeps them going.

Why use a loan company? Trying to find the right person, in the right bank,
when searching for a boat loan can be frustrating. Lots of banks and bankers
don't like boat loans at all. Others won't loan on a wooden boat, on a boat
over $50,000, more than NADA book, or yada, yada, yada.

A loan company puts together boat loans all the time. They can take one look at
the borrower's credit profile and the boat in question and know which of 150
banks in the area might be *the* bank that will make the deal.