In a perfect world, your boat would never sit idle. You’d be on it — at anchor, the dock or beach, or patrolling the backcountry or cruising deep-blue seas — all the time.
Life seldom works that way, of course, but through the online platform Boatsetter, your boat can be active — and generating income — when you’re not using it.
Like residential and vacation homes, cars and RVs, boats are part of the sharing economy. Boatsetter links owners of boats with qualified, pre-screened people eager to pay a fair fee to share them. Since its founding in 2014, Boatsetter has helped tens of thousands of boat owners offset the costs of boat ownership.
Boatsetter brings owners and renters together, and eases their relationship. And it can make US Coast Guard-licensed captains available for renters without boating experience, or who simply want to enjoy their boating with a trained professional at the helm.
Boat rental through Boatsetter is safe. It’s legal. And everyone involved is insured.
Boatsetter lists boats for fishing, sailing, watersports, cruising and even on-water celebrations. Among them are pontoons, center-consoles, watersports boats and party boats. Nearly 20,000 boats in more than 600 locations comprise the privately held, worldwide fleet.
Your boat can be an income-producing part of that fleet.
Boat Owner? Renter? Captain? You’re Covered
Through a partnership with boating-industry giants Geico Marine and BoatUS, Boatsetter transactions include insurance coverage for owners, renters and captains — the only such peer-to-peer insurance policy in the marine industry.
Plus, TowBoatUS, the marine equivalent of roadside service, provides on-water support for the rental period.
How to List Your Boat
The Boatsetter website guides you through the simple, free listing process. You provide your boat’s:
- Make and model
- Year, length and other specifications
- Description, including features
- At least four photos
- Rental or trip pricing (Your take-home rate is 60 to 85 percent of the boat’s listed price. You can increase your take-home rate based on your performance as an owner. By performance, we mean responding quickly to renters, keeping your calendar up to date, and turning on Boatsetter’s Instant Book feature.)
The Renter Requests to Book
Verified renters search the Boatsetter platform for the location and boat type he or she wants. They then connect with the owner through the website or mobile app.
Just as the renter reviews the boat/owner information, the owner considers the prospective renter’s boating experience and other qualifications, and then decides if this person is the right person to rent their boat.
It is your boat, after all — you decide who gets to rent it.
Everything shipshape? A trip is booked, with payment made through Boatsetter.
The renter and owner conduct walk-throughs before and after the outing, so there’s no question about condition or damages. No issues? The security deposit is released to the renter.
The owner can prep their boat for their own next use or its next Boatsetter rental, and the renter can begin making plans for their next voyage on Boatsetter.
