Want a Boat Ride (or Deck Hand)? Try This App

Whether you’re a willing deck hand, friendly passenger, or welcoming captain, Boat With Me wants to make waves in ride sharing.

What’s better than having a friend with a boat? Making new friends on lots of boats! Officially launched last month, Boat With Me is the “social app for boaters and water lovers.”

While it serves as a ride-sharing network, Boat With Me focuses more on connecting boating enthusiasts to create and share events on the water.

“We’ve met a lot of folks who would like to get out on the water but can’t because they either don’t own a boat or don’t have access to one,” said Boat With Me COO Kyle Greenfield of himself and CEO Ryan Ostrom. “Likewise, we know a lot of boat owners who would love to ‘share’ their boat with others, but there’s not a good tool out there that makes it easy to coordinate with riders.”

Boat With Me: Ride Sharing on Water

By itself, the app is free to use. Captains and prospective passengers create profiles to list their location and interests. Then, Boat With Me works like a social network, helping like-minded individuals find and connect with one another.

Captains can request deck hands, sociable passengers, or just friendly ballast. Meanwhile passengers can offer to pitch in for fuel or bring snacks, beer, or anything else to add to a fun day on the water.

Like other popular networks, Boat With Me lets users message each other, create groups, and set up events. Users can also find rides to nearby destinations across the waves.

But unlike Lyft or Uber, Boat With Me doesn’t compensate drivers or coordinate payments with passengers. That’s strictly up to you. At present, Boat With Me is focusing on making boating more social and friendly.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about making new friends and having a good time on the water,” Ostrom and Greenfield said.

Boat With Me launched last month and is available for iOS and Android.