Tim Hoogstrate

I built Boat Gigs because the existing options for connecting yacht owners and delivery captains all felt off. Facebook groups are noisy and you can't tell who's actually qualified. Brokers cost 10 to 15% on top of an already expensive transaction. WhatsApp chains rely on knowing the right people, which is fine if you do and a problem if you don't.

I wanted a quieter place where boat owners post what they need, captains who actually sail those routes get in touch, and the two sides talk directly. No platform fees in the middle, no brokerage cut, no algorithm deciding who's shown to whom. Just the marketplace I wished existed when I was looking for delivery work myself.

We're pre-launch right now, building toward the first 200 founding members. If you're an owner or a captain reading this, I read every delivery posted and every signup. You can message me on WhatsApp directly when you post, and I reply when I can.

• Owner trust first. Every product choice gets measured against whether it makes the captain-owner relationship stronger or weaker.
• Honest about what we don't do. We don't provide contracts, insurance, or escrow. The marketplace is the conversation; the trust comes from what the owner and captain build together.
• No middleman cut. Free to post, free to apply. We will sustain Boat Gigs differently once we know enough about how owners and captains use it.
• Quiet, on purpose. No notifications spam, no dark-pattern nudges, no fake activity counters. The product should feel like a serious tool, not a casino.