Custom software for marinas and boatyards

What marina operators deal with every day

A marina sells space on the water, but the real record is the boat: its length overall, beam, draft, power needs, insurance and owner. Get any of those wrong and you put a 48-footer in a 40-foot slip or a deep keel in shallow water.

Problems we hear from dockmasters and owners:

• Slip assignments live on a whiteboard or a spreadsheet map, so finding a spot for a transient with a 16-foot beam means walking the docks.
• Annual, seasonal and monthly contracts renew on different dates, and chasing signed agreements, deposits and current insurance certificates is a manual job every year.
• Electric metering on the docks is read by hand and added to invoices later, or not at all.
• The service department runs on paper work orders: haul-outs, bottom paint, winterization, shrink wrap and engine work, with parts and labor added up at the end.
• Dry stack customers call ahead to have their boat launched, and the forklift schedule is kept in someone’s head.
• Fuel dock sales, the ship store and slip billing are separate, so boaters get separate charges and the office reconciles them.
• Storm season brings a scramble: who needs to haul out, who has a storm plan on file, and who to contact.

What we build for marinas

• Interactive slip map with each slip’s length, width, depth and power, showing what is open, reserved or occupied, and which slips fit a given boat.
• Transient booking online, with boat details, arrival times and payment, plus a reply message with dock assignment and Wi-Fi details.
• Boater CRM: owner and boat records, contracts, insurance and registration documents with expiry reminders, and a full history per vessel.
• Contract renewals: annual and seasonal agreements sent for e-signature with deposits and payment plans.
• Service and yard work orders: estimates, approvals, technician time, parts, photos and status updates the owner can see.
• Dry stack launch requests from a boater app, with a queue for the forklift operator.
• Billing in one place: slip fees, metered electric, fuel, store purchases, storage and service on a single statement.
• Storm preparation lists: haul-out priority, emergency contacts and plan status for every boat.
• AI phone answering for slip availability, fuel prices, hours and pump-out questions, especially on busy summer weekends.

Off-the-shelf vs custom marinas management software

Marinas have good options. Dockwa is well known for transient reservations and marina management, and it gives you visibility to boaters searching for a place to stay. DockMaster is a long-standing system for marinas and boatyards that covers slips, service, parts and accounting. Many marinas run one of these happily.

Custom software is worth a look when your operation does not fit: a marina with a large service yard, dry stack and a restaurant, a yacht club with member billing, several properties under one owner, or a rental and charter business on the same docks. It also works as an add-on, connecting to your booking platform through its API and adding the yard, storage or billing tools you are missing.

Whichever way you go, ask how the software handles a boat that moves slips mid-season, a liveaboard tenant, a yard bill split between the owner and an insurance claim, and a transient who extends a stay by two nights. Those everyday cases show quickly whether a system fits your marina.

How a marina software project works

1. Walk the docksWe map every slip, dock and storage area with your dockmaster and note the measurements that matter.
2. Collect the rulesRates by foot, seasonal pricing, power charges, contract terms and service labor rates go into one written plan.
3. Design the screensYou click through the slip map, boater view and yard work orders before any code is written.
4. Build in roundsWe often start with slips and contracts in the off season, then add service, dry stack and billing.
5. Move your records and launchWe import boats, owners, contracts and balances, check them with your office, and go live before the season starts.