Captains & Guides

Your wheelhouse.

This network was built for three kinds of professionals — the charter captain running iron offshore, the party boat filling forty seats on a Saturday, and the guide who never leaves the sand. Same standard, same tools, same earned rank. No one left out.

Who this is for

Three trades. One standard.

Boat Charters

Bay to blue water

Bay, jetty, nearshore, offshore — if you hold the wheel, this is your lane. The full six-pillar verification puts a badge on your listing that no marketing budget can fake:

  • USCG MMC confirmed with the National Maritime Center
  • TPWD All-Water Guide License sighted
  • Insurance verified directly with your broker
  • Federal permits (reef fish, HMS) matched to trips sold
  • Drug-testing program enrollment
  • Real reputation imported at onboarding

Rank is earned by credentials and performance. There is no pay-for-position lane. Ever.

Party Boats

Fill every rail

Big boats sell seats, not charters — so IronJetty prices per seat, natively. No workarounds, no "contact for group rates."

  • Per-seat pricing and inventory, built into search
  • Group split-pay — every angler pays their own seat
  • Fill-meter on every departure: see it fill in real time
  • QR boarding passes, scanned at the rail — no clipboards
  • Live Dock blasts for undersold departures

Running four or more vessels? The Fleet Partner track gets you negotiated terms and a fleet dashboard.

Land & Shoreline Guides

No boat. No problem.

Land-based shark with kayak bait drops. Surf and wade. On every other platform you don't exist — here you're a first-class category with your own three-pillar standard:

  • Identity and real reputation, verified
  • Liability coverage confirmed with the issuer
  • TPWD licensing wherever the law requires it

The only platform where you exist — with the same badge, the same booking flow, and the same earned rank as the biggest boat in the harbor.

The Fee Ladder

Keep more of
every trip.

The big platforms take 10–30% and auction your rank. IronJetty's ladder is flat, public, and locked — and the earliest boats keep the best rate for life.

The Founding 15
3% → 5%

First two seasons → for life

Fifteen boats, max three per operator. Nothing upfront — your slot is claimed when verification is complete and your calendar is live within 14 days of your badge. FOUNDER badge permanently, 10 Boost credits, free Verified Pro, and a direct line to the founder.

7%

Standard · flat · forever

Everyone after slot 15. Still less than half of what the incumbents take, still no pay-to-rank, still your customers staying yours. The captain who waits pays 7% — forever.

Negotiated

Fleet Partner · 4+ vessels

Multi-vessel or multi-port operations get negotiated terms, a fleet dashboard, and the FLEET badge. Renews annually — no lifetime lock, terms that scale with the operation.

Straight Answers

What captains ask us.

What does verification require for my operation type?+

Boat charters: the six pillars — USCG MMC confirmed with the National Maritime Center (type, route, and tonnage matched to the trips you sell), TPWD All-Water Guide License, commercial marine insurance verified directly with your broker (personal-boat policies are rejected), the federal permits your trips require, drug-testing program enrollment, and your existing reputation imported.

Party boats: the same six pillars, checked against your COI/inspected-vessel documentation and passenger capacity.

Land & shoreline guides: a three-pillar standard built for how you actually operate — verified identity and reputation, liability coverage confirmed with the issuer, and TPWD licensing wherever the law requires it. No boat paperwork demanded for an operation that has no boat.

What does it cost, and when do I pay?+

Nothing upfront, no listing fee, no subscription. IronJetty earns a commission only when you get paid: 3% for Founding 15 captains in their first two seasons, then 5% for life · 7% flat standard · negotiated for Fleet Partners. The commission comes out of the booking automatically — you never write us a check.

Who owns my customers?+

You do. Every angler who books you is your customer — name, contact, trip history. Rebook them directly, message them, take them with you if you ever leave. We're the dock, not the gatekeeper. The big platforms hide customer contact info so you can't leave; that's exactly the behavior IronJetty was built against.

How do payouts work?+

Through Stripe Express — your own payout account, connected to your bank. The deposit is collected at booking, and the balance is charged automatically the morning of the trip. Money lands on the standard Stripe schedule, with fee-free instant payouts included for Founding captains. Your earnings dashboard, tax paperwork, and payout history all live in the captain app.

What happens on a weather cancel?+

You make the call — one tap. Passengers are notified, refunds are automatic and total, your slot is re-posted, and there is no review penalty for calling weather. Gulf weather does what it wants; a platform that punishes captains for prudent calls is a platform that gets people hurt. Ours doesn't.

What is the Live Dock?+

The real-time feed of cancellations and open seats. When a spot opens, it's pushed to anglers nearby who've searched your species in the last 30 days — a last-minute trip at a last-minute price. It's how an empty Tuesday becomes a paid Tuesday, and it's included for every verified captain.

Do party boats really price per seat?+

Yes — natively. Set a per-seat price, seat inventory per departure, and watch the fill-meter climb. Groups can split-pay so one person never fronts forty tickets, every paid seat gets its own QR boarding pass, and undersold departures can blast the Live Dock to top off the rail.

I'm a land guide with no boat — what do I need?+

Your identity and reputation, proof of liability coverage, and a TPWD license if your operation legally requires one. That's it. Land-based shark with kayak bait drops, surf, and wade trips list as first-class categories — with the same badge, booking flow, waivers, and weather policy as the boats. You'll be on the only platform where your trade exists at all.

What happens if IronJetty shuts down?+

You lose a booking channel — not your business. Your customers and their contact info are yours and exportable. Your money never sits with us: payments flow through your own Stripe Express account. Your credentials are your own documents. IronJetty is built to be hard to leave because it's good, not because it's holding anything hostage.

How do I claim a Founding slot?+

Use the form below — pick "Claim a Founding slot." Drew reads every submission and replies within a day. There are fifteen slots, max three per operator, and nothing is owed upfront: your slot is locked when verification is complete and your calendar is live within 14 days of your badge. When the fifteen are gone, they're gone.

No middlemen — this goes to the founder

Ask us anything.
Or claim a slot.

Thirty seconds. No account, no spam list — submissions go straight to Drew's desk.

Read by the founder, answered within a day. Your info is used to reply to you — nothing else.