Terms of Service
IronJetty is where you find and book a verified charter — but the trip itself is a contract between you and the captain, who runs the boat and is responsible for it. We verify captains' papers with the authorities that issued them and pull boats off the site automatically when legally required documents lapse. You pay a deposit through Stripe, sign the captain's liability waiver before paying, and the balance charges on trip day. Captain-called weather cancellations refund in full, automatically. Our tide, weather, and bite data is for planning, not navigation. The text below governs.
1. What IronJetty is
These Terms are between IronJetty LLC ("IronJetty," "we") and you, and govern ironjetty.com, the IronJetty mobile apps, and our booking tools (the "Platform"). IronJetty is a marketplace: we list independent charter captains, verify their credentials, and process bookings. We are not a vessel owner, charter operator, or common carrier. The charter-service contract for every trip is between you and the listed captain. By using the Platform or completing a booking, you accept these Terms.
2. What "Verified" means — and what it doesn't
The IronJetty Verified badge means we confirmed the captain's credentials with the authorities that issued them, and the badge shows when each item was last confirmed. If a document lapses, the badge is removed immediately; if a lapse breaks what the law requires to carry passengers, the captain's listings are suspended automatically. Verification is our own diligence process. It is not a guarantee of safety, catch, weather, or outcome, and it is not an endorsement by the USCG, TPWD, NOAA, or any insurer.
3. Booking and payment
Booking charges a deposit (normally 30%) through Stripe's hosted checkout; the balance charges automatically on trip day to the same payment method unless the listing states otherwise. Prices, party size, meeting point, and what's included are stated on each listing. You must be 18 or older to book, and you book for your whole party. Boarding passes are issued electronically after clearance.
3A. Shared boats, open dates, and offers
Some trips can be bought in ways other than the listed private rate. Each is captain-controlled: nothing sells through any of them without the captain's explicit acceptance.
- Shared boats. A group that books a private trip may choose, at checkout, to allow the captain to sell their empty seats. If the captain does, each shared seat sells at a price the Platform requires to be below the private per-seat rate, and 40% of each shared fare is credited against the booking group's balance automatically. A captain may also open an entirely empty date to seat-by-seat sales. Anyone asking to join a shared boat is approved by the captain (guests with an established record on the Platform may be approved automatically). Seats are not held until the deposit is paid.
- Offers. On empty private-charter dates you may propose a whole-boat price. An offer is an invitation only; it becomes a booking when the captain accepts it and you pay the deposit through the private link we email you. Accepted offers expire if unpaid by the time shown, or when the date fills. Offers below any floor the captain sets, or below a quarter of the listed rate, are not delivered.
- Dock Sale deals. A captain may post a reduced price for a specific date. A deal is a listed price like any other: it books straight through checkout at the deal price, it can be ended by the captain until someone books it, and the price you paid is the price you keep.
- One party, one price. Once your deposit lands, your price is fixed regardless of what other seats on the same trip sold for. Weather cancellations, refunds, and the waiver apply to shared and offered trips exactly as to any other booking.
4. The waiver
Before payment, you sign a liability waiver by typing your full legal name. It covers the inherent risks of boating and offshore fishing. Every adult in your party may be required to sign the captain's waiver before boarding; guests under 18 require a parent or guardian's signature where the captain requires it.
5. Cancellations and refunds
- Captain-called weather cancellation: 100% refund, automatic. If the captain calls the trip for weather or safety, everything you paid comes back.
- Your cancellation: follows the cancellation policy shown on the listing when you booked.
- Compliance cancellation: if a captain's legally required credential lapses before your trip, the booking may be cancelled and refunded in full.
- Captain no-show or non-performance: full refund.
Refunds return by the original payment method via Stripe.
6. On the water
The captain has sole authority over the vessel, the route, safety decisions, and whether to sail. You agree to follow crew instructions, comply with the law (including TPWD bag, size, and season rules — keeping an illegal fish is on the angler), and show up sober enough to be safe. A captain may refuse boarding, without refund, to anyone who presents a safety risk.
7. Our data is for planning, not navigation
Tides, weather, marine forecasts, bite scores, prime windows, maps, and regulation summaries on the Platform are informational, drawn from public sources (NOAA and others) and our own models, and can be wrong, delayed, or incomplete. They are not navigational, safety, or legal advice. Verify regulations with TPWD and federal sources; verify conditions with official forecasts and your own judgment.
8. Reviews and the Dock Board
Content you post — reviews, Dock Board catches, photos — stays yours; you grant IronJetty a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display it on and off the Platform. Post only what's true and yours: no fake reviews, no stolen photos, no catches that depict breaking fishing law. We may moderate, hide, or remove content and may suspend accounts that abuse the Platform.
Reviews run both ways. After a trip sails, the captain may rate your party's conduct aboard — punctuality, following crew instructions, respect for the vessel, and keeping only legal fish — and whether they would take you again. These ratings are never public: they are visible only to verified captains deciding whether to accept a booking, join request, or offer from you, and they are based solely on behavior on the water. Captains are contractually barred from rating on any other basis. Section 6 of our Privacy Policy explains how to see or dispute your record.
9. Disclaimers and limits on liability
The Platform is provided "as is." Charter trips are provided by independent captains, and to the fullest extent Texas law allows, IronJetty is not liable for what happens on or around the vessel, nor for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages. Our total liability to you is capped at the amounts you paid to IronJetty (our platform fees) in connection with the booking giving rise to the claim. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
10. The rest
These Terms are governed by Texas law; exclusive venue is the state and federal courts in Galveston County, Texas. We may update these Terms by posting a new version with a new date; material changes apply to bookings made after posting. If a provision fails, the rest stands. Questions and concerns: support@ironjetty.com.