Anchor

What Anchor does

Anchor Technologies, LLC operates an asset-light online marketplace that connects boat and yacht owners with renters seeking chartered experiences with professional captains. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, the company lists 10,000+ vessels across 24+ destinations spanning the US (with a Florida-heavy concentration), the Caribbean (Bahamas, USVI, BVI), and Mexico (Cabo San Lucas). The platform offers day charters, multi-day charters, pontoon rentals, and mega yacht rentals (50-90+ feet), with pricing ranging from roughly $660 for a pontoon half-day to $40,000+ for premium full-day mega yacht bookings. Technology infrastructure comprises a self-service booking website, Stripe-based payment processing, CometChat-powered in-platform messaging, and a dedicated Anchor Captain mobile app for licensed USCG/RYA captains.

The business model is marketplace-based and transaction-fee driven: Anchor earns fees on each charter booking and provides value-added services to supply-side participants (Charter Expert concierge, multi-channel distribution to 10+ booking sites via a Partnerships Team, and captain gig facilitation). An Affiliate Program adds a referral revenue stream. Customer segments are primarily SMB/individual leisure consumers celebrating occasions such as birthdays, bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, and family gatherings, supplemented by corporate events and Caribbean tourism. Supply-side participants — boat owners and licensed captains — are recruited onto the platform through the List Your Boat program and the Captain mobile app. The company claims boat owners earn 30% more on its platform and that it operates at the highest conversion rate in the yacht rental industry; both claims are self-reported and unverified by third parties.

Anchor remains a private, self-funded company with only $350,000 of disclosed seed capital across 2016 and 2017. Leadership includes James Dickman (CTO), Jason Wargel (COO), and Charles Eaton (VP of Product Design); no CEO is publicly identified. The company has not disclosed any institutional funding rounds since 2017, no revenue or GMV figures, and operates with a small (1-10 employee) team despite its multi-market footprint, suggesting thin capitalization relative to its stated scale.

Name

Anchor

Legal name

Anchor Technologies, LLC

Website

https://anchorrides.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Anchor operates an online marketplace connecting boat owners and licensed captains with renters for chartered yacht and boat experiences. It lists 10,000+ vessels across 24+ US, Caribbean, and Mexico destinations, earning transaction fees while supplying concierge and multi-channel distribution services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Boat and Yacht Charter Marketplace

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, Nec (7359)

akta.pro primary industry

Cabin Charters & Shared Yacht Trips (THAEADAH)

Keywords

• Yacht charter marketplace
• Boat rental platform
• Peer-to-peer charters
• Day boat rentals
• Luxury yacht rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Clearwater

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Yacht/Boat Rental Commissions: Platform facilitates boat and yacht rentals with professional captains. Revenue is generated through transaction fees deducted from bookings. Boat owners who charter through Anchor earn 30% more than other platforms according to company claims.
2. Platform Services for Boat Owners: Boat owners pay for Charter Expert services handling client interactions, payments, coordination, and paperwork. Multi-channel distribution to 10+ booking sites provided through Partnerships Team.
3. Captain Gig Facilitation: Captains join the platform to access high-paying charter gigs. Platform provides compliant day charter operations, equipment access, and booking flow.
4. Affiliate Program: Users can become affiliates to promote the platform and earn commissions through unique referral links. Commission structure for driving new bookings and customer acquisition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Anchor operates a peer-to-peer online marketplace that connects boat and yacht owners with renters seeking charter experiences. The platform aggregates 10,000+ vessels driven by professional captains across 24+ destinations, offering day charters, multi-day charters, pontoon boat rentals, and mega yacht rentals. Charter Expert concierge support, captain matching, and a vessel-owner listing program round out the marketplace offering.

Product overview

Anchor operates a peer-to-peer yacht and boat rental marketplace (platform-plus-modules architecture) that connects boat owners who list vessels with renters seeking charter experiences. The core platform offers a marketplace with 10,000+ yachts driven by professional captains. The product portfolio includes Day Charters (4-10 hour rentals), Multi-Day Charters (extended trips), Pontoon Boat Rentals, and Mega Yacht Rentals (50-90+ feet). Supporting modules include Charter Expert Services (dedicated booking support), Captain Matching Service (USCG/RYA certified captains), List Your Boat Program (for vessel owners), and an Anchor Captain Mobile App. An Affiliate Program enables marketing partners to earn commissions through referrals. The platform integrates Stripe for payments and CometChat for real-time user messaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yacht & Boat Charter Marketplace An online marketplace connecting boat and yacht owners who list vessels for charter with renters seeking to book charters, offering 10,000+ yachts driven by professional captains across multiple destinations.
• Day Charters Short-duration yacht and boat rentals (typically 4-10 hours) with captain and crew included, available across 25+ destinations including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, Sarasota, and international locations.
• Multi-Day Charters Extended yacht and boat rental experiences spanning multiple days, allowing travel to destinations like the Bahamas, Florida Keys, and other coastal locations.
• Pontoon Boat Rentals

Quantifiable outcome

• Boat owners earn 30% more than other platforms
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is used as the primary payment processor for all transactions on the Anchor platform. All payments, refunds, and account verifications are handled through Stripe's infrastructure.
• CometChatcoreTechnology or IntegrationCometChat provides real-time messaging functionality enabling communication between users on the platform. Messages may be stored for dispute resolution, safety monitoring, and AI-powered service improvement.
• MarinasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner marinas support the Services by providing docking facilities and infrastructure for charter operations. Mentioned in privacy policy as entities with whom data may be shared.
• Insurance ProvidersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInsurance partners support the platform by providing vessel and liability coverage options. Mentioned in privacy policy as entities with whom data may be shared.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boatsetter: Boatsetter is a peer-to-peer boat and yacht rental marketplace that directly competes with Anchor across similar US geographies, offering both bareboat and captained rentals with comparable self-serve booking flows and a focus on boating experiences.
• GetMyBoat: GetMyBoat is one of the largest peer-to-peer boat rental marketplaces globally, listing hundreds of thousands of vessels across destinations that overlap Anchor's US and international footprint, and operating with a comparable self-serve booking and fee-based revenue model.
• Click&Boat: Click&Boat is a boat rental marketplace owned by Beneteau Group offering both private and skippered charters globally, competing head-to-head with Anchor for captained yacht bookings in Mediterranean and Caribbean leisure corridors.
• Sailo: Sailo is a yacht charter marketplace focused on sailing yachts and motor yachts in the US (including Florida, the Hamptons, New York, and the Caribbean), directly overlapping Anchor's premium captained-yacht positioning.
• Nautal: Nautal is a peer-to-peer boat and yacht rental marketplace active in Europe and the Caribbean, providing a similar charter experience to Anchor but with a stronger Mediterranean bias; competes for international customer bookings.
• SamBoat: SamBoat is a European-headquartered peer-to-peer boat and yacht rental marketplace operating across 50+ countries; its global footprint and cross-border inventory model are functionally analogous to Anchor's 24+ destinations platform.

Emerging players

• Boatbookings: Boatbookings is an online yacht charter broker focused on crewed luxury and sailing charters in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, with comparable customer segment to Anchor's premium US-domestic and Caribbean business.
• Yachtico: Yachtico operates a yacht charter aggregator and booking platform that combines bareboat, skippered, and crewed charter inventory; overlaps Anchor on captained yacht rentals and aggregation logic but is a thinner inventory player.

Broad incumbents

• Fraser Yachts: Fraser Yachts is a long-standing global yacht charter and sales brokerage representing mega and superyacht inventory; competes with Anchor at the top of the price pyramid but operates on a traditional broker model rather than self-serve marketplace model.
• Camper & Nicholsons: Camper & Nicholsons is an established luxury yacht charter broker with global superyacht inventory and white-glove concierge services; competes with Anchor's high-end mega-yacht tier (e.g., $17K+ Miami bookings) while serving a more concentrated ultra-HNW customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anchor