The Salty Dog

What The Salty Dog does

The Salty Dog, operating through its legal entity Salty Dog Publications, Inc., is a regional two-sided marketplace for buying and selling boats across the Mid-Atlantic United States. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Waretown, New Jersey, with a workforce of approximately 80 employees. It serves individual boat sellers, active boat buyers, boat dealers and brokers, and marine industry businesses through a dual-channel model combining bi-weekly print publications and an online marketplace platform.

The product portfolio centers on two regional print editions — the New Jersey Edition (covering New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Staten Island, and Northern Delaware) and the Chesapeake Bay Edition (covering Maryland, Delaware, Southern Pennsylvania, and Virginia) — distributed bi-weekly on alternating weeks with a combined monthly distribution exceeding 125,000 copies. The online platform provides self-service listing management where individual sellers can post boats with unlimited photos, YouTube video integration, contact forms, and email links; listings remain active for one year or until sold. The platform's search functionality supports filtering by length, price, manufacturer, type, and location, and processes more than 1.6 million monthly buyer searches. The technology stack is built on ColdFusion. Supplementary products include a Yellow Pages directory for marine businesses (dealers, brokers, manufacturers, marinas, retailers, services, and an events calendar) and a dealer-facing inventory management portal.

The revenue model is diversified across three streams: one-time listing fees from individual sellers ($79 for a basic one-year online listing, $89 for featured homepage placement or combined print+internet packages), print advertising revenue ($39 for text-only classifieds, $139 for premium color cover ads), and recurring dealer subscriptions at $30 per month with a 3-month minimum commitment. The platform claims high buyer intent, with nearly 90% of visitors planning to purchase a boat and nearly half intending to buy within three months. Distribution is primarily regional, with no disclosed international operations, no external funding, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

The Salty Dog

Legal name

Salty Dog Publications, Inc.

Website

https://thesaltydog.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Salty Dog is a regional Mid-Atlantic boat marketplace operating bi-weekly print publications across two editions and an online self-serve listing platform, connecting individual boat sellers, active buyers, and dealer subscribers across seven states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Waretown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Boat Listing Fees: Fees charged to individual boat sellers for listing their vessels on the platform. Options include basic online listing ($79/year), featured listings ($89 for 4 weeks homepage visibility), and premium print+internet packages.
2. Dealer Subscriptions: Monthly subscription for boat dealers to list inventory in the used boat search engine. $30 per month with 3-month minimum ($90 billed every 90 days). Dealers receive direct buyer feedback via email and inventory management tools.
3. Print Advertising: Printed classified magazine advertising. Options include text-only classified ads at $39 for 6 weeks (3 issues), and premium color cover ads at $139 for 2 weeks plus 4 weeks inside placement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Salty Dog operates a regional boat classifieds marketplace connecting individual boat sellers and dealers with active boat buyers across the Mid-Atlantic. The core offering combines two bi-weekly print magazines (New Jersey Edition and Chesapeake Bay Edition, totaling 125,000+ monthly copies) with an online platform where sellers list boats, yachts, sailboats, and watercraft. Revenue is generated through online listing fees, print classified advertising, and recurring dealer subscriptions.

Product overview

The Salty Dog is a dual-edition boating classified marketplace operating both print publications and an online platform. The company publishes two regional printed magazines—the New Jersey Edition (distributed throughout NJ, Eastern PA, Staten Island, Northern DE with 125,000+ monthly copies) and the Chesapeake Bay Edition (distributed throughout MD, DE, Southern PA, VA)—alternating bi-weekly. The online platform serves as a marketplace where individual sellers list boats and dealers manage inventory. The product portfolio includes print advertising packages (Classified text ads, Color Cover ads), combined Internet + Print packages, Featured listing upgrades for enhanced home page visibility, and Dealer inventory management tools. The Yellow Pages directory and advanced boat search functionality round out the service offerings, creating a comprehensive boat buying and selling ecosystem across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Salty Dog - New Jersey Edition A bi-weekly printed boating classified magazine distributed throughout New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Staten Island, and Northern Delaware, featuring boat listings and marine directory information for the Mid-Atlantic boating market.
• The Salty Dog - Chesapeake Bay Edition

Quantifiable outcome

• Sellers report boats sold in as little as 6 days to 5 months
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Kijiji: Kijiji is a classifieds platform with significant boat listings. As a regional (primarily Canadian) classifieds platform, it provides an alternative for boat sellers in different geographies but overlaps with The Salty Dog's marketplace concept.

Direct peers

• Boat Trader: Boat Trader is the largest online boat marketplace in the US, listing new and used boats from dealers and private sellers. It directly competes with The Salty Dog in the online boat classifieds space with national reach and a significantly larger inventory base.
• Denison Yachting: Denison Yachting is a yacht brokerage and dealer with a strong online presence. They compete with The Salty Dog for boat listing traffic and dealer relationships in the yacht segment.
• Pop Yachts: Pop Yachts is an online boat sales platform that helps private sellers list and sell their boats. It directly competes with The Salty Dog's seller-focused listing model with a national online presence and seller services.
• Boats.com: Boats.com is an online boat marketplace featuring new and used boats, owned by Boats Group (which also owns Boat Trader and YachtWorld). It competes directly with The Salty Dog as a national destination for boat shoppers.
• United Yacht Sales: United Yacht Sales is a yacht brokerage that lists boats on multiple platforms. It competes with The Salty Dog in the boat listing space and has a similar franchise-broker model.
• YachtWorld: YachtWorld is a leading online marketplace for yachts and boats, owned by Boats Group. It directly competes with The Salty Dog in the boat marketplace category, particularly for higher-end vessels and dealer listings.

Others

• Craigslist: Craigslist is a general classifieds platform with significant boat listing volume. It provides a free alternative to The Salty Dog's paid listings, particularly for individual sellers.

Broad incumbents

• BoatUS: BoatUS is a leading organization for boat owners offering services, insurance, and a magazine. They have a boat listing service that overlaps with The Salty Dog's marketplace and directory offerings.
• AutoTrader: AutoTrader is a broad vehicle marketplace that includes a substantial boat listings section. As a larger, well-funded platform with national reach, it competes with The Salty Dog for online boat listing traffic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saltydogpublications
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-salty-dog

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Salty Dog