Terms & Conditions

1. Platform Purpose

The Capt App is an online marketplace that introduces boat owners ("Owners") to independent licensed captains ("Captains"). We provide the introduction and the tools to arrange a trip between captain and owner. We are not a party to any agreement between an Owner and a Captain, we do not provide marine transportation or captain services, and we do not operate, charter, crew, or broker vessels.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, provide accurate account information, keep your contact details current, and use the Platform lawfully.

Captains are responsible for holding every license, endorsement, certification, and insurance applicable to the services they offer. Owners are responsible for satisfying themselves as to a Captain's suitability before engaging them.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for your account's security and for all activity under it. We may suspend or terminate any account that breaches these Terms or creates risk for the Platform or its users.

4. Memberships & Payments

Captain accounts are free. Owners purchase a recurring membership to post trips and engage Captains. The current price is shown before purchase and charged through our payment processor.

Memberships renew automatically until cancelled. You may cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period, and partial periods are not refunded except where required by law.

Payment for a Captain's services is arranged directly between the Owner and the Captain. We are not a party to it, do not hold those funds, and do not guarantee payment by either side.

5. Communications Consent

You consent to receive service messages by email and push notification. Marketing messages can be switched off in the app. Transactional messages about your account, bookings, and credentials cannot.

6. No Employment Relationship

Captains are independent contractors. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship between The Capt App and any user. We do not direct, supervise, schedule, or control a Captain's work.

7. No Guarantee of Services

We do not guarantee that any trip will be filled, that any Captain will bid, that any bid will be accepted, or that any engagement will be completed.

8. User Conduct

You agree not to misrepresent your identity, credentials, or experience; not to circumvent the Platform's fees; not to harass, endanger, or defraud other users; and not to use the Platform for any unlawful purpose.

9. Assumption of Risk - Boating

BOATING IS DANGEROUS. Activities arranged through the Platform carry inherent risks including drowning, serious injury, death, property damage, equipment and mechanical failure, adverse weather, sea state, collision, fire, and maritime emergency. These risks cannot be eliminated.

You knowingly and voluntarily assume all such risks, for yourself and for any guest or passenger you bring aboard, and you release The Capt App from all claims arising from them.

We do not own, inspect, maintain, certify, endorse, crew, or supervise any vessel. Owners are solely responsible for seaworthiness, maintenance, required safety equipment, and compliance with maritime law. Captains are solely responsible for safe and lawful operation, and retain absolute discretion to delay, shorten, alter, or refuse any voyage on safety grounds. No user may require a Captain to sail against that judgment.

10. Captain Credentials & Verification

Some Captains display a verification status. Verification means only this: at the Captain's request we asked the U.S. Coast Guard's National Maritime Center to confirm that a stated mariner reference number matches a credential, and recorded the expiry date returned. It is a point-in-time record check and nothing more.

Verification is NOT an assessment of skill, judgment, seamanship, safety record, character, insurance, or fitness for any particular voyage. A credential can lapse, be suspended, or be revoked after we check it. We do not conduct background checks, drug testing, competence assessment, or reference checks.

Unverified Captains may hold valid credentials we have not checked. Owners remain responsible for their own due diligence in every case, and must not treat any badge, label, or status shown on the Platform as a recommendation.

11. Insurance

We provide no insurance of any kind to any user. Owners must maintain insurance appropriate to their vessel and its use, including any coverage required for hired or non-owned operators. Captains must maintain their own coverage. Neither party's coverage is verified by us.

12. Payment Processing & Refunds

Payments are handled by third-party processors under their own terms. We do not store full card details. Membership refunds are at our discretion except where required by law.

13. Intellectual Property & User Content

The Platform, its software, and its branding are ours. You keep ownership of content you upload, and grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, and distribute it for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform.

You are responsible for holding the rights to anything you upload.

14. Copyright & DMCA

We respond to valid takedown notices. Send them to [email protected] with the information required by 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(3).

15. Platform Availability

The Platform is provided on an "as available" basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access and may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of it.

16. Termination

Either party may terminate at any time. We may suspend or terminate immediately for conduct that breaches these Terms or endangers others. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination do survive it - see Section 24.

17. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We make no representation about any user, vessel, credential, or engagement arranged through the Platform.

18. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE CAPT APP WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOST PROFITS, OR LOSS OF DATA, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE PLATFORM OR ANY ENGAGEMENT ARRANGED THROUGH IT - WHETHER THE CLAIM SOUNDS IN CONTRACT, TORT, MARITIME LAW, OR OTHERWISE, AND EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (a) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (b) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions; where that applies, the exclusions apply to the fullest extent permitted and the remainder of this section stays in force.

19. Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless The Capt App and its owners, officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Platform, your conduct, any engagement you enter into, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

20. Disputes Between Users

Disputes between an Owner and a Captain are between them. We have no obligation to mediate, arbitrate, or resolve them, and you release us from any claim arising out of such a dispute.

21. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

First, contact [email protected]. Most matters are resolved this way, and both sides agree to try for thirty (30) days before starting formal proceedings.

If that fails, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will be seated in New York, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

YOU AND THE CAPT APP EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. Claims must be brought individually.

Either party may seek injunctive relief in court for infringement or misuse of intellectual property or confidential information. If the class waiver is held unenforceable, this arbitration section is void in its entirety and disputes proceed in the courts named in Section 23.

22. Time Limit on Claims

Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform must be brought within ONE (1) YEAR of the date it arose, or it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.

23. Governing Law & Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, except that the Federal Arbitration Act governs Section 21 and federal maritime law applies where it otherwise would.

Where a dispute is not subject to arbitration, it will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Suffolk County, New York, and both parties consent to that jurisdiction.

24. General

Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, it is modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and everything else remains in full force.

Survival. Sections 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 survive termination of your account.

Entire agreement. These Terms are the whole agreement between you and The Capt App about the Platform and supersede any prior understanding.

No waiver. Failing to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure to perform due to causes beyond reasonable control, including weather, act of God, labor dispute, or government action.

Electronic agreement. Ticking "I agree" at sign-up, or continuing to use the Platform, is your electronic signature and constitutes acceptance of these Terms.

25. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms. The revision date is shown at the top of this page. Material changes will be notified in the app or by email, and continued use after the effective date is acceptance.

26. Contact

The Capt App
[email protected]
PO Box 8123
Sag Harbor, NY 11963