Short answer: A spreadsheet, an email list and a binder are free and work well for a small club where one person owns the sheet and boats rarely clash. Sheets break when a club needs to stop two members from booking the same boat, refuse a booking from a skipper who isn't cleared, and keep the crew on that reservation. That is the job Zeil does today, from $99 a month. Race scoring, duty rosters, and PHRF certificates are on the roadmap, with no date. Online dues are not available to clubs yet.
Last updated 2026-10-22 · By Zeil crew · Zeil capabilities checked against our claims register (version 2026-10-17)
Most US yacht clubs and sailing centers already have a system: a shared spreadsheet, an email list, a Facebook group, and a binder of skipper approvals. It's the most common alternative to club software, and it isn't a vendor. This page is an honest comparison. Nothing below is a case study.
At a glance
| Job | Spreadsheet + email + Facebook | Zeil |
|---|---|---|
| Member roster and directory | Works if one person owns the file | Live Roster, invitations, member directory, and roles |
| Club-boat calendar | A grid; clashes are spotted by people | Live Reservations for club-owned boats, with double-booking blocked by the database |
| "Is this skipper cleared on this boat?" | A column, a binder, someone's memory | Live Certifications and endorsements checked before the boat can be reserved |
| Boat out of service | A note in a cell | Live Set a boat to maintenance and it comes off the booking calendar. A status, not a maintenance log |
| Crew | Group text | Live Invite, request-to-join, and discoverable crew |
| Forecast and tide | Separate apps | Not claimed live. A forecast on every reservation, and NOAA tide predictions, are not live. AI Sail Brief, which reads a forecast, is live on the Racing plan and Club Pro. AI-generated advisory; verify before sail. |
| Pre-sail briefing | None | Live AI Sail Brief from the forecast, the boat, the skipper, and club notes, on the Racing plan and Club Pro. AI-generated advisory; verify before sail. |
| Announcements | Facebook post or reply-all | Live Announcements and a weekly email digest. Targeted segments are Roadmap, with no date |
| Waivers | Paper or PDF | Live Versioned text with click-through acknowledgement |
| Race scoring | Another sheet or a scoring program | Not yet Roadmap, with no date |
| Duty rosters | Another tab | Not yet Roadmap, with no date |
| PHRF certificates | Columns you add | Not yet Roadmap, with no date. There is no rating, sail-number, or certificate field today |
| Online dues and renewals | Checks or another tool | Not yet Roadmap. Not available to clubs yet |
| Member-owned boats | Columns you add | Not in Zeil. Club-owned boats only |
| Marina slips and moorings | Another sheet or another tool | Marina+ is waitlist-only. It is not sold, and it has no date. |
| Phone access | The file in a phone app | Live Works in a phone browser. A native iOS/Android app is not yet live. Roadmap, with no date |
| Cost | $0 in licences; paid in volunteer hours | Starter $99, Racing $199, Club Pro $349 per month. 60-day free trial, no card. |
When a spreadsheet is the better choice
- A small, stable roster where one person owns the sheet and everyone asks them.
- No club-owned boats, or so few that a clash is a conversation, not a recurring problem.
- A board that isn't ready to change tools this season, or needs a holding pattern until next year's decision.
- Racing, duty rosters, PHRF certificates, or online dues are your main need. Zeil doesn't do those yet, so a new tool wouldn't fix your biggest problem today. Race scoring, duty, and PHRF have no date.
If that's your club, keep the sheet. We mean it.
When Zeil is the better choice
- Members book club-owned boats and you've had two people at the dock for the same boat.
- Skipper eligibility matters (insurance, bylaws, safety) and you want the booking refused, not flagged later.
- The sheet depends on one volunteer, and the club would be stuck if they stepped back.
- You want the crew, and a written Sail Brief, on the reservation instead of scattered across apps. A forecast on the reservation, and tide predictions, are not claimed live.
Where the sheet falls short for a sailing club
Overlaps. Two people editing the same cell, or writing on the same clipboard ten minutes apart, can both believe they have the boat. In Zeil the database refuses the second reservation.
Eligibility. A sheet can display a certification column. It cannot refuse a booking. Zeil checks certifications and endorsements before the reservation is made.
Crew. Who accepted and who dropped out: in a sheet stack that's a group text beside the file. In Zeil it sits on the reservation. Wind and tide stay in their own apps. Zeil does not claim a forecast or NOAA tide predictions on the reservation. The Sail Brief, on the Racing plan and Club Pro, reads a forecast and writes an advisory. AI-generated advisory; verify before sail.
None of this is volunteer carelessness. The format can't enforce rules.
The cost question, honestly
The sheet costs nothing in licences. Its cost is volunteer time. Our planning estimate is about 10 hours a week across a 26-week season for the person who keeps bookings, approvals and announcements straight. [ASSUMPTION] That figure is our own planning estimate, not survey data from clubs. Run your own number: hours a week × weeks in season, against Starter $99, Racing $199, or Club Pro $349 a month. Those are the only prices a club can buy.
Switching: what comes across, and what doesn't
Migration is a free service done by our team, not an automated import. This is the order we recommend.
- Roster and club-owned boats first: names, roles, and the boats members actually reserve. The import covers members and boats. It does not import certifications.
- Keep a read-only copy of the sheet during the trial if the board wants a fallback.
- Run real reservations during the 60-day trial before retiring the clipboard.
- Leave race results where they are. Zeil has no race-results module yet, so past results stay on your website or current scoring tool. Race scoring, duty rosters, and PHRF are roadmap, with no date.
FAQ
Spreadsheets are free. Why would a club pay for software? For a small club with few boats, it may not need to. The case for software is the volunteer hours and the mistakes a sheet can't prevent: double-booked boats and skippers who aren't cleared. Estimate your own hours before deciding. Our 10-hours-a-week figure is an assumption, not a measurement.
Our webmaster built our system. Do we throw that away? No. If your volunteer-built system works, it's an asset. The question is what happens when that person steps back. If you switch, they're the best person to help configure Zeil and decide what comes across.
We're volunteer-run. Who has time to switch? Migration is done by our team at no charge, and the 60-day trial needs no credit card. Your club's part is giving us the roster and boat list and checking the result.
Will we lose our history? Members, roles, and club-owned boats come across. Certifications are not part of the import. Past race results do not: Zeil has no race-results module yet, so keep them where they are. Ask us before you switch about getting your data back out later. We'd rather answer that in writing for your board than in a sentence here.
Can a spreadsheet enforce skipper eligibility? It can show it, but it can't enforce it. Zeil refuses the reservation if the skipper's certifications don't cover that boat.
Is race scoring live on Zeil? Not yet. Race scoring, duty rosters, and PHRF certificates are on our roadmap, with no date. Until they ship, keep your current scoring tool for racing.
Can members pay dues online through Zeil? Not yet for clubs today. Keep your current dues process; Zeil runs the roster alongside it. Collection is not live yet. When it is, members see a Booking fee of 2%, the same on every payment method, with the fee-inclusive total shown first. The club is the seller.
Sources
- Zeil capabilities: Zeil claims register, version 2026-10-17 (internal). Live vs roadmap as stated in the table.
- Zeil pricing: https://zeilapp.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-17). Starter $99, Racing $199, Club Pro $349 per month; 60-day trial.
- Volunteer-hours planning estimate: Zeil content strategy (internal), labelled [ASSUMPTION] above.