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Yacht club management software

For yacht clubs: the sailing-first operating system

Yacht club management software should know what a boat, a certification, a crew, and a race committee are. Most of what boards are offered does not. It is membership software with a harbor photo.

Zeil is the sailing-first club operating system for US yacht clubs and sailing centers: membership, boat scheduling, racing, and AI Sail Briefs in one mobile-native platform. Volunteers get their evenings back. Members get on the water.

The buying window

The club already has a system. It is made of volunteer evenings.

This page is for commodores, club managers, and treasurers in the September–February buying window. It says what is live today and what is dated roadmap. We do not have paying clubs to put on a logo wall, so there is none.

Bookings in a spreadsheet. Announcements in a Facebook group. Skipper approvals in a binder. Race results in a tool from another decade. The commodore stitches it at 10pm.

That stack is familiar. It cannot refuse a double-booking, cannot enforce who is cleared on the club J/22, and cannot put forecast, boat, and skipper record in one briefing. Those are the jobs yacht club management software has to do on the sailing side of the house — not the dining room, not the fuel dock.

Live today

Present tense only for what is actually live

Claims register schema 1.2.0, verified 2026-08-19, product HEAD 727dce82. Mobile web is live. A dedicated iOS/Android app is not.

  • MembershipRoster, invitations, member directory, roles.
  • Club-owned boat reservationsOverlap-proof; double-booking is prevented in the database, not by a warning.
  • EligibilityCertifications and endorsements gate skipper eligibility before the boat can be reserved.
  • CrewInvite, request-to-join, min/max crew.
  • WeatherForecasts on every reservation (Open-Meteo).
  • TidesNOAA station predictions on the dashboard (separate from the forecast source).
  • AI Sail BriefsPlain-English briefing from forecast, boat, skipper qualifications, and club local notes. Regenerates when the forecast shifts. Advisory: skippers make the final call. “AI-generated advisory; verify before sail.”
  • AnnouncementsClub-wide announcements and a weekly email digest.
  • WaiversE-signature, versioned, with an acknowledgement log.
  • Guest / transient registrationTokenised guest page with waiver. Not a reciprocity-agreement ledger.
  • Dues collectionA club can take recurring membership dues via Stripe on the club’s account (club is merchant of record). This is collection, not the full renewals suite.
  • Self-serve club creation & migrationSelf-serve club creation and free white-glove migration (our team imports; not an automated instant migration).
  • Trial60-day full-featured trial, no credit card.

We do not claim a member-boat registry, PHRF certificates on boats, per-vessel maintenance logs, or segmented “racing members only” email. Those are either absent or roadmap.

On the roadmap — labeled, dated

If you need it before the date, Founding Clubs is the honest path

Locked list price on sellable plans, committed dates, first access at beta, product input — not an implied early unlock of scoring or marina.

  • Race series and RRS-compliant scoring

    Beta — Oct 15, 2026 → GA Dec 1, 2026

    PHRF time-on-time/time-on-distance + one-design in beta; Portsmouth at GA.

  • Duty rosters

    Beta — Oct 15, 2026; auto-scheduler Dec 1, 2026

    v1 in the racing beta; auto-scheduler follows at general availability.

  • PHRF corrected-time math

    Racing beta — Oct 15, 2026

    The scoring reads a registry we have not finished; do not treat fleet scheduling as PHRF certificates.

  • Regatta registration and entry payments

    Roadmap — after scoring beta

    After the scoring beta (product ledger: GA February 15, 2027).

  • Dues renewal invoices, reminders, lapsed-member workflow

    Beta — Dec 15, 2026 → GA Jan 31, 2027

    Collection of recurring dues is live; the renewals suite is not.

  • Segmented announcements

    Nov 15, 2026

    Club-wide announcements are live. Segmented sends are dated. Push notifications ship with the native app.

  • Sailing school / junior program payments

    Club Pro — beta Feb 15, 2027 → GA Mar 15, 2027

    School operations exist in product; payments and instructor scheduling are not sold as complete.

  • Marina+ / marina module

    Waitlist-only

    Slips, moorings, transient/liveaboard billing. Waitlist-only — not a live sold or shipped plan. Not in the self-serve picker. Module beta September 30, 2027. Do not start a trial as Marina+.

  • Native member mobile app

    Beta — Jun 30, 2027

    Mobile web is live. A dedicated iOS/Android app is not.

Honest boundaries

What we do not do, on purpose

Dining, bar, and POS

Zeil does not run the galley. Keep the F&B system you have. We are the club operating system for members, boats, eligibility, communications, waivers, guests, and (when you turn it on) dues.

Slips, moorings, and marina billing

Waitlist-only

Not sold. Marina+ is waitlist-only — not a live product card. Do not start a trial as Marina+.

Reciprocity ledgers

Guest registration is live; tracking burgee-for-burgee contracts is not.

Pricing

Sellable plans only

Starter, Racing, and Club Pro. Marina+ is omitted — waitlist-only, not a live sold plan.

60-day trial, no credit card. Free white-glove migration from spreadsheets or your current tool.

Founding Clubs

25 slots, sellable tiers only

Marina+ is waitlist-only and excluded. A 24-month lock at today’s list price on Starter, Racing, and Club Pro — a lock, not a percentage discount.

  • Racing-plan Founding Clubs pay $99/mo until the race-scoring beta is in their hands (target October 15, 2026), then locked list.
  • Free white-glove migration. Founding Council seat. Numbered badge.
  • Optional 12-for-10 annual prepay, capped at 10 of the 25.
Founding Clubs terms
FAQ

Answers for the board

Is this yacht club management software, or just a boat calendar?

It is a club operating system. Membership, eligibility-checked reservations, crew, weather, Sail Briefs, announcements, waivers, and guest registration are live. Racing scoring is dated roadmap. Hospitality/POS is out of scope on purpose.

Can we run Wednesday night series on Zeil this month?Beta — Oct 15, 2026

Not the scoring. Live today: the people, boats, eligibility, and race-day briefing.

Do members pay dues in Zeil?Renewals — beta Dec 15, 2026

Collection: yes, on the club’s Stripe account, when an admin turns it on. Renewal invoices / reminders / lapsed workflow are not live yet.

Is there a case study?

Not yet. We will not invent one. Zero paying clubs as of the company brief; we do not use the founder’s own club as a customer.

How is this different from generic club software?

Generic tools treat a yacht club like any membership org. They do not enforce skipper credentials before a boat goes out, and they do not write a Sail Brief. Race scoring, when we ship it, is built for the Racing Rules of Sailing — and until that date we say “not yet.”

Can we buy Marina+ / run slips on Zeil this season?Waitlist-only

No. Marina+ is waitlist-only — not a live sold or shipped plan. Slips, moorings, and marina billing are on the roadmap. Do not start a trial as Marina+.

Try it on your own fleet

60-day full-featured trial, no credit card. We migrate your members, boats, and history for free.

Start your 60-day trial

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