I’ve spent my career building consumer products — apps, marketplaces, experiences designed to create genuine delight for the people using them. I’ve built from zero. I’ve scaled. And along the way, I’ve noticed a pattern: the industries that are most ripe for transformation aren’t the ones that lack software. They’re the ones buried in it.
The marine industry fits that pattern perfectly. Marinas aren’t held back by a lack of tools. They’re held back by tools that don't talk to each other. A booking system here, a contracts app there, a separate POS, a fuel spreadsheet, QuickBooks duct-taped to the side. Individually functional. Collectively chaotic.
Dockwa stood out as the clearest opportunity I’d seen: a company already trusted by over 1,200 marinas and 500,000 boaters, with the mission and infrastructure to do what no one else in this industry has done - not build another tool, but build the operating system.
During my first month, I’ve spent time talking with marina operators, watching staff navigate their days, and thinking about what it means to build software for someone whose hands are literally full. The person checking in a transient boater on the busiest Saturday of the summer. The dockmaster managing a launch queue while fielding a radio call.. The boater fumbling with a phone in salt spray, trying to sign a contract before the tide turns.
That’s who I’m here for. And that’s why I joined Dockwa.
Whether you’re a small yacht club like Biddeford Pool Yacht Club in Maine, a bustling operation like Palm Harbor Marina, or an iconic destination like Roche Harbor in the Pacific Northwest — this is for you.
Today, most marina operations rely on four to six disconnected systems - each doing one thing well, none of them working together.
The result:
The answer isn’t another tool. It’s one connected platform where every workflow, every payment, and boater interaction lives in one place.
Imagine this: a boater books a slip through Dockwa - that reservation links to their contract, their payment method, their fuel purchases, their account history, and your revenue reporting.One boater profile. One payment system. One source of truth. No reconciliation. No re-entry. No gaps.
And here’s what excites me most: every time a boater can do something themselves— pay an invoice, sign a contract, request a launch, check fuel prices — that’s one less phone call your team has to take, one less paper form to process, one less manual reconciliation at the end of the day.
Time back. Real time. On the days when every minute counts.
A connected boater is an efficient marina. That’s not just a feature - that’s the whole point.
Here’s what you can already run end to end inside Dockwa:
Reach 500,000+ boaters on Marinas.com. Your listing drives qualified leads 24/7 - no phone calls required. With Dockwa Deals, you can fill slips fast and maximize every night.
Real-time availability, automated waitlists, and complete rate control across your entire inventory. Boaters book online; your team manages everything from one dashboard.
Digital contracts with e-signature, automated invoicing, recurring billing, insurance collection, and compliance tracking. Late fees and payments happen automatically, so you can stop chasing checks.
Interactive digital marina maps with dockwalk tools. Automated electric meter readings and billing. Every slip, assignment, and asset — visible and trackable in real time.
Boaters schedule and manage launches from their phones, and your team stays organized with real-time updates and notifications.. Most marinas see call volume cut in half - a win for both staff and customers.
Track fuel inventory down to the ten-thousandth decimal. Offer digital checkout docksite, at the pump, or in the ship store. Every transaction syncs automatically with each boater’s account.
Dockwa Pay powers every module — one payment system, one reconciliation flow, integrated with QuickBooks, NetSuite, and more.
View occupancy, revenue, and demand insights in one dashboard.Telescope, the industry’s first and only dynamic pricing engine, helps you optimize rates automatically - with more AI-driven insights and recommendations on the horizon.
Unified customer profiles tie every interaction together. Message boaters directly in-platform, manage reviews, and strengthen your reputation with ease.
The final major pieces of the operating system are almost here:
Service & Boatyard: Complete work order management, parts tracking, and service communication. Maintenance and repair will seamlessly integrate alongside your existing operations.
Boat Rentals: Full rental management, purpose-built to serve the fastest-growing segment in boating — without adding yet another disconnected tool.
By this summer, every core marina operation will live inside one operating system. That’s not a roadmap aspiration. That’s a commitment we’re making to you.
And what’s next — smarter pricing, automated workflows, and predictive insights — is just the start.
We’ve built the operating system, but the best systems aren’t designed in isolation; they’re shaped by the people who use them every day — in salt spray, on full docks, with a radio in one hand and a phone in the other..
I want to hear from you: what’s working, what’s not, and what still pushes you back to a spreadsheet. I’m not here to pitch you. I’m here to listen, and to build what truly makes your day easier.
Two ways to connect:
I’m introducing myself not just as Dockwa’s Head of Product, but as your partner in building the future of this industry. Because the future doesn’t belong to the marinas with the most software - it belongs to the marinas with the best system.
That’s what we’re building. And we’d love to build it with you.
Kristen
Head of Product, Dockwa