Who this is for: equipment managers, boatmen, coaches and board members responsible for the fleet and its insurance. Features involved: Equipment, Groups, Practices, Regattas
The problem
Two members turn up at 6 a.m. for the same single because the sign-up sheet on the boathouse door was not updated. A rigger has been cracked for a week, but nobody told the equipment manager, so a crew finds out on the water. A novice takes out the club's newest boat because nothing says they cannot.
Then the insurance renewal arrives and the treasurer has to rebuild the list of boats, serial numbers and values from memory and an old spreadsheet. When the board asks whether the club really needs another quad, nobody can say how often the existing ones are used.
How it works in Boathouse Connect
You record each boat, oar set and erg once, with its purchase and insurance details. Groups decide who may take each boat out. Every booking — a member's private row, a practice or a regatta — is a reservation against the same inventory, so the same boat cannot be in two places at once. Damage is reported in the app and reaches the people who can act on it, and the inventory feeds an insurance summary, estimated valuations and usage analytics.
| Step | Where | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Record boats, oars and ergs with purchase and insurance details | Equipment → All Equipment | Equipment manager (Add Equipment to Inventory to add boats; Manage Equipment or Add Equipment to Inventory for oars and ergs) |
| Decide which groups can check out each boat | Boat's Checkout Permissions tab, or the group's equipment permissions on Groups → Manage Groups | Equipment manager (Equipment Usage Hours & Group Permissions) |
| Set reservation limits and blackout times | Equipment → Settings | Equipment manager (Equipment Usage Hours & Group Permissions) |
| Book equipment for a private row | Equipment → Reservations | Member (Check out equipment) |
| Reserve boats for practices and regattas | Reserve Equipment on Practices → Manage; planner Equipment tab | Coach (Create Practices or Set Practice Lineups; planner admins) |
| Report and resolve damage | Equipment → Reported Issues | Anyone reports; equipment manager resolves (Manage Equipment) |
| Prepare insurance and board reports | Equipment → Insurance, Equipment → Valuations, Equipment → Analytics | Equipment manager or board member (Manage Equipment) |
Step by step
Build the inventory
- Add the fleet. Enter each boat on Equipment → All Equipment → Boats with its Serial Number, Year Built, Year Purchased, Purchase Price and whether it is insured, then record its rigging. Add oar sets and ergs on the Oars and Ergs tabs. Only these three types are tracked. See Equipment inventory.
- Decode unknown serial numbers. For older boats with no paperwork, the free Serial Number Decoder reads a hull identification number and shows the manufacturer, hull number and model year. See Equipment inventory.
Decide who can use what
- Give groups checkout permissions. On each boat's Checkout Permissions tab, add the groups allowed to use it — for example, your racing singles for Varsity and Masters Competitive only. Remember to include your coaches' group so they can put the boat in practice lineups. See Equipment inventory and Groups.
- Set the house rules. On Equipment → Settings, set Max Reservation Time and lead times under Personal Limits, and add Blackout Times for hours when boats cannot be booked privately, such as during scheduled practice. Blackouts apply to boats only. See Reservations.
Book it
- Members reserve for private rows. A member with Check out equipment books on Equipment → Reservations; Boathouse Connect only offers equipment that is free, allowed for their groups and within your limits, so no one double-books a single. See Reservations.
- Coaches reserve for practices. Every practice has its own reservation covering its start and end time; coaches add the boats and oars it needs with Reserve Equipment on Practices → Manage, and the lineup builder then shows those boats for seating. See Reservations and The lineup builder.
- Regattas hold boats for the trip. A regatta planner creates a reservation for the travel window, and only boats reserved there can be used in race lineups. See Running a regatta weekend.
Catch damage
- Anyone reports an issue. Members report on Equipment → Reported Issues or in the post-practice survey. Everyone with Set Practice Lineups, Manage Equipment, Add Equipment to Inventory or Equipment Usage Hours & Group Permissions is notified. See Reported issues.
- Take unsafe equipment out of service. A report does not change the boat's status by itself. If it is unsafe, set it to Out Of Service so it is no longer offered for private reservations and its tile turns red. Once it is repaired, resolve the issue (needs Manage Equipment) and set the status back to Available — resolving does not do that for you. See Reported issues.
Report to the board and insurer
- Insurance renewal. Equipment → Insurance lists insured boats and ergs and every oar set, ready to export for your broker. See Insurance, valuations & analytics.
- Estimated values. Equipment → Valuations estimates each boat's market value from comparable listings, refreshed monthly. Treat it as a guide, not an appraisal. See Insurance, valuations & analytics.
- Usage. Equipment → Analytics shows each boat's uses and hours from practices and private reservations over any date range — the evidence for buying, selling or reassigning boats. See Insurance, valuations & analytics.
What each person sees
| Person | What they see |
|---|---|
| Equipment manager | The full inventory, settings and every reported issue. With Manage Equipment, also the insurance, valuation and analytics pages, which are hidden from everyone else. |
| Coach | Equipment for their practices and regatta planners, issue notifications and the boats in the lineup builder. |
| Member | The inventory (view only), Equipment → Reservations for the boats their groups may use, their own bookings, open issues and the Report Equipment Issue form. |
| Parent or stakeholder | Nothing in Equipment. Reservations appear on the public calendar widget if your club embeds it, without the member's name. |
Tips
- Enter purchase price and insured value as you add each boat; the insurance summary and analytics are only as good as the inventory.
- Keep checkout permissions tight on expensive boats and open on training boats; a group's members can only reserve boats their group is allowed.
- Make Out Of Service part of your damage routine. A reported issue alone does not stop someone booking the boat privately or a coach picking it.
- Set Maximum Lead Time to a week or less so private bookings do not collide with practices scheduled later.
- Archive boats you have sold instead of leaving them available; boats cannot be deleted, and archiving keeps their history.
FAQ
Can we track launches, trailers or life jackets? No. The inventory covers boats, oar sets and ergs only. Trailers and trip loading are handled in RiggerPlus; see Trailers & trips (RiggerPlus).
What if a member books a boat during practice time? Add a blackout time for your practice hours on Equipment → Settings. Practice and regatta reservations are not subject to blackouts, so coaches can still reserve the boats.
Does the valuation replace an appraisal for our insurer? No. It is an estimate from comparable listings. Use it as a starting point and confirm values with your insurer.
Can a member see what is wrong with a boat before taking it out? Yes. Anyone can view reported issues, and each boat's Reported Issues tab lists its history with a Pending resolution date until it is fixed.
Who hears about a broken rigger? Everyone with the equipment or lineup permissions listed in step 8 — usually your coaches and equipment manager.