Serving Rhode Island & Boston
Your boat,
handled.
One number, answered by the person who knows your boat. I line up the right people, hold them to the standard, and stay on it until it’s right — however hard the job turns out to be.
“Martingale is an essential crew member on my sailboat. I get to enjoy my boat because I have Martingale at my back every step of the way. The service is a dream come true. I could not enjoy my 48 year old boat without Martingale Marine Services. I am truly grateful.”
Phil Strother
S/V Rebel Fox
Flooding through-hull to stabilized, with a plan
Hydraulic failure at sea to underway again
On-time launches — your dates hold
A roster kept short so the phone gets answered
The difference
I answer. And I don’t hand the problem back.
Ask an owner what really went wrong last season and you rarely hear about the repair bill. You hear about the silence — the call that never came back, the job that stalled in week three, the vendor who decided your problem had stopped being his problem.
That’s the part I take off your plate, and it’s the part I measure myself on.
I call back.
One number, and the person who picks it up is the person who knows your boat. Not a dispatcher, not a voicemail box, not a callback sometime next week.
I stay on it when it gets hard.
The easy jobs look after themselves. My accountability starts where a job stops being simple — the part that's out of production, the yard whose schedule slips, the builder who'd rather not stand behind the work. I keep working it until there's a solution.
You hear it from me first.
Good news or bad, you get the straight version and what I'm doing about it. No chasing me for a status, no wondering where it stands, no finding out at haul-out.
“Having one responsive point of contact is a luxury like no other.”
What staying on it has actually looked like.
- A generator failed ten weeks into a new boat's first season.
- It wasn't a worn-out machine. The exhaust had been pitched wrong at the factory, letting water back into it. I had video of the fault in front of the builder the same hour and held them to it — a new generator came under warranty, at no cost to the owner for the unit, and the exhaust was re-pitched properly so it cannot happen twice.
- A yard's five days on the hard became seven.
- That overrun was mine to absorb, not the owner's to discover. The dates he'd been given held, he had a working bow thruster when he was promised one, and I drove to Boston afterward to teach him to use it.
- A part out of production for more than thirty years.
- A disintegrated Hood mast swivel, with nothing like it built since. Matched and sourced through the network in under eight hours, rather than written off as unobtainable.
- A through-hull let go with the owner in France.
- Stabilized with a plan inside two hours, new through-hulls fitted, and back on her mooring sea-trialed in seven days. He found out from my updates, not from a crisis.
The idea
Think of me as your captain — ashore.
The best-run boats have always had someone who knew them cold — a captain who noticed the small things before they became the season-ending things, who knew which yard to call and could tell when the work was done right.
Most owners today don’t have that person. So the boat becomes a second job: chasing vendors, decoding invoices, hoping the launch date holds. That’s the job I take off your plate. I’m not a boatyard and I’m not selling you parts — I’m the person who makes sure the right work happens, on time, done properly, so the boat is simply ready when you are.
What I handle
Everything between you and a boat that’s ready.
It starts with the piece most owners are actually missing: someone who picks up. Everything below runs on that.
One call, answered
One number, and the person who picks it up already knows your boat — no dispatcher, no queue, no re-explaining your situation to a stranger.
On call when it goes wrong
Something lets go at the dock and you make one call. I find the right hands and stay on it until it's resolved — including the jobs that turn out to be hard.
Vendor coordination
Riggers, mechanics, detailers, electronics, canvas — I line up the right people, brief them, and hold them to the standard so you're not playing middleman.
Proactive maintenance
A real schedule for your boat, not a shoebox of receipts. The routine things happen before they become emergencies.
Commissioning & haul-out
Spring launch and fall lay-up managed end to end, so your dates hold and nothing gets forgotten between seasons.
Vessel records & straight pricing
One clear record of every system, part number, and job done. Fair, transparent pricing with no surprise line items — I work for you, not the yard.
How it works
From first text to fully handled.
Getting started is simple — especially if you’ve just bought a boat and aren’t sure where to begin. Here’s the path from hello to a boat that looks after itself (because I’m looking after it).
- 01
Inquiry
You reach out — a text with your boat and marina is plenty to start.
- 02
Interview
We talk, so I learn how you use her and what matters most to you.
- 03
Vessel review
I go through the boat in person, system by system, top to bottom.
- 04
The plan
A work list, a season calendar, and a complete vessel record — nothing guessed, nothing missed.
- 05
On call
From then on you text me any time you need anything, and I answer. That's the whole relationship.
Why it matters
The problems that end a season start small.
Weeping seacocks. A hose clamp going to rust. A through-hull nobody has looked at in three years. Left alone, these are the things that sink a season — or a boat. Caught early, they’re a quiet afternoon’s work.
Knowing the difference, and staying ahead of it, is the whole job.
Found on a routine check — before it found the owner.
Recent wins
A season of boats, handled.
Hallberg-Rassy 39 MkII
A flooding through-hull, with the owner in France.
Stabilized with a plan in 2 hours; new through-hulls and back on her mooring in 7 days. He found out from our updates, not a crisis.
Read it →2026 Elliott 33
Shipped from New Zealand, sailing in two weeks.
Collected off the ship, through the permits and the yard, and in the water about two weeks after she landed — then first across the line her first time out.
Read it →2026 Bertram 35
Factory to her slip in four days.
Transport, permits, federal documentation, insurance and a berth — all handled before the owner stepped aboard a boat that was simply ready.
Read it →In their words
The owners who’d know.
Daniel met us at the marina on day one and took a thorough inventory of the boat and her systems — then got to know us as sailors. He handled routine upgrades and troubleshot complicated repairs faster than we expected. Having one responsive point of contact is a luxury like no other.
Joe & Kerrianne Ciccone
Charlestown, MA
Working with Martingale has made boat ownership easy. They're responsive, detail-oriented, and genuinely care about keeping things running smoothly. I spend less time worrying about maintenance and more time on the water.
Barbara Vietor
S/V Fidelia
After 25 years away, Martingale made my dream of cruising again come true. Daniel is an invaluable partner — his expertise brings a real level of safety and security to my itinerary. Prompt, efficient, and with a smile.
Phil Strother
S/V Rebel Fox
Who it’s for
A short list of owners, looked after properly.
This isn’t a call center or a booking app. I keep the roster small on purpose — it’s the only way the attention stays real. It tends to be the right fit if:
- —You keep your boat in Rhode Island or the greater Boston area.
- —You just bought a boat and don't want to become a full-time maintenance manager to enjoy it.
- —You'd rather spend your time on the water than managing the people who keep it running.
- —You want one person who knows the boat and answers straight — not a rotating cast.
Common questions
The questions owners ask first.
- What is a “captain ashore,” and how is it different from a boatyard?
- A captain ashore is a dedicated service manager who looks after your boat the way a private captain would — coordinating the yards, mechanics, riggers, and specialists your boat needs, keeping detailed records, and being your single point of contact. Martingale is not a boatyard and does no trade work itself. Pricing is transparent — no games, no surprise line items — and Martingale works for you, not the yard.
- How quickly does Martingale respond when I need something?
- One number reaches the person who already knows your boat, and it gets answered. Texts and calls get a real answer the same day — usually much sooner — and if something is going wrong at the dock, that is exactly what the number is for.
- What happens when a job turns out to be difficult?
- That is the part Martingale is really for. When a part is out of production, a yard’s schedule slips, or a builder would rather not stand behind their work, the job does not get handed back to you — it gets worked until there is a solution, and you hear where it stands either way. The accountability does not end when the going gets tough.
- How much does Martingale cost compared to hiring a full-time captain?
- A full-time captain runs roughly $80,000 to $120,000 a year all-in once you add payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and benefits — and you pay it twelve months for a job that peaks in three. Martingale gives you the same captain-level oversight for a flat retainer that is a fraction of that, with no one on your payroll.
- What areas does Martingale serve?
- Martingale looks after a small number of boats around Narragansett Bay, Newport, and Rhode Island, and the greater Boston area.
- I just bought my first boat. What does Martingale do for new owners?
- New owners are exactly who Martingale is built for. It starts with an in-person review of the boat, system by system, then builds a work list, a season calendar, and a complete vessel record — so you can enjoy the boat without becoming a full-time maintenance manager.
- Does Martingale do the maintenance work itself?
- No. Martingale coordinates the right specialist for each job — rigging, mechanical, electronics, canvas — briefs them, and holds them to standard. You get one honest point of contact instead of playing middleman, with transparent pricing and no surprise line items.
- What does Martingale handle?
- Vendor coordination, proactive maintenance, spring commissioning and fall haul-out, complete vessel records, and on-call response when something goes wrong at the dock — everything between you and a boat that’s ready.
Tell me about your boat.
Send me the make, the marina, and what’s been nagging at you. No commitment — just a straight conversation about whether I’m the right person to look after her.