Dockwa is marina management software with a built-in boater marketplace. It fills slips, collects payments, and runs daily operations for marinas of every size, from family-owned boatyards to multi-property portfolios.
Last updated October 1, 2026
Trusted by marinas, harbors, and portfolios across North America
Most marinas still can't connect a sale at the counter to the customer standing in front of them. Dockwa puts the marina and the boater on one system, so every transaction builds a record both sides can use.
Marinas use Dockwa to run reservations, contracts, billing, fuel, point of sale, and the service yard in one system. Boaters use the Dockwa app and Marinas.com to find a slip, book it, and pay. Every booking a boater makes lands directly in the marina's calendar, books, and customer records.
Picture a Friday evening in July. A 36-foot Sabre called Second Wind idles up to the fuel dock of a 61-slip boatyard on Buzzards Bay. Her owner has kept her here for nine seasons. He tops off both tanks, walks up the dock, and hands his card to a kid behind the counter, who runs it through a gray terminal leased from a payments company neither of them could name.
Here is everything that happens next: nothing.
The marina gets the money and a receipt. It learns nothing about a customer it has served for nine years. The sale joins no record and builds no relationship. The boater gets a paper slip he will lose. What the marina knows about its own business stays where it has always been: in the owner's head.
Now the strange part. This boater already uses Dockwa. He books slips through the app when he cruises, and at some point, without anyone asking, he told the app that this boatyard is his home. The boatyard is on Dockwa too. Both sides of that sale were already on the same platform, but nothing connected them at the counter.
On Dockwa, the same fill-up lands in two places at once: in the boater's app, where his boating life adds up in one record, and in the marina's customer list, where a nine-year customer finally has a name. For the first time in nine seasons, everybody involved gets to remember it happened.
Dockwa is modular. Marinas start with what they need and add the rest over time. Every module shares one customer record, one payment system, and one set of reports.
Online reservationsTransient · 24/7 slip and mooring bookingBoaters request and book slips and moorings around the clock on the Dockwa app and Marinas.com. The marina approves each request before the card is charged, and vessel, insurance, and payment details arrive with the booking.
Explore Transient →"Without it, I'd be sitting there in the marina office till midnight on the phone."
Owner, Jekyll Harbor Marina
Dynamic pricingTelescope · slip rates set with network demandTelescope recommends slip rates based on real demand across the Dockwa network. Marinas charge more on peak nights and fill slips on slow ones, using data no single marina has on its own.
Explore Revenue Management →
Free marina profile and the Dockwa NetworkLeads and Network · start free, pay per bookingEvery marina can claim a free profile, answer inquiries, and respond to reviews at no cost. Marinas that want online bookings without a subscription can join the Dockwa Network and pay only when they get a booking.
Explore Leads → Explore Network →
Contracts and billingCaptains & Contracts · digital seasonal and annual contractsSeasonal and annual contracts go out digitally, get signed on any device, and bill on schedule with deposits and auto-pay. Brunswick Landing now has 90% of its contracts on auto-pay.
Explore Captains & Contracts →
Slips, moorings, and the marina mapSpaces · live occupancy for every slip, mooring, and rackA live map shows every slip, mooring, and rack as occupied, vacant, arriving, or overdue. Staff assign spaces and log metered electric readings from the Dockwalk app on the dock.
Explore Spaces →"Dockwa has cut down a lot of my time in the office and allows us to be more feet on the ground with our customers."
Owner, Carousel Marina
Service and work ordersService · new in July 2026In most boatyards, the job board is a whiteboard and the work order is a carbon copy. Dockwa Service moves both into the system the marina already runs on. The yard creates a work order, scopes the job with the customer, tracks progress as techs finish tasks, and invoices and collects payment from the work order, with no second login and no retyping the customer's details. It is built for seasonal work, haul-outs, and customer repairs.
Explore Service →
Fuel dock and ship storeFuel Management and Point of SaleOne checkout handles fuel, retail, and dock fees, with pump integration, inventory tracking, and tipping for dock staff. Sales reconcile automatically at the end of the day.
Explore Fuel Management → Explore Point of Sale →
Dry stackOne launch and retrieval queueBoaters request launches from the Dockwa app, and staff work from a single launch and retrieval queue. Fewer phone calls, no paper launch sheet.
Explore Dry Stack Management →
PaymentsDockwa Pay · card and ACH built into every moduleCard and ACH payments are built into every module, so there is no separate terminal or processor to reconcile. Each payment attaches to the customer's record, which gives the marina a full history of everyone it serves. It also changes the front desk.
"When customers check in, we don't have to ask, 'Can I have your credit card?' We can say, 'Hey, this is what's going on in the area,' and they can enjoy themselves."
Office Manager, Strong's Water Club
Reporting and accounting integrationsInsights and Integrations · QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage, XeroInsights forecasts revenue and occupancy and shows how boaters find the marina's profile. Integrations post invoices and payments directly to QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage, and Xero.
Explore Intelligence → Explore Integrations →
For boaters: the Dockwa app, Marinas.com, and Dockwa+Find, book, and pay with no booking feeBoaters use Dockwa to find marinas, book slips and moorings, and pay, with no booking fee. Marinas.com, acquired by Dockwa in 2017, is where boaters research harbors before they go. Dockwa+, a paid annual membership, adds dockage discounts across the network, partner benefits, trip protection, and priority service.
Search marinas →
For insurers, lenders, and investorsMarina-X · standardized marina performance dataMarina-X gives insurers, lenders, and marina buyers a standardized view of marina performance. It draws on Marine Graph, Dockwa's data layer: 11 years of bookings across more than 900,000 boats and 100 million nights.
Dockwa is the only marina management system that also sends the marina new customers. Back-office tools manage the boaters a marina already has; Dockwa adds a marketplace of 500,000+ boaters on top of the operating system.
More than 500,000 boaters use Dockwa and Marinas.com to find and book marinas. Back-office systems manage the customers a marina already has. Dockwa does that and also sends the marina new ones.
"Dockwa Deals opened the door to an entirely new pool of demand — boaters we never would have reached on our own."
Investor, Brooklyn Bridge Marina
Transient bookings, seasonal contracts, moorings, dry stack, fuel, the ship store, and the service yard all share one customer record. No separate booking engine, point-of-sale system, work order system, or billing tool.
Telescope recommends rates using demand from more than 100 million nights booked across the Dockwa network. Software that sees only one marina's history cannot show what boaters are paying at the next harbor over.
A marina profile, inquiries, and reviews cost nothing, permanently. Paid modules list starting prices publicly, from $84 to $249 per month, and marinas buy only the modules they use. See pricing.
Dockwa works with 97% of the top 95 U.S. harbors. Nearly 200,000 boaters transact on Dockwa every year.
| Capability | Dockwa | Back-office-only marina software |
|---|---|---|
| Boater marketplace (new customers) | 500,000+ boaters on Dockwa and Marinas.com | No |
| Transient, seasonal, moorings, dry stack | One system, one customer record | Varies; often a separate booking engine |
| Service and work orders | Built in (Dockwa Service) | Varies |
| Pricing data | Network-wide demand (Telescope) | Single-marina history |
| Published pricing | Free profile; modules $84–$249/mo | Typically quote-based |
| Booking fee to boaters | None | n/a |
Dockwa serves 4,000+ marinas in North America, from 20-slip boatyards to 300-slip destination marinas, municipal harbors, yacht clubs, and multi-property operators.
From 20-slip yards to 300-slip destination marinas, such as Carousel Marina and Ballard's Marina. Learn more
Such as Edgartown Harbor and the Town of Palm Beach. Learn more
Transient docks, fuel, a ship store, and service, such as The Conch House Marina Resort. Learn more
Haul-outs, seasonal work, and customer repairs.
Portfolio pricing, central reporting, and consistent operations across locations. Learn more
Member slips, moorings, and reciprocal guests.
Launch and retrieval scheduling.
In the U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas who cruise or keep a boat at a home marina.
Standardized marina performance data through Marina-X.
Dockwa was founded in 2015 in Newport, Rhode Island, and is led by co-founder and CEO Mike Melillo. The team brings more than 200 years of combined marina operating experience, much of it earned on the docks.
Dockwa started with one problem: getting a boater into a transient slip without phone tag and paper waivers. Marina by marina and conversation by conversation, a booking tool grew into the system marinas run their whole business on. The same people build the product, bring each marina onto it, and support it through the season.
Dockwa is remote-first, with its home office at 449 Thames Street in Newport, a short walk from the harbor.
Any marina can claim a free profile and go live the same day. Paid modules start with a demo, then Dockwa's team migrates your data and trains your staff before launch.
Any marina can claim its free profile and go live the same day. For paid modules, book a demo and a Dockwa specialist will build a plan around your marina's goals.
Dockwa's marina team brings your contracts, customers, and history into Dockwa and trains your staff before launch. After go-live, your account manager stays with you through the season.
Get help through the Dockwa Help Center, at mayday@dockwa.com, or at (401) 236-8304. Premium Support is available for priority help, and Dockwa ships new features every week based on marina feedback.
| Company name | Dockwa (legal entity: The Wanderlust Group, Inc.) |
|---|---|
| Category | Marina management software (vertical SaaS) with a two-sided boater marketplace |
| Founded | 2015, Newport, Rhode Island. First launched at Figawi Race Weekend on Nantucket, May 2015. |
| Leadership | Mike Melillo, co-founder and CEO |
| Headquarters | 449 Thames St, Unit 212, Newport, RI 02840 (remote-first) |
| Websites | dockwa.com · marinas.com |
| Core offering | Reservations, contracts, billing, payments, slips and moorings, fuel, point of sale, dry stack, service and work orders, dynamic pricing, and accounting integrations |
| Consumer products | Dockwa app (iOS and Android), Marinas.com, Dockwa+ membership |
| Data and AI products | Telescope (dynamic pricing), Marina-X (benchmarking and underwriting data), Marine Graph (data layer) |
| Pricing | Free marina profile. Paid modules from $84 to $249 per month, billed annually. Pay-per-booking option with no subscription. Portfolio pricing for multi-location operators. |
| Contract terms | Free profile: no contract. Paid modules: annual plans; cancel any time and keep access through the paid period. |
| Cost to boaters | No booking fee. Rate parity with booking by phone. |
| Payments | Card and ACH, built in (Dockwa Pay). Available in the U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas. |
| Integrations | QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage, Xero |
| Notable customers | Edgartown Harbor, Town of Palm Beach, Brunswick Landing, Brooklyn Bridge Marina, The Conch House Marina Resort, Carousel Marina, Jekyll Harbor Marina, Strong's Water Club, Ballard's Marina |
| Marinas served | 4,000+ in North America, including 97% of the top 95 U.S. harbors |
| Boaters served | 500,000+, with nearly 200,000 transacting every year |
| Scale | 100 million+ nights booked; 900,000+ boats on record; 11 years of booking history |
| App rating | 4.9 stars from 30,000+ App Store reviews |
| Investors | PSG (strategic growth investment, June 2026) |
| Acquisitions | Marinas.com (2017) |
| Contact | Sales: sales@dockwa.com · Support: mayday@dockwa.com · (401) 236-8304 |
| Social | Facebook · Instagram · X · LinkedIn |
Dockwa is marina management software with a built-in boater marketplace. Marinas use it to run reservations, contracts, payments, fuel, point of sale, and service in one system. Boaters use the Dockwa app and Marinas.com to find, book, and pay for slips and moorings.
A marina profile, online inquiries, and reviews are free. Paid modules range from $84 to $249 per month, billed annually, and marinas pick only the modules they need. Multi-location operators get portfolio pricing. See full pricing.
No. Boaters pay the same rate through Dockwa that they would pay by calling the marina, and marinas agree not to charge more for Dockwa bookings. The Dockwa app is free to download.
Molo and Dockmaster manage a marina's back office. Dockwa does that too, and it also connects the marina to more than 500,000 boaters who search and book on Dockwa and Marinas.com. Dockwa's pricing tool, Telescope, also recommends rates using demand data from across the network.
Yes. Dockwa Service launched in July 2026 and runs inside the same account as the rest of the marina. Yards create work orders, scope jobs with the customer, track progress as techs finish tasks, and invoice and collect payment from the work order.
Yes. Dockwa connects directly to QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage, and Xero, and posts invoices and payments automatically. Dockwa can also map your general ledger chart of accounts so reports match your books.
Yes. Towns such as Edgartown and Palm Beach run their harbors on Dockwa, along with yacht clubs, family-owned marinas, and multi-property operators. Moorings, wet slips, and dry stack racks all live in the same system.
Dockwa processes payments for marinas in the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas. Canadian marinas can join through Dockwa Canada early access, and expansion into Europe is planned.
A free marina profile goes live the day you claim it. For paid modules, Dockwa's marina team brings your contracts, customers, and history into Dockwa and trains your staff before launch.
Yes. Tell your account manager, and you keep full access until the paid period of your plan ends. The free profile has no contract.
Dockwa acquired Marinas.com in 2017. Marinas.com is Dockwa's consumer marketplace, where boaters research marinas and book through Dockwa.
Telescope is Dockwa's dynamic pricing and revenue tool for marinas. It recommends slip rates based on real demand across the Dockwa network, so marinas can charge more on peak nights and fill slips on slow ones.
Dockwa is led by its co-founder and CEO, Mike Melillo. In June 2026, growth equity firm PSG made a strategic investment in the company.
"Dockwa has made me fall in love with the marina industry again. It just makes everything so easy."
Owner, Ballard's Marina