App lets you live the yacht life without the cost

The airbnb of the seas: Float lets users rent a seat on a yacht. Photo / 123rf

Yachting the French Riviera carries connotations of Champagne-fueled deck parties, zipping around the turquoise sea on jet skis, and having a crew to spray your sun-dappled face with Evian mist-all for the bare-minimum price of US$10000 (NZ$13869) per week.

Until now, those without five- and six-figure budgets have had a hard time living the yacht life. Either you "know a guy" who can rent you a boat for the day, or you go through official channels with a charter agency. A few hours on a small catamaran in Cannes? It can run upward of US$1000 after rounds of contract negotiations, commissions, and carbon-copied forms.

Or you can bypass the system and live out your booze-fueled seafaring dreams for a mere US$117 per day.

That's the promise behind Float, a disruptor that launched in June in Monaco and St. Tropez-and that's quickly expanding to other major seafaring markets. Think of it a bit like Airbnb. The accommodation site lets you rent a room in an apartment or the full apartment, depending on how much you'd like to splurge or save. So does Float: It lets you book just one "seat" if you don't have seven friends to defray the cost of a yacht charter, or you can gather a group of friends and buy out a sleek little cruiser. Take the former approach, though, and you may end up making new friends when you drop anchor for a swim.

"We're more like NetJets than a water taxi," said Float co-founder Jean-Jacques Boude, drawing a comparison between his startup and the Berkshire Hathaway-owned pioneer for fractional private jet ownership, which took a hit during the recession but is stable and growing after 53 years of operation. Airbnb and Uber have also inspired his approach. "We sell day charters by the seat or by the cabins for a few days on board, all through a fully digital app," he said. (The model compares best to NetJets' jet card program, which lets you buy "flight hours" on an a la carte basis.)

Indeed, the service is more experiential than a water taxi. Though Float will shuttle you to a buzzy beach club in Pampelonne or La Mala for the day, the appeal is more about being on the water than getting from Point A to Point B. You sail, you clink glasses, you swim in the Med; maybe you go fishing or take out some jet skis. Eventually you make your way to the destination port for a few hours before returning to the place where you started.

Booking takes two to three minutes: You sign up on the app or website, pick your origin and destination, select the number of seats you want to book, and input your credit card. Moments later a boarding pass is sent to your Apple Wallet. No contracts, no surcharges, and no hidden costs. That's a distinguishing factor, said Boude, noting that traditional charter companies add fuel and food charges during rounds of contract negotiations.

Ruinart Champagne and canapés are included, as well as a full crew. A concierge service can book dinner at the hot new restaurant of your choice or help you bring a DJ on board for private dance parties.

But Float is still a small company, and its fleet follows suit. These aren't megayachts in the vein of Azzam, the record-setting 591-footer owned by the Emir of Abu Dhabi. Currently, Float's two vessels are of much humbler proportions, one 49 feet (15 meters), the other 59 feet (18 meters). It is investing in larger motor yachts as it readies to launch in other global destinations. If all goes according to plan, Boude said, Float will be operating three ships in Miami by November and in Ibiza, Mykonos, and Corfu by next year. He also expects to secure at least one 104-foot superyacht offering overnight trips from Miami to the Bimini islands for US$1,000 per person per night.

Float is built on the principle of dynamic pricing: If demand is high, the rates might climb; Boude expects prices to max out at US$235.

The price point does imply certain limitations. The hot food is pre-made and heated by a basic onboard crew, not made to order by a private chef. Adding experiences like jet skiing or fishing is extra.

"Most of our clients, about 90 per cent, never eat on board anyway-they go to restaurants instead," Boude said, noting that the service has been popular with Formula One drivers such as Max Verstappen.

What remains to be seen is the size of Float's margins, which may be the point of scrutiny as the startup enters its second round of funding. "This is a demanding business in terms of cash flow-we may be doing fundraising every three months," Boude joked. But "for people who have never been on a yacht or could never afford it, it will allow them to do that."