Former deckhand Chay Hodgson has launched an online platform that allows crew to rate the yachts they have worked on. Yachtcareerhub.com started as a space where crew can view job listings and salary data. But the website evolved to include a Glassdoor-style reviews section that encourages crew to submit reviews of their experience on vessels.
“I created the platform because I heard from so many crew having nightmare trips, or being wary when joining a new boat,” Chay says. “A nightmare boat can damage not just your mental health but also your career, as it will be a question mark if you leave without a reference or having not stayed for long.”
Chay started as a deckhand and served as second engineer on 162ft Feadship Sussurro before joining his father’s yacht recruitment company and founding YachtCareerHub.com in his spare time.
“It is very difficult to visualize yourself on a particular boat with limited information, it is more like a leap of faith. In the ‘real world’ every company has reviews and they go to great lengths to show themselves in the best light possible to attract the best people. Why should yachting be different?”
More than 200 yachts have been reviewed on YachtCareerHub. All reviews are submitted anonymously but crew are required to register to write and read reviews. Negative comments about individuals are not accepted.
The concept was met with some reservations, Chay says, but the results have been “overwhelmingly positive. Many assumed that there would only be negative reviews from disgruntled crew, but we have proven that people can be motivated to write positive reviews in great numbers.”