Swiss Company Unveils Boat Swapping Business

A Swiss company has developed an extension to the peer-to-peer boat-rental business model — boat swapping.

BoatAffair.com has utilized the Airbnb-style model that U.S. firms like Boatsetter and Boatbound have pioneered by connecting boat owners with people who want to rent their boats.

But BoatAffair.com has added an extra component by letting its members trade boats without exchanging cash. The company instead uses a block-chain system with Bitcoin-style coins as the currency.

The company said that when a boat owner lists on BoatAffair.com, he or she receives 500 Boataffair coins. These coins can be used by an owner who wants to do an indirect swap for a larger boat or as payment to another owner who does not want to do a swap but wants to charter the boat. In cases where there is a straight swap, no coins change hands. The owners trade boats for an established time period.

While only about a half-dozen boats are listed, they are spread out around the world, from Croatia to Tasmania. Owners speak directly to each other about potential swaps via the company’s messenger tool.