Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a contract between you and Deckmates, LLC (“Deckmates,” “we,” or “us”). They cover your use of the Deckmates website and any related services (together, the “Service”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

Please read sections 8 (Assumption of risk and release), 12 (Limitation of liability), and 14 (Disputes and arbitration) carefully. They limit our liability, require you to give up certain legal claims, and require most disputes to be settled by individual arbitration instead of in court or in a class action.

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract.
• You must give us accurate information, including your real name and birthday, and keep it up to date.
• One person, one account. You're responsible for everything done with your account, so keep your password private and tell us right away if you think someone else has used it.
• You can't use the Service if we've previously suspended or removed your account, or if you're barred from doing so under the laws that apply to you.

Deckmates is a place for anglers to find each other. Organizers post fishing trips, either a charter they've already booked with open seats or a trip they'd like to put together, and other anglers ask to join.

We are not a charter company, a boat operator, a travel agent, or a party to any arrangement between users. We don't own, operate, inspect, or control any vessel, and we don't employ any captain, guide, or crew. Trips are planned and carried out entirely by the people who take part in them and by the independent charter operators they hire. We don't screen users, verify licenses, check boats, or confirm that anything in a listing or profile is true, except where we specifically say otherwise.

Any agreement to share a trip, including who pays what, is between the organizer and the people who join. We are not responsible for whether a trip happens, how it goes, or whether anyone keeps their end of the deal.

If you post a trip, you agree that:

• Your listing is accurate and complete, including the date, meeting place, boat or charter, number of seats, what's included, and each person's share of the cost.
• The trip is run by a properly licensed and insured charter operator or captain where the law requires one. In the United States, anyone who carries passengers who contribute money toward the trip generally needs a U.S. Coast Guard license, and the vessel must follow Coast Guard passenger limits (often six passengers on an uninspected vessel). State fishing and charter licensing rules also apply.
• You won't use Deckmates to run an unlicensed charter. If you are the owner or operator of a private boat, you may only share genuine, pro-rata trip expenses (such as fuel, bait, and ice) with your guests as allowed by law, and you may not profit from them. It's your responsibility to understand and follow these rules.
• You'll charge people only the share of the cost shown in your listing, and you won't ask for extra fees, deposits, or payments outside of what you've described.
• You'll tell the people on your trip promptly about any change or cancellation, and handle refunds fairly and as you promised.
• You'll follow the charter operator's rules, the captain's instructions, and all fishing regulations, and make sure your crew knows about them.

• Do your own homework before you commit or pay. Check the organizer's profile and reviews, and confirm the charter company and captain yourself. Our safety tips can help.
• Show up when and where you agreed, pay what you agreed to pay, and let the organizer know right away if you can't make it.
• Follow the captain's and crew's instructions at all times. Their decisions about safety and weather are final.
• Get any fishing license you need, unless the charter covers it, and follow all seasons, size limits, and bag limits.
• Tell the organizer and captain about any medical condition, disability, or swimming ability that could affect your safety or others' on the trip.

Deckmates does not currently process payments. Shares of trip costs are paid directly between users, using whatever method they agree on. Because we aren't involved in these payments, we can't issue refunds, hold money, settle payment disputes, or guarantee that you'll be paid or repaid.

The organizer sets the cancellation and refund terms for their trip, and the charter operator's own policy may also apply. Agree on what happens if weather cancels a trip or someone drops out before anyone pays. We strongly recommend paying with a method that offers purchase protection.

The Service is currently free to use. If we introduce fees or payment processing in the future, we'll update these Terms and tell you before any fees apply to you.

You agree not to:

• Post false, misleading, or fraudulent listings, or pretend to be someone you're not.
• Collect money for a trip that doesn't exist, that you don't intend to run, or that is materially different from the listing.
• Harass, threaten, discriminate against, or endanger anyone, on or off the water.
• Use the Service to arrange anything illegal, including fishing out of season or beyond legal limits, or carrying passengers without the licenses the law requires.
• Bring illegal drugs or weapons on a trip, or take part while impaired in a way that puts anyone at risk.
• Post content that is unlawful, sexually explicit, hateful, or that infringes anyone else's rights, including photos you don't have the right to share.
• Send spam or unsolicited advertising, or use the Service to recruit people for a commercial business without our written permission.
• Scrape, copy, or harvest data from the Service, or use bots or automated tools to access it.
• Interfere with, probe, or try to break the security or normal operation of the Service.
• Get around a suspension or block, including by creating a new account.

Fishing and boating are physically demanding activities that carry real, inherent risks, many of which can't be eliminated even when everyone is careful. These include, among others: drowning; falling overboard; slips and falls on wet or moving decks; injuries from hooks, knives, gaffs, lines, fish, and other equipment; sunburn, dehydration, heat illness, and hypothermia; seasickness; sudden changes in weather and sea conditions; collisions, groundings, equipment failure, fire, and sinking; being far from medical help; and the actions or carelessness of captains, crew, and other passengers.

By joining or organizing a trip you find through Deckmates, you understand these risks and choose to accept them voluntarily, on behalf of yourself and your heirs, family, and estate.

To the fullest extent the law allows, you release Deckmates, LLC and its owners, officers, employees, and agents from any and all claims, demands, and liability for personal injury, illness, death, or loss of or damage to property arising out of or related to any trip, activity, vessel, or meeting arranged through the Service, or the conduct of any user, captain, crew, or charter operator, including claims based on our own negligence. You agree not to sue us over these matters.

This release doesn't apply to liability that can't be waived under the law that applies, such as liability for our own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The charter operator you sail with may also ask you to sign its own waiver; this release is in addition to that one and doesn't change it.

You own the listings, photos, profile details, messages, and reviews you post (“your content”). You give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, display, resize, and distribute your content as needed to run, improve, and promote the Service. This license ends when you delete the content or your account, except for content others have relied on (for example, a past trip you were part of) and copies kept in backups for a limited time.

You promise that you have the right to post your content and that it doesn't break these Terms or any law. Reviews must reflect your honest, firsthand experience.

Anyone can report a listing that seems wrong. We may review reports and any content on the Service, and we may remove content, cancel trips, or suspend or close accounts at our discretion, with or without notice, if we believe someone has broken these Terms, put others at risk, or exposed us to legal liability. If we cancel a trip, we'll tell the people on it, but we aren't responsible for any money already paid.

You can delete your account at any time from your settings. Deleting your account cancels the upcoming trips you organize and removes you from trips you've joined. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14) continue to apply after your account ends.

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We don't warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any listing, profile, review, map, weather, or location information is accurate.

We make no promises about any user, captain, charter operator, or vessel, including their identity, licensing, insurance, skill, or safety. Maps and address search use third-party data that may be wrong. Always confirm meeting places and regulations yourself.

To the fullest extent the law allows, Deckmates, LLC will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any lost profits, lost data, or personal injury or property damage arising out of trips or the conduct of users or third parties, even if we've been told such damages are possible.

Our total liability to you for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid Deckmates in the 12 months before the claim arose, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100).

Some places don't allow these kinds of limits, so some of them may not apply to you.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Deckmates, LLC and its owners, officers, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of the Service, any trip you organize or join, your content, or your breaking these Terms or the law.

Talk to us first. Before filing a claim, email us at support@deckmates.app with a description of the problem and give us 60 days to try to resolve it informally.

Arbitration. If we can't resolve it, you and Deckmates agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies.

You and Deckmates each give up the right to a jury trial and the right to take part in a class action, class arbitration, or other representative proceeding. Claims may only be brought individually.

Opting out. You can opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing us within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, with your name, the email on your account, and a clear statement that you want to opt out of arbitration.

Governing law and venue. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida and applicable U.S. federal law, including general maritime law where it applies, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any claim not subject to arbitration will be heard only in the state or federal courts located in Hillsborough County, Florida, and you and we consent to their jurisdiction.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we'll tell you by email or on the Service at least 14 days before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Service after the change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Our not enforcing a provision isn't a waiver of it. You can't transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent; we may transfer ours in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Questions about these Terms? Email support@deckmates.app or write to Deckmates, LLC, [Mailing address].