With more than 50,000 boats available in over 65 countries worldwide, Borrow A Boat is the leading yacht and boat charter portal for boat owners, charter companies and those wishing to take a boat out. Using our website, getting afloat has never been easier.
Launched in 2017 and founded by boat enthusiasts, Borrow A Boat is the best place to find and rent boats of all sorts, from a canal and riverboat across Europe to a sailing boat, motor boat, catamaran, or some of the world's most impressive luxury yachts and superyachts. We are truly global with locations across North America, the Mediterranean, Caribbean and further afield.
Want to know what boat holidays with Borrow A Boat are like? Play the trailer:
Borrow A Boat's mission
Borrow A Boat is on a mission to make boating more accessible by providing an easy access point for boat owners, regular sailors and experience seekers alike. It’s possible to make bookings of any duration and even at the last minute via our website and mobile app. For boat owners this represents an opportunity to partake in the sharing economy and earn revenues on an asset which is often under utilised.
For those who are looking for some help finding the best boats available, our incredibly passionate team of expert charter brokers are on hand. Boats can be filtered by size and type, and the platform lists some of the most luxurious yachts that can be chartered around the world. So put aside your worries and step aboard for experiences that will live long in the memory.
Our Founder
Matt Ovenden is a serial entrepreneur and chartered mechanical engineer, and the founder of Borrow A Boat.
With a background and track record in innovation and technology, from running an innovation team at London Underground, to founding several technology businesses in the Renewable Energy and Cleantech space - Matt then spotted the opportunity for Borrow A Boat back in 2016.
A lifelong sailor used to spending time on the water - Matt noticed in 2016 when looking to take his family sailing that it was more difficult than it should be to find and charter a boat; and could also see the challenges and issues that can come with owning a boat.
The solution - was to build a modern boating online marketplace fit for modern consumers, to help anyone and everyone to find and charter a boat, simply and easily online, worldwide. And to help boat owners in the process, by allowing them to charter the boat out on the platform when they’re not using it. Borrow A Boat launched at the London Boat Show in 2017, and has been growing and developing fast since and hasn’t stopped!
The business has grown with capital and investments from crowdfunding rounds with many passionate sailors contributing as well as investment funds. Borrow A Boat has been built by boaters, for boaters, and many passionate boaters have joined the team since it began!
Borrow A Boat, based in St Katharine’s Docks, London, is today the UK’s leading boating marketplace with over 50,000 boats listed worldwide - and helps to bring the boating industry together and make it accessible for thousands of people all over the world every day. Matt sails regularly with his family, and lives in the north Essex countryside with his wife and four children.
