Boat & Crew Finder

Find Crew

You have a boat and need crew. Use the MBSA Clubhouse to set up your boat's profile, flag that you're accepting crew, and let sailors come to you — or browse available crew across all MBSA member clubs.

CYC now uses the MBSA Clubhouse Crew & Boat Finder to connect boats with sailors. Your boat's listing is visible to crew across all MBSA member clubs — opening up a much larger pool of available sailors than CYC alone.

• 1
  Create an MBSA Clubhouse Account

  Head to the MBSA Clubhouse and click Become a Member. Choose a membership option and fill in your information. During sign-up, you'll reach a Boat Registration step — enter your sail number (required), boat name, manufacturer, length, and draft. You can also check "I would like help getting a Handicap rating" if you need one.

  MBSA Clubhouse
• 2
  Set Your Preferences

  After boat registration, you'll reach a Preferences step. Make sure to check "Participate in Crew Finder" — this enables the crew-matching features for your account. You can also opt into the Member Directory and MBSA mailing list.

• 3
  Set Up Your Boat for the Crew Finder

  After your account is created, a Get Started wizard will walk you through setting up your boat. First, confirm your boat details — class, primary location (club/marina, city, state), and mooring/slip number.

  Next, you'll be asked "Publish to Boat Finder?" — click "Yes, Set It Up" to create your Boat Finder listing. Fill out the Boat Finder Profile:

  About This Boat — Describe your boat, the kind of sailing you do, and what makes your program special. Set your Ethos (competitive, cruiser, etc.) and typical crew complement.

  Roles We Need — Select the positions you're looking to fill (Navigator, Tactician, Helm, Main Trim, Jib Trim, Bow, Pit, Mast, Grinder, Ballast).

  Race Areas & Availability — Choose Mass Bay North, Central, and/or South, and indicate Weekend and/or Weekday/Evening races.

  Policies — Set your Accepting Crew status and Drinking Policy (both required), and check "Looking for Junior Crew" if applicable.

  You can update all of this anytime from the Profile tab on your boat page, and toggle "Publish to Boat Finder" on or off from the Overview tab.

• 4
  Build Your Position Configurations & Invite Your Crew

  From your boat page, go to the Positions tab to define crew configurations for different sailing scenarios — for example, a 7-person spinnaker setup, a 4-person jib & main configuration, or a double-handed crew. Each configuration lists the specific roles needed, so when crew apply, they know exactly what positions are available.

  If you already have crew members on the platform, you can invite them directly to your boat from here — no need to wait for them to find you through the calendar.

• 5
  Register for Races & Find Crew

  Go to Races in the left sidebar menu to see the MBSA Sailing Calendar. When you register your boat for a race and indicate that you're accepting crew, a yellow anchor icon (⚓) appears on your race listing — signaling to sailors browsing the calendar that your boat has open spots.

  You can also find crew proactively. Races with a blue person icon () mean there are sailors who have marked themselves as available for that race. Click into the race and go to the "Available Crew" tab to see who's looking — including their experience level, years of sailing, and preferred positions.

  When a sailor clicks "Request to Race" on your boat, you'll receive their request and can review their full sailing profile — experience level, roles, certifications, and bio — before accepting or declining.

You can also reach any member of the CYC Board.