Yotch is a crew recruitment app that connects yacht captains, heads of department and senior crew directly with available crew, removing recruitment agencies and their fees. The app converts a submitted CV into a searchable profile in about 60 seconds using AI, and lets captains swipe through ranked candidates, flag favourites and start conversations with in-app messaging or captain-initiated voice calls; crew can set location, add a photo and go live while captains post roles, apply filters and keep vessel names private until initial contact is made.
Key Features
Yotch's AI produces a compact profile and assigns a 0–100 experience score that reflects certifications, tenure, skills match and likely vessel fit. The core feature set includes photo carousels, detailed profile sheets, role-specific swipe decks for 27 yacht positions, three-tier captain verification, GPS-based port detection across 19 ports, instant profile sharing and invitations, plus captain-initiated voice calling. Filters let employers narrow by experience, nationality, distance and availability, while crew control visibility with Live, Paused and Found Work statuses.
How It Works
Upload a CV and the app extracts dates, positions, certifications and a short bio to create an indexed profile in roughly a minute. Captains create role postings with position counts and preferences, then browse ranked candidate decks. Swiping right saves a candidate to a shortlist, flagging a profile marks it as a favourite and tapping into a profile opens a full sheet with certifications, recent voyages and contact options. Messages and voice calls move candidates through screening to offer stages, replacing traditional dockwalking with a searchable, trackable workflow.
Controls and Interaction
Within Yotch the main controls are intentionally simple: swipe actions for quick screening, in-profile buttons for messaging and call initiation, and layered filters for targeted searches. Photo carousels and compact sheets make assessment fast on mobile touchscreens; larger touch targets, clear labels and consistent gestures reduce accidental skips. For captains, position management includes quantity adjustments and pinned notes; for crew, profile editing and availability toggles are accessible from a single dashboard.
Progression and Hiring Flow
The app models hiring as a staged progression: discover, shortlist, communicate, interview and hire. Profiles evolve as crew update CVs or add recent contracts, and the AI re-ranks candidates to reflect newly added experience or certifications. Notifications and a simple status timeline show where each candidate sits in the process, making progression transparent for both sides and reducing duplicated outreach and scheduling friction.
Visual Design and Level Structure
The visual approach favors clarity and quick scanning: high-contrast text, consistent photo aspect ratios and card-based decks that group key details at a glance. The app’s structure is screen-focused rather than game-like levels: discovery decks, role management screens, candidate profiles, messaging inbox and verification settings form a predictable navigation flow. This structure creates short, repeatable sessions when searching and longer, detail-focused sessions when reviewing profiles or conducting negotiations.
Customization, Replay Value and Personalization
Crew can customize profiles with bios, preferred roles and a gallery of images; captains tailor role templates and save filter sets for repeated searches. Replay value comes from the app’s dynamic pool: new candidates upload profiles daily, AI reorders results as details change, and saved searches re-populate with fresh matches. Invitations and direct sharing make it easy to return to promising candidates or re-run searches when staffing needs change.
User Experience, Accessibility and Offline Behavior
The user experience emphasizes speed and predictability. Accessibility considerations include larger touch targets, readable fonts and descriptive labels for assistive technologies. The app caches recently viewed profiles and shortlist data for brief offline access so users can review saved information without a signal; messaging and calls require connectivity. Brief onboarding explains verification tiers and privacy settings so new users understand how vessel names and personal data are protected.
Privacy, Safety and Limitations
Privacy controls let captains hide vessel names until contact is made and require verification for certain actions. AI-enabled profile extraction depends on the quality of uploaded CVs, so accuracy varies with detail provided. Current coverage is focused on the South of France and 19 ports, which limits availability compared with a global rollout; voice calling is captain-initiated only, which affects outbound call options for crew. These trade-offs reflect an initial geographic and functional focus while the service scales.
Support and Practical Notes
Built for busy maritime hiring workflows, the app reduces agency fees, streamlines shortlisting and centralizes communication. Support materials include a help section for CV formatting tips, verification guidance and best practices for using filters and saved searches efficiently. For crews and captains who often work on tight schedules, the app provides a compact, repeatable hiring loop that replaces much of the manual outreach traditionally associated with superyacht recruitment.
