Small Craft Sales: A New Destination to Buy or Sell Small Boats & Specialty Watercraft
Last Updated on October 29, 2025 by Boatsetter Team
If you’re in the market to buy or sell a small watercraft, Small Craft Sales is a new marketplace dedicated just to that – no superyachts allowed. Small Craft Sales launched in May 2025 as an alternative to the big players like BoatTrader and Boats.com or the “everything marketplaces” like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace that can quickly become rabbit holes. Browse the site and you’ll find skiffs, drift boats, rafts, kayaks, canoes, dories, and likely some type of custom-built vessel you’ve never seen before.
As we’re fans of getting on the water on all vessels great or small, we checked in with Small Craft Sales’ founder, Tim Romano, to learn more about the marketplace and the course Tim is charting for its future.
What inspired you to start Small Craft Sales?
Tim: I’ve always been a bit of a boat nerd. Alongside that, I run a successful niche jobs board in the fly fishing industry FlyFishingJobs.com, which helps connect people to great opportunities across the space. From a business standpoint, I started wondering: what if I could build another semi-passive business that I genuinely enjoyed running? When I looked at the options for selling small boats, it was clear there was room for something better — a platform designed specifically for people like us.
What’s the best part for boat buyers?
Tim: Buyers on Small Craft Sales aren’t subjected to endless forum chatter or off-topic backstories from sellers. Unlike larger boat sales sites or large marketplaces where boats are just one category among hundreds, we built Small Craft Sales from the ground up by and for (smallish) boat people. The site is intentionally simple to use, with intuitive search and filtering tools that make finding the right boat, even across the country – quick and straightforward. On top of that, every buyer AND seller is automatically entered into our monthly giveaway for premium prizes like a new set of oars, a trolling motor, new PFD or Yeti cooler, and visitors can access a steady stream of content covering everything from raft repairs to professional varnishing tips.
What’s the best part for boat sellers?
Tim: The experience for sellers is designed to be just as seamless. Signing up is fast, no passwords required. We use secure “magic links” via email to keep things easy and frankly more secure. You can list one boat or ten, and all communication happens through our integrated email system, so you never have to deal with unwanted messages. Listings are fully editable, can be removed at any time, and uploading photos is effortless, no resizing or reorienting necessary. Sellers can also choose to have their listings featured in our 7K+ newsletter or boosted on Instagram for extra exposure.
What types of crafts have been most popular since launch?
Tim: So far, the most popular boats have included personal fishing rafts, drift boats, canoes, and canoe-hybrids like Towees and Gheenoes, plus a few classic Whaler Super Sports. That probably reflects our early traction in the fly fishing community, though we expect listings to broaden as the platform grows.
Are there any cool stories so far from buyers or sellers?
Tim: One memorable success story came from a boat rental operator in Montana who sold a high-end fleet raft within a single day. His feedback says it best: “Just sold my Outcast raft and MRF trailer! Listed the boat — super easy and straightforward. Got a message from a buyer. Showed the boat to their family member. Sold it to that buyer. Deposit paid, pickup scheduled for later. Couldn’t have been smoother. Really looking forward to using this site as it grows!”
You’re also managing Angling Trade and Flylab. What crossover does Small Craft Sales have with your other platforms and what advantages does that bring?
Tim: Small Craft Sales naturally overlaps with my other ventures – Angling Trade and Flylab, both of which I co-own. Leveraging those media brands has been instrumental in jump-starting awareness and driving early traffic. Over time, we plan to expand that synergy even further, proving the platform can reach well beyond traditional forums and places like Craigslist and other mass marketplaces.
How would you like to see the platform evolve in the next 1-2 years?
Tim: We have several features already in development. Before year-end, we’ll launch “Move-a-Boat,” an interactive network that connects people who need boats transported with those willing to help move them — whether or not the sale happened on our site.
We’re also building out “Whale Accounts,” a dedicated program for outfitters, retailers, liveries, and manufacturers. It will include branded company pages, outbound links (optional), advanced listing analytics, and priority placement in our social and newsletter promotions.
Once the paid side of things happens, we’ll be offering an affiliate program to any shop, guide, influencer, media platform etc. that wants to send us a sale and will give them 50% of any listing fee.
Finally, we’re developing an alert service that notifies users by email whenever their dream boat – or any specific type they’re looking for, is listed on the site.
Through the end of 2025, it’s free to list a boat on Small Craft Sales (after 2025, fees to list a boat start at $35). Anyone who lists a boat for sale will also receive a free boosted ad on Instagram, along with a featured description and link in the Small Craft Sales newsletter which reaches more than 7,000 subscribers.
Want to offset the cost of buying and owning your new boat? List it for rent on Boatsetter.
Luke is a Director of Boatsetter’s Fishing team, supporting fishing operators and boat owners earning income on Boatsetter along with guests planning fishing experiences. Previously, Luke co-founded Fisher Guiding, a platform for booking fishing guides, with his friend Edward before both joined Boatsetter in an acquisition in 2020. The best part of his job is meeting fishing captains, boaters, and fellow anglers across the country and helping people try a new experience, whether it’s fishing for the first time or exploring new waters.
