The Patreon alternative built for sailors

Generic patronage apps take 10–15% of every dollar and don't know the difference between a bow and a stern. If you live and cruise on the water, there's a better fit.

Thousands of sailors, liveaboards and cruising families share their voyages online — and their followers genuinely want to help fund the life. The problem is that the tools they reach for, Patreon and GoFundMe, were built for podcasters and emergencies, not for boats on the move. They take a heavy cut, they have no idea what a passage is, and the "reward" a backer gets is disconnected from the thing they actually care about: your voyage.

That gap is exactly what Propeliu fills — crew-funding for the cruising life, built into the platform that already runs the whole boat.

Why generic patronage doesn't fit boat life

• The cut is brutal. Once platform fees, "tips," and payment processing are counted, most patronage and donation apps keep 10–15% of what your community sends you.
• It's disconnected from the voyage. A backer pledges, then gets a paywalled post or a sticker. They never come aboard.
• There's no trust signal. Anyone can post a boat photo and ask for money. Supporters have no way to know it's a real vessel actually out cruising.
• Connectivity is real. Offshore, you're not managing a creator dashboard. You need something that works with the way boats actually operate.

What crew-funding does differently

1. You keep 93–97%

Propeliu's fee starts at 7% for a brand-new captain and drops to 3% as your boat earns trust — with card processing included. There's no monthly fee and no setup cost. You only pay when your crew actually backs you.

2. Two ways to be backed

Run steady recurring patronage (a few dollars a month from the followers who watch every mile), a one-time keep-what-you-raise fundraiser for a specific project, or both. Fundraisers never trap your money in an all-or-nothing goal — you keep every dollar raised even if you don't hit the number.

3. Backing that follows the boat

This is the part a generic app can't do. Because Propeliu is part of Master's Mate, when someone backs you they start following your boat live on the map. Your voyage is the reward. No more "we're fine" texts — your crew is watching the miles tick by.

How the fees actually compare

Headline rates hide the real number. Patreon's plans run 8–12% before payment processing; donation and tip-based platforms land around 10–15% effective once the "optional" tip nudged onto your backers is counted. Propeliu is a single, honest 3–7% with processing included — no tip prompts guilt-tripping the people supporting you.

How to start

1. Create your free Master's Mate account and connect a bank through Stripe (a few minutes).
2. Turn on patronage, or launch a fundraiser with a goal and a short story.
3. Share your link anywhere — your channel, your logbook, the dock. Backers give in two taps, no account required.