Partner with Madeline Adventures
Host a location. We do everything else.
Self-serve kayaks, paddleboards, camping kits or snowshoes at your park, campground, trailhead or waterfront, booked online and unlocked by code. We supply, insure, maintain, and run it. You receive 30% of every rental for the use of the space — and nothing else is asked of you.
Sign up to host01 — Two ways to host
Do you already have racks?
The arrangement depends on one question. Pick the column that describes your site.
We bring the gear.
Marinas, campgrounds, parks, trailheads, inns, beach clubs, land trusts, town landings. We deliver the equipment, place it where you point, and take it away when the season ends.
- For paddling: one rack, about 6 × 3 ft, foam-guarded arms, on locking casters. Nothing anchored, dug, or built.
- Four to six boats — sit-on-top kayaks and stand-up paddleboards — cable-locked to the rack.
- Two locked gear boxes beside it: paddles and life vests, opened by the renter’s code.
- One rack-mounted sign with a QR code. No other signage on your property.
- You receive 30% of gross receipts, paid quarterly with a written accounting.
We fill the slots you have.
Municipal rack programs, harbormasters, yacht clubs, and marinas with existing kayak storage. We take rack spaces as a permitted operator, on your terms, and put rental boats in them — for the residents and visitors who don’t own a boat and didn’t get a slot.
- We apply through your existing permit process and pay your standard slot or space fee, or a revenue share — your choice.
- No new hardware on the site. Our boats, locks, and one small gear box only.
- A rental slot doesn’t take a resident’s space; it serves the people on your waitlist.
- Public and conservation hosts receive the same 30% of gross receipts.
- Works for lottery towns, waitlist towns, and first-come towns alike.
02 — How a rental works
Four steps, none of them yours.
Book online
The renter reserves and pays at madelineadventures.com. The waiver is signed at booking; a parent signs for any minor.
Unlock by code
A one-time code arrives by email with the rules of use. It opens the lock on the gear.
Go
Paddling rentals include a life vest and paddle: daylight hours only, designated water only — no surf, no wake, no motor.
Return and re-lock
The renter locks the gear back up and sends a photo. No photo, we follow up the same day.
03 — Who does what
Clear lines.
We provide
- The rack, boats, paddles, life vests, locks, gear boxes, and sign
- Delivery, placement, weekly inspection, repairs, and end-of-season removal
- Commercial general liability insurance — $1,000,000 per occurrence, $5,000,000 aggregate — with an additional insured certificate available on request
- A signed waiver and indemnity on every rental
- Every customer contact: bookings, questions, complaints, refunds, lost boats
- Quarterly payment with a written accounting, and a usage report each fall
You provide
- A flat patch of ground near the water, roughly 8 × 4 ft including working room
- Permission in writing — a license, permit, or letter, on your form or ours
- Renter access to the rack during daylight hours
- A name and phone number for the one person who can say yes
- Nothing else. No staff time, no utilities, no storage, no money
04 — The terms
Written to be easy to say yes to — and easy to end.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Agreement | A revocable license, not a lease. No interest in your land, nothing recorded, nothing that survives revocation. |
| Season | Paddling runs May through October, daylight hours. Camping and snowshoe seasons are set with you. Equipment comes out at the end of each season and goes back in with your renewed permission. |
| Revocation | Immediate, at any time, for any reason or none. Equipment removed within 48 hours of your notice. |
| Revenue share | 30% of gross receipts, for every host. |
| Payment | Quarterly, by check or transfer, with a written accounting of every rental at your site. |
| Insurance | $1M per occurrence / $5M aggregate general liability. Certificate of insurance delivered before the rack arrives; additional insured certificate available on request. |
| Liability | Every renter signs a waiver and indemnity naming both Madeline Adventures and the host. We indemnify you for claims arising from the rack and the rentals. |
| Exclusivity | None asked. Run your own programs, host other vendors, change your mind. |
| Footprint | For paddling: one rack, four to six boats, two gear boxes, one sign. No expansion without your written agreement. |
| Renewal | Season by season. Year two happens only if both sides want it. |
05 — Site requirements
What makes a site work.
Most sites qualify. The shaded items are the ones that rule a site out.
Flat, protected water
A pond, lake, bay, harbor, or slow river. Beginners paddle here; the water has to forgive them.
A launch within a short carry
Boats are carried from the rack to the water. Under 150 feet is ideal; under 300 is workable.
Level ground for the rack
Gravel, grass, packed dirt, or pavement. About 8 × 4 ft clear, out of vehicle and foot traffic.
Daylight access
Renters need to reach the rack between sunrise and sunset without a gate, a guard, or a key.
Parking within a walk
Public or guest parking within a few minutes on foot.
Cell signal
Renters open codes and send return photos from a phone. One bar is enough.
Not: surf, current, or shipping lanes
Open-ocean beaches, tidal rips, dam outflows, and commercial channels are out.
Not: protected dunes, nesting areas, or wetlands
The rack sits only where it disturbs nothing. If your site has sensitive ground, you tell us where not to go.
06 — Policies renters agree to
The rules, in writing, before every rental.
Safety
- Life vest on, every renter, every time
- Daylight hours only; no rentals in fog, lightning, or high wind
- Designated water only — the map is in the confirmation email
- No alcohol or drugs; violations forfeit the rental and future bookings
- Renters must be 18 to book; minors paddle only with a parent’s signed waiver
The site
- Boats return to the rack, locked, with a photo — no boats left on the beach
- Clean, Drain, Dry on every return
- No dragging boats over dunes, vegetation, or private property
- Pack out everything; the site is left as it was found
- Damage, loss, and late returns are charged to the renter’s card — never to the host
07 — Questions hosts ask
Straight answers.
Is this a lease?
No. It is a revocable license — permission to place a rack, nothing more. It creates no interest in your land, nothing is recorded, and it ends the moment you say so.
What does this cost us?
Nothing. We buy, deliver, insure, maintain, and remove everything. There is no fee, no deposit, and no staff time.
Who handles a complaint, lost gear, or a refund?
We do. Every rental carries our phone number, not yours. If a renter calls you, give them our number and we take it from there.
What if a renter doesn’t return gear?
That is our problem. Gear is locked and tracked to a booking; anything missing is charged to the renter and replaced by us within the week.
Can we stop mid-season?
Yes, at any time, for any reason. Rack and boats are gone within 48 hours of your notice, and the accounting for rentals to date is settled at the next quarter.
We are a town. What is the process?
Public land means permission first. We apply through whatever your town uses — a license from the select board, a conservation commission permit, a harbormaster rack permit — and we present a written proposal, the certificate of insurance, and the waiver text before anything arrives on site.
Do we have to do anything day to day?
No. We inspect the rack weekly, and renters close every rental with a lock-up photo. You will see the rack and, occasionally, a paddler. That is all.
How and when do we get paid?
Quarterly, with a written accounting listing every rental at your site, the amount collected, and your share.
Can we pick where the rack goes?
Yes. We walk the site with you and place it where you say. If you want it moved, it moves.
Who is behind this?
Madeline Adventures is owned and operated by Tim Wright, an attorney whose day job is risk and compliance. The first station opened in 2026 at Big Bay Town Park on Madeline Island, Lake Superior. The same rack, locks, booking system, and insurance are what we bring to you.
Fifteen minutes and a walk around the site.
Tell us where the flat patch is. We come look, you decide.
Sign up to host(715) 913-7879 · call
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