MOOR Private Access: yacht crew recruitment where every candidate is interviewed and reference-checked before you see them. No fee unless you hire.
By Emery Wallerich, founder of MOOR Crew
MOOR Private Access is now officially open to captains, yacht managers, and owners' representatives.
Private Access is MOOR's yacht crew recruitment service. You tell us the role and the program. We find the people, talk to every one of them, check their references, and put forward only the candidates we'd stand behind. You pay nothing unless you hire.
Most captains know this email. You call a recruiter about an open position, and by the end of the day your inbox is full of CVs. A few are close. Plenty aren't. One or two are people you passed on last season.
Then the real work starts, and it lands back on you.
You open each CV and try to work out who is actually available. You call the deckhand who looked perfect and learn he joined another boat two weeks ago. You reach a stew who had no idea her CV was being sent around. You chase references yourself because nobody else did. And nothing in that stack tells you whether this person will settle into a crew that works, lives, and spends its time off together for months at a time.
You asked for a search. What you got was a forwarding service.
The bigger cost shows up later. When crew are placed on certificates and availability alone, the hire often doesn't hold. Someone leaves at the next port, the rotation is short again, and you're back on the phone mid-season.
"It's not enough to simply have available crew fill open positions. Crew joining programs that don't fit their lifestyle is why the yachting industry sees a high crew turnover rate." — Emery Wallerich, YATCO
Every candidate we send has already been through a conversation with MOOR. By the time a CV reaches you, the work you'd normally do in the first round is done.
We talk to every candidate first. Each person is interviewed by MOOR before their name goes anywhere.
They know about your role and want it. We confirm availability and get their go-ahead before putting them forward. No surprised candidates, no stale CVs.
References come with the CV. We contact references as part of our own screening and include them with each candidate, so you can follow up directly.
Fit is part of the search. Program pace, itinerary, charter or private, onboard culture, how the crew spends time off. These are search criteria from the start.
We look beyond our own platform. Private Access draws on MOOR's crew community and our wider industry network, so you see people who aren't scrolling job boards.
We don't claim to know every crew member personally. We do make sure we know every one we send you.
Intake call. We talk through the role, the vessel, the program, and the kind of person who will last on your crew. Required certificates and experience matter, and so does the culture onboard. You don't need to prepare anything in advance.
Accept the agreement online. Before the search starts, you review and accept the Private Access Agreement with one click. Nothing is charged at this step.
We search and screen. MOOR finds candidates, interviews them, confirms they're available and interested, and checks references.
You receive a shortlist. Each candidate comes with a CV, references, and our notes on why they fit your program.
You interview and hire. We make the introduction. The interviews, the offer, and the hiring decision are yours.
A 50m motor yacht needed a chief stew. The captain wanted someone with busy charter experience, and someone who would settle into a close crew that spent its downtime together. Plenty of chief stews are qualified for that job. Far fewer are right for that boat.
MOOR put forward the shortlist. The captain made contact and hired one of the candidates. She is still on board.
That's the standard we work to: a placement that holds, not just a seat filled.
Nothing to start. There is no fee at intake and no retainer.
You pay only if you hire. A fee is due only when you hire a candidate MOOR introduced.
Permanent roles carry a flat fee based on the seniority of the role you hire for.
Seasonal roles are priced as a share of the crew member's first month's salary.
Crew never pay. Every fee is paid by the employer.
Replacement guarantee. If a placed crew member leaves early, we run a replacement search at no additional fee, under the terms of the agreement.
The full fee schedule and guarantee terms are in the Private Access Agreement, which you'll see before any search begins.
Private Access works best when:
You have a specific role to fill and a real timeline
You're tired of sorting through CVs that were never screened
You've had hires that looked right on paper and didn't last
You need crew who aren't actively applying on job boards
You'd rather spend your time interviewing two strong candidates than filtering twenty
Prefer to run your own search? You can post a job on MOOR for free and hear directly from crew.
Start a Private Access Search →
What is MOOR Private Access? Private Access is MOOR's yacht crew recruitment service. MOOR runs the search for you, interviews candidates, checks references, and introduces a shortlist of crew who fit both the role and your program.
How is this different from a recruiter sending CVs? Every candidate we put forward has been interviewed by MOOR, has confirmed they're available, and has agreed to be put forward for your role. References come with the CV. Program fit is part of the search, not an afterthought.
Is MOOR a recruitment agency? Yes. MOOR is an independent yacht crew recruitment and placement service. We are not a crew management, payroll, or staffing company, and we don't employ the crew we place. The employment relationship is directly between you and the crew member.
Do I pay anything upfront? No. There is no fee at intake. A fee is due only if you hire a candidate MOOR introduced.
How much does it cost? It depends on the role and whether the placement is permanent or seasonal. The full fee schedule is in the Private Access Agreement, which you review and accept before the search begins.
Do crew pay MOOR? Never. All fees are paid by the employer.
What positions do you recruit for? All yacht crew positions: deck, interior, galley, engineering, officers, and captains.
Do you only search the MOOR platform? No. We search MOOR's crew community and reach crew through our wider industry network.
Do you check certificates? Candidate certificates and experience are part of every interview, and many crew keep their documents in a free digital locker through our partner Crewdentials. Final confirmation of certificates and references before an offer is the employer's responsibility, and we strongly recommend it.
What if the hire doesn't work out? Private Access includes a replacement guarantee. If a placed crew member leaves early, MOOR runs a replacement search at no additional fee. The full terms are in the agreement.
Do I need a MOOR account? No. Private Access runs through a call, an online agreement, and email. If you'd like to post jobs yourself later, posting on MOOR is free.
Emery Wallerich has seven years of experience working on luxury yachts and is the founder of MOOR Crew, a global yacht employment platform. She has worked programs across North America, the Caribbean, the Atlantic, and South America, and spent years watching the same hiring friction from both sides: crew who couldn't find the right program, and captains who couldn't find the right fit.
ACREW named her Best Social Influencer at its 2024 Superyacht Crew Awards. Her work has been covered by The Triton, YATCO, and Yachting International Radio.
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Follow Emery on Instagram @emerywallerich and TikTok @thatyachtiemery.