@Mike2Sausages and @RhumblineLogs; they’re both very active on Twitter, one as a captain and the other as a service company, the latter of which was started up as a result of poor service from a superyacht industry player, the founders thinking they could do better. We speak to Liz Rouse and Captain Mike Rouse about how one bad experience turned into a brand new company.

The couple, who met 14 years ago in Fort Lauderdale while Liz was a stewardess and Mike was a dive master and bosun, has a wealth of yachting experience, and it was during one experience in particular that the idea for Rhumbline Solutions was born. “Bad customer service was why we started up Rumbline Solutions”, @Mike2Sausages tweets in a conversation with @TheCrewReport in the ever active Twittersphere.

“Mike was involved in building a yacht in Holland and had a bad experience with a logbook supplier in terms of customer service, manner and also the pricing which [the build team] considered excessive. He and Dan [his then-business partner] felt that with their experience they could do a better job giving a better product at a better price with proper customer service.”

While business is booming for Rhumbline Solutions in the context of engine room and bridge log books, there’s less industry activity when it comes to the interior.   “As a former stewardess, my experience is that the interior departments tend to write in off-the-shelf notepads, and don’t account or record in a format which can be a retained for the vessel with all information that is invaluable, from maintenance and laundry to flowers and guest preferences.” (Since the interview, Rhumbline Solutions has been commissioned for an interior log book.)

Recent industry discussions pertaining to the interior have thrown up the question of whether the interior department could benefit from a more formal method of record keeping.

Yet recent industry discussions pertaining to the interior have thrown up the question of whether the interior department could benefit from a more formal method of record keeping. Something that, when Liz looks at the demographic departments of their clients, isn’t seemingly a high priority for interior crew.

“We don’t get contacted by the interior departments. I’m not sure if this is due to the other departments having to be externally accountable for every decision they make, but we have only been asked by one chef to date for a galley refrigeration log,” explains Liz.

So keep an eye out for this power couple in the industry. Not only is Rhumbline Solutions reporting good business (just take a look on Twitter), but the couple has now launched UHNWI asset management system Fairway Management System (FMS).

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