Best webcam to see boat when I'm away for days at a time?

[Cool Hand Luke]

Hi all,

My Jeanneau SO409 is in a marina with WiFi and I'm on shore power, but I'm away for days and weeks at a time.

I'd love to set up a webcam (both/either inside and/or outside) to see the boat when I'm away.

Thoughts? Ideas? Recommendations?

Thank you!

-Luke

[Avionics_Joe]

I got the Eufy solo E3 at Cosco. It is solar powered, you just need WiFi.

[brazenarticle]

Blink cameras work well if you have decent wifi. They can be viewed on phones and with a web browser on computers. Outdoor cameras are battery powered (no wiring) and below deck indoor cameras are powered by usb. Pan and tilt versions are available.
Costco is still selling them at $279 for a complete kit, looks like Amazon prices are affected by tariffs and considerably higher.

[gnetwerker]

I use Blink (I had a bunch leftover from a house I sold). I have one monitoring my cockpit, one inside the cabin, and one pointed at the bilge. They consume very little bandwith from my Starlink 50Mb/month plan.


I'm sure all them would work OK with Internet. If you want some that work on 4G/5G, then that ecosystem exists as well, though I haven't tested them.

[SV_BlueTurtle]

I have a number of Wyze cameras for this. They’re excellent and inexpensive.

[Kello]

Howdy, Olde Phart here, solar and electronic wiring I understand, any stoopid device with the (oxymoron) name "smart" I do/can not understand. Been investigating boat monitoring devices for two years now, and always give up because I either don't understand the device/terminology used to describe it, or because they require a "phone", which I do not (and never will) own.

My marina has good wifi, so does that mean the devices recommended here for use with wifi will work for me?

Any (simple) help appreciated, like the OP, I need some way to monitor my boat when I am away, and a stainless steel cheese grater is about the most understandable complicated contraption in my life.

[SV_BlueTurtle]

Wyze cameras connect to the internet via WiFi. I have v4 cameras inside the boat, and they work well with my on-board Starlink, but any solid connection will do.

They can be viewed with the Wyze app.

[Montanan]

RING has cameras and lights with a broad range of motion sensitivity and direction / distance settings, and connect to wifi.

[CarlF]

I use this Blink camera. Has remote control pan and tilt so I can look around. Two way audio lets me listen for any alarm sounds on the boat. Sends a text if anyone enters the cabin and saves the video. Needs a phone charger USB power and WiFi connection.

Software is very stable. A previous camera I had would error once a week and someone would have to go to the boat to restart it.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09N6YCT3Y..._title_10&th=1

[gnetwerker]

Originally Posted by Kello

My marina has good wifi, so does that mean the devices recommended here for use with wifi will work for me?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: also yes.


Longest answer: Well, it depends on the router settings and firewall and whether the marina is blocking Port xxx and ... zzzz (everyone falls asleep).

[charliepsycho]

Short answer: A cheap camera that you don't mind gently disintegrating in the sun
Long Answer: Nearly all the wifi cameras will do the job and have an app and sd card on board that records motion
Longest answer: I like TAPO stuff as they are cheap and the ecosystem is pretty large Having said that, I had a SRIcam desktop wifi camera in the bottom of a drawer, so that now sits on my combing under the sprayhood and does an adequate job in the canaries over a £6 sim card in my router!

[Cool Hand Luke]

Thank you to all that posted responses! I'll do research on all those mentioned and I'll post results and photos of my install.

Thank you, again!!

[Bill Seal]

My problem is no WIFI but good cell coverage and shore power. Any suggestions?

[requiem]

Originally Posted by Bill Seal

My problem is no WIFI but good cell coverage and shore power. Any suggestions?

You could look into getting a mobile hotspot. They come in various factors, from a USB stick you can plug into your laptop to a small device the size of a small device that you connect to over wifi.

I suspect they may be more common outside the US, but I've seen them available here.

[requiem]

Originally Posted by Kello

My marina has good wifi, so does that mean the devices recommended here for use with wifi will work for me?

That's a... deceptively simple question.

There's a good chance some may rely on having a mobile app to set them up, in which case you might be hosed, but that's your own choice.

Many also require setting up some sort of subscription for remote access. To explain in simpler terms, assume there isn't a path to "reach out" directly to your boat; rather the camera on your boat needs to do the "reaching out", and since it doesn't know where you might be, you need a middleman that both you and your boat can reach. Thus, a subscription or at least some sort of account setup.