Remote boat monitoring rec's

[Peregrine1983]

Hi all,

I'm seeking guidance in picking a remote boat monitoring system from the many models and companies that are out there.

It will usually be for monitoring our 42' ketch on our mooring in New York, but also for when we are cruising and are away from the boat for one reason or another. There is cell service where our mooring is.

I'm less concerned about theft/security and more concerned about bilge pump failure, etc.


Wish list:
High bilge water sensor
GPS Location
Wireless sensors so I don't have to run wiring everywhere.
Camera
Ideally, this system is around $1000 US or less

Would love to hear what you all are using on your boats and how satisfied you are with the service.

Thanks!

[SY Harmony]

Timely thread, thanks!
I’ve been pondering putting a ring camera in mine.

[Peregrine1983]

Nice idea. I guess a ring camera could work if you had a constant internet connection running like starlink?

[wholybee]

The Victron Cerbo GX will allow remote monitoring of Tanks, contact closures (bilge alarm), course, speed, and location, as well as monitoring any Victron chargers and such.

Then add a ring camera for video.

[michaeld]

Vesper Cortex also has remote monitoring.

[CarlF]

Starlink has made monitoring much easier (and cheaper). There’s typically no monthly charge. You simply connect Wi-Fi devices to 5e Starlink hotspot. Works everywhere in the world with no cell service

I have

Victron VRM for battery, solar panels, shore power, and bilge

Two $40:baby monitor cameras. These alert for both an intruder and unusual sounds (such as an alarm going off somewhere. You can then listen over the camera to identify the alarm. It also records video of anyone coming on the boat.

A $30 Wi-Fi temperature/humidity gauge that helps if I’m running air conditioning in a slip.

As backup I also have a vesper Corte AIS. Its monitoring is less than $200/year. I use it when anchored or moored because it shows any dragging, wind speed and direction, and water depth. You can see in a map how the boat is swinging in the harbor.

[Kijit]

I use FloatHub (www.floathub.com). $149 for the wifi version and free service if you are happy with the basic plan. I've used it on two boats for several years. It has an onboard GPS and temp and pressure sensor and will also monitor multiple voltage sources and pumps. You can feed it an NMEA stream and it will also act as a wifi hub for all the info and transmit most data on the monitoring stream as well, including AIS data. It is a fantastic deal in my opinion.

Gerhard

[Peregrine1983]

Thanks all for the replies. You've got me thinking about just activating Starlink for the season and running a bunch of cheap wifi cameras, etc.

I have some questions about the new Starlink plans this year, but I'll start a new thread for that.

[Matt Johnson]

https://www.brnkl.io/

The Barnacle is a boat monitoring and security system that does exactly what you're looking for. GPS position, bilge pump, cameras and many other sensors can be added to fulfill whatever you want to monitor on your boat.

FYI- These are friends of ours and a sponsor, but I do believe in their system 100%.

MJSailing

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

Nice idea. I guess a ring camera could work if you had a constant internet connection running like starlink?

ReoLink, https://reolink.com/us/lp/14th-anniversary/, has cameras that work over WiFi and over SIM cards. They take a bit of configuring but not too bad. The SIM cards camera's are just a bit more work because you have to deal with a cell phone plane.

Having Starlink, or some other reliable fast Internet access, makes the WiFi cameras preferable. We were able to check our house while on vacation without a problem. The cameras have various settings to trigger alerts which worked well for us.

We had someone checking on the house from time to time and I knew when they showed up, where they parked, how long they stayed, etc. Thankfully no issues that REQUIRED the camera. It sure was a comfort to know that the place was secured.

Later,
Dan

[Bill Seal]

Depends on your definition of inexpensive.

Starlink
3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7
$90.00–$5,000.00/mo.
Speed:
5–220Mbps
Data cap:
Unlimited*
Internet type:
Satellite
One-time equipment fee:
$599.00–$2,500.00

I'm looking for an inexpensive option for checking things like bilge water and wind damage without having to endure 100 miserable miles of LA freeways. There's no wifi at the marina.

[Peregrine1983]

I have Starlink, but only turn it on for long cruises - usually a few weeks in July. Leaving it on all season would be $150 x 5-6 months, so... we actually get to the price of one of these systems pretty quickly.

[hjohnson]

I’m all in on the Victron ecosystem. I monitor so my tanks and bilge, power system, environmental conditions, wind, etc. my cerbo gx is connected to the internet via an lte router, and the whole system uses about 500MB a month from my LTE router.

[bstreep]

Since you have cell service, that will be cheaper than Starlink. Starlink is awesome.



We've used these for many years. There's no monthly charge, they are a reliable, inexpensive option. We use their water sensors for the bilge, but be sure and cover it well with packing or duct tape. We have the sensors (for temperature) in our fridge, freezer, HVAC ducts, wine/beer storage, etc. Awesome. Good support, too: https://wirelesstags.net/

[shimari]

We're in the slow process of adding home assistant to monitor and control things via shelly devices. The backhaul is Starlink with a peplink router and 5G backup.

This blog covers a few things similar to what we're doing. https://boathackers.com