Logging our Journey
The best Digital Logbook and remote monitoring Solution we have found
Our life on the water requires a few helpful tools to keep us and our boats safe. We have tried various monitoring apps and solutions, but all options generally had some big negative, mostly around the ‘hands free’ and ‘set it and forget it’ qualities. However, a few years back we came across Saillogger, advertised as a hands-off approach to both logging trips, vessel monitoring, and more. Let’s dive into Saillogger, and why we can HIGHLY recommend it:
Automatic
One of the things we appreciate most is how automatic it is. We don’t have to remember to turn it on, start a track, or fiddle with settings every time we raise the anchor. It simply runs in the background and logs our sailing without needing our attention, which is exactly how we like our onboard systems to work.
Off-Boat Monitoring
We also really value the boat monitoring solution. When we’re away from the boat, it gives us an added layer of awareness by letting us keep an eye on things like location, batteries, and tank levels. We also like having the geofence feature as a backup anchor alarm alongside the other systems we already use onboard. Super handy when your ashore and the wind picks up - you can log-in and check track, location, wind, etc. Phew!
Sharing is Caring
And finally, it gives us a great way to share the experience with our guests. Being able to send exact GPX track files, along with a clear record of the route and distance sailed, gives people a meaningful keepsake from their time with us. It’s a simple way to preserve the story of a passage — not just where we went, but the track we sailed to get there.
For us, Saillogger fits because it works quietly in the background, adds useful monitoring when we’re off the boat, and makes it easy to keep a real record of the miles we share with our guests.
Now, if you're keen for a quick high-level overview of the technical setup, keep on reading.
Technicals:
One reason Saillogger can be so ‘hands off’ is the system runs in the background on an already ‘always on’ device. In our case, our boats are usually equipped with either a Victron Cerbo GX or the latest Eukrano. Both these devices can run a service called SignalK. This is an open sourced platform which when connected to the boat’s NMEA network, allows various third-party application writers to create smaller apps that run within Signal K. These can be for tasks like anchor monitoring, wind and sailing display data, adding or modifying NMEA signals (like damping wind data), or even the foundation for running self-supported navigation software like Open CPN.
In summary, our setup on most of our Balance program boats is the following - Signal K running on a Victron Cerbo GX or Eukrano, which is connected to the boat’s NMEA2000 network. Then, Saillogger is installed within the SignalK App store (free download and 30-day trial). Setup for Sailloger is really straight forward. It was developed by sailors for sailors, so they understand the exact use case and our specific needs on the ocean. Then, I always keep these devices powered ON (the Victron will of course be as it is, monitoring the boat’s battery system and uploading the data to it’s own cloud-based portal for off-boat monitoring). I also keep the NMEA network powered ON, so SignalK can use the boat’s GPS (highly accurate), wind data, depth, etc for monitoring.
We love supporting small businesses making quality marine products that makes our lives easier, and this is definitely one. If you feel the same, go check them out here.
-Darren