Boat Monitoring

[coal8726]

I am considering adding a Garmin On Deck remote monitoring system to our 2020 American Tug 395 with Garmin chart plotters. Looking for advice and comments on monitoring systems.We will be leaving the boat unattended at marinas from time to time.

 

[AdmiralS]

We are extremely happy with our Siren Marine system. Monitors everything we could ever want and integrates into the NMEA 2000 network for engine data.

We are all Garmin on our boat, but decided the On Deck was not as feature rich as Siren.

 

[O C Diver]

Another strong recommendation for Siren. Outstanding service, an extremely well thought out design, and reasonably priced monitoring / notifications made my choice that much better after the sale.

Ted

 

[Iggy]

Yes, to the 2 above.

 

[rwidman]

I'm just curious, what will you be monitoring on your boat and why?

 

[Iggy]

I'm just curious, what will you be monitoring on your boat and why?

When my boat is on the hard, winter time. I want to know that the boat is secure. Break-ins at boat yards do happen. At the slip I am not worried, but its nice to know. Since the house and starting batteries are very heavy, they stay in the boat all winter. With Siren Pro I know the boats battery voltages and if the solar system is charging.

I have a friend that went to FL with his boat and just install a Siren Pro 3. Him and his wife went for a walk on the beach. He received an alert on his phone that the high water alarm went off. He left his A.C. running and the sump pump stopped working. He was just gone for 2 hours and if not for Siren Pro he would not have known.

 

[rwidman]

Thanks.

What, exactly does the system monitor?

For a boat on the hard, a home security system like Simply Safe would monitor for break ins. They have smoke detectors also and may have temperature alarms and such. And cameras are available.

It's not a "marine" system as such, but the components are just a couple hundred dollars and monitoring is $15 per month.

I have this in my home. It does the same thing as ADT which was $50 per month when I dropped it.

 

[AdmiralS]

Its easier to show then tell

Here is our dashboard off what we monitor.

Bilge Pumps, Temps, Voltages, Doors

 

[rwidman]

OK, that's impressive. What is the approximate cost initially and per month?

 

[AdmiralS]

Siren offers 3 different Plans.

Annual - 12 months at $180
Seasonal - April 1 - October 31 at $125
Month to Month at $17.97

We monitor the boat 24/7, 365 whether it is in the water or on the hard.

For total system cost, we bought at the boat show so got a bit of a discount.

I would say the total system cost for us all in was about $2k.

What sets Siren apart is their customer service and support. They are quick to respond to any questions, and if you have a large complex installation like ours they dont rest until everything is working perfectly!

 

[AdmiralS]

We also monitor our electrical system that is comprised of Victron equipment. There is some duplication of data which is nice to compare both systems to.

The boat is currently on the hard, shrink wrapped and still keeping the batteries fully charged via solar with NO shore power connected.

 

[O C Diver]

One of the nice features is the ability to turn 4 things on and off remotely. I only use one of these. If you steal my boat, you're probably not going to be happy when I turn the engine off.

Ted

 

[rwidman]

One of the nice features is the ability to turn 4 things on and off remotely. I only use one of these. If you steal my boat, you're probably not going to be happy when I turn the engine off.

Ted

Better than that would be a way to keep them from starting the engine in the first place. You could use a hidden toggle switch for $2.98.

These systems do seem nice, but probably more than I need. Like I posted, I have AIS so I know where it is as long as I have a computer or phone.

I installed a smart thermostat that's Internet compatible so I know the temperature and I can turn the heat or AC on and off remotely. There's no monthly charge for that (other than the charge for the hot spot that I already had for Internet access).

I do have friends at the marina who will notify me if anything external sees out of place. We had a really bad windstorm last week and a friend called me to say my dinghy was loose on the bow (he tied it up) and that my canvas was flapping. I drove to the marina and found that the wind had actually separated the bimini frame.

 

[O C Diver]

Better than that would be a way to keep them from starting the engine in the first place. You could use a hidden toggle switch for $2.98.

This is true, but I'd rather not have them trash the boat to teach me a lesson or release it to go through a mooring field. I see it as the "On Star" of boating. It cost under $20 to add, and if I ever get to use it, priceless!

Ted

 

[DDW]

The Victron system is not as comprehensive as the Siren, but a lot less money, and no ongoing subscription. It is possible to turn on and off a few select things with the Victron.

 

[Scottwb96]

Another option for those that don't want to spend a ton of money. Check out MySpool.com. Simple little device, ~$100. Monitors AC power, temp, humidity, water float switch, continuity sensor. You receive the alerts via SMS/email or both. No monthly/subscription cost either...

I wanted something simple that would let me know if/when the shorepower was turned off (breaker or loss of power). For $100 this little thing is pretty awesome!

 

[cardude01]

Another option for those that don't want to spend a ton of money. Check out MySpool.com. Simple little device, ~$100. Monitors AC power, temp, humidity, water float switch, continuity sensor. You receive the alerts via SMS/email or both. No monthly/subscription cost either...



I wanted something simple that would let me know if/when the shorepower was turned off (breaker or loss of power). For $100 this little thing is pretty awesome!

Does this system require WiFi to work?I have no WiFi at my current dock.

 

[Scottwb96]

It does. Either you provide or if a signal from the dock/marina is available. If you have a hot spot for the boat, you could use that.

Cheap option would be to by a prepaid hotspot and use that. lol, $50 data plan for this thing would prob last you YEARS since it would just be sending an SMS msg...

 

[cardude01]

Where would I get a prepaid hotspot? I’m not familiar.

Something like this ?

https://www.verizon.com/internet-devices/airspeed-4g-mhs-prepaid/

 

[Scottwb96]

you could check with your current carrier to see what they have. Some carriers (though not always listed) have an option to buy the SIM card and then you ONLY get charged for what you use. Or they might have an option to just add a super cheap data plan, same type that people use for security cam SIMs.
The trick for the prepaid is to make sure it's actually a pay-as-you-USE. Not $50 for 50g but you have to use it in 30-60 days...

 

[Gabe n Em]

We've got "Boat Command". It does pretty much everything you need, and it doesn't need wifi (just cell service). The big seller is the cost. It's probably the cheapest of the boat monitoring options.

It's not flashy, but we've had it ~6 months now without issue. I reliably, (and promptly!) get alerts whenever we unplug the shore power cord to go cruise.

-Gabe

 

[O C Diver]

Siren doesn't need wifi, it can use either wifi or cellular.

My recollection is that I spent about $700 with Siren for equipment and did the install myself.

Ted

 

[Iggy]

Siren doesn't need wifi, it can use either wifi or cellular.

My recollection is that I spent about $700 with Siren for equipment and did the install myself.

Ted

Same here! But I bought 2 wireless door sensors. Tech support is the greatest!

Also any firmware updates can be done remotely which is a big plus. When I installed my unit I had problems. So they tried to to reinstall the firmware remotely and it did not work. Now there based on R.I. and I am just north of Boston. That would be a 1hr and 45 drive for them and they were willing to come up and resolve the problem.

I am a tech by trade and firmware updates/installs I was doing all the time. We talked and they sent me the needed cable and we did it over the phone and in 15 minutes it was up and running. YOU JUST CAN'T BEAT THAT TYPE OF SERVICE!

On firmware --- What ever you buy, you want to be able to do updates. As we all know, every year new stuff comes out you may want to add things on or add new features.

 

[Always Late]

Another Siren fan here! Make sure you get the siren pro though. West Marine is still selling the older siren models and they may be useless in some parts of the country this spring when 2&3G starts getting phased out.

 

[rwidman]

This is true, but I'd rather not have them trash the boat to teach me a lesson or release it to go through a mooring field. I see it as the "On Star" of boating. It cost under $20 to add, and if I ever get to use it, priceless!

Ted

But if you kill the engine, your boat will be adrift and likely to be grounded on the rocks or out to sea somewhere.

 

[Iggy]

But if you kill the engine, your boat will be adrift and likely to be grounded on the rocks or out to sea somewhere.

It just depends what you want out of it. I am more interested in my battery voltages and hi water alarm when not on board. Security is 2nd place.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

My boat winters indoors where solar isn’t available. Neither find is shore power to keep batteries charged. Even my Balmar SmartGauge will draw them down in weeks. While I may not need monitoring, I’d love to know what the temperature is aboard. Anyone have a solution for that?

 

[O C Diver]

But if you kill the engine, your boat will be adrift and likely to be grounded on the rocks or out to sea somewhere.

The app has GPS tracking for the boat. So I shut the engine down at a time and place of my choosing.

In an ideal situation:

The system notifies me when the boat goes outside of the Geo Fence.

I contact the appropriate law enforcement. Tell them my boat has been stolen. Give them current position and update that position as needed.

When law enforcement is ready to board the boat and it's in a safe location (open bay, etc.), on their request I shut down the engine.

Ted

 

[Hippocampus]

Anyone have a good cheap way to monitor dinghies? Not too worried about the boat going walkies but unfortunately dinghy theft is endemic.

 

[angus99]

My boat winters indoors where solar isn’t available. Neither find is shore power to keep batteries charged. Even my Balmar SmartGauge will draw them down in weeks. While I may not need monitoring, I’d love to know what the temperature is aboard. Anyone have a solution for that?

Lots of ways to skin this cat. I’m sure I’m repeating myself but I use SmartThings. Dirt cheap and highly reliable/expandable, although not as tailored to boating as Siren (which I’d probably have installed if I’d known about at the time).

I monitor ER temps/motion/lumens, saloon temps, smoke alarm actuation and turn heaters and lights on and off as needed. I’m guessing ~ $300 in the entire system. I also use Wyze IR cameras which remotely pan and zoom, detect, record and alert me to intruders and listen to what’s going on in the ER and saloon (~$40/ea). I can even tell an intruder that they’re being filmed and the police are on the way, via the cams.

If I get an alert from SmartThings, I put eyes on the boat via the cameras. Normally, our bilge is bone dry, so if a drop of water hits the moisture sensor, I get a text and check the camera to make sure it’s nothing serious. Likewise with the smoke/CO alarms. We’ve had two false alarms since installing a network of smart smoke detectors. I can listen in to what’s actually happening on the boat via the cams and, if the alarms have stopped, be pretty certain it was spurious . . . maybe a smelly boat passing too close. We also have NEBO aboard, which alerts me to any suspicious boat movement and if battery voltage drops below a pre-set minimum.

Except for (I believe) NEBO, all this requires WiFi and our marina’s system is the pits. So I installed a Pepwave router that switches seamlessly from marina WiFi to cell and back—with a preference for the marina when it’s up and running—creating a strong network on the boat.

Not denigrating the integrated boutique systems at all. They’re convenient and elegant. My approach evolved piecemeal and does pretty much everything I need.

Edit—Oops, just reread your post and the power issue finally penetrated. Probably a stupid question, but can you run an extension cord? Is there WiFi in the storage facility you can connect to?