You can start following boats today with AIS Fleet, our companion site, even if your boat does not have the hardware Saillogger needs yet.
AIS Fleet is a live map of boats at sea, built on AIS. All it takes is a free account, and there is nothing to install aboard. We are also working on an easier way to connect a boat to Saillogger.
AIS is a radio system: ships and many recreational boats use it to broadcast their name, position, course and speed. Receivers on shore and aboard boats receive these reports, and AIS Fleet draws them on one live map.
Here is what you can do with AIS Fleet:
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Follow boats, and know when they leave and arrive
Search by name, MMSI, call sign or IMO number, then follow a boat to be notified when she leaves and when she arrives. -
See the boats around you, directly from an AIS receiver
If there is an AIS receiver on your boat's Wi-Fi network, the AIS Fleet app for iPhone connects to it. While the app is on screen, it draws the boats the receiver hears within seconds. The app also becomes your own station, which no other member sees: what it hears joins the AIS Fleet network, and you can pause that sharing. From its first full month, a station that meets the monthly requirements for boats heard, reception range and uptime earns you the Plus or Pro plan for the following month. The app counts toward uptime only while it is open on screen; a receiver you add under My Stations on aisfleet.com reports on its own, without the app. Share your AIS receiver -
Group boats into lists and fleets
Keep the boats that interest you on a list, and share it if you like. Claiming your boat on AIS Fleet is free and needs one document. After that, a club or rally can add the boat to its fleet, with a shared map and chat. With the Plus or Pro plan, you can also create a fleet of your own. -
Write to other boaters
Write to the owners of the boats you follow, and of the boats in your fleets, if those boats are claimed on AIS Fleet or shared on Saillogger. -
Follow Saillogger boats in more detail
When their owners choose to share, boats that keep their log with Saillogger also show their journal and the voyage they are on, as Saillogger records it. If their owners allow it, these boats also keep moving on the map from their own position reports whenever they have internet aboard, even where no AIS receiver hears them. -
Photograph boats, and earn the Plus or Pro plan
If you enjoy watching or photographing boats, you can add your photos to their galleries; each one is reviewed before it appears. In one calendar month, use AIS Fleet to photograph three boats you have not photographed with it before. Once the photos are published, you have the Plus plan for the following month. Ten boats photographed this way earn you the Pro plan.
Watching the map, following up to five boats and being in a fleet are all free with an AIS Fleet account, and the free plan does not expire. AIS Fleet has its own sign-in: enter your e-mail address and AIS Fleet sends you a code, so there is no password. On iPhone, use the AIS Fleet app; on Android or a computer, use aisfleet.com in the browser.
If your boat broadcasts AIS and a receiver has heard her, family and friends ashore can already follow your boat on AIS Fleet. When your boat logs with Saillogger, they can also read your journal and see your voyage, as far as you choose to share.
Have questions or ideas? Feel free to write to us.
Fair winds and following seas!
The Saillogger Team
