Anchor Alarm via satellite

[mjgill1]

Our scenario is this. The boat is at anchor, we depart in the dingy to go ashore. We would like to be alerted if the boat drags anchor or is moved outside of a given area.

Last time we were in FL we purchased the "Saved by Spot X" device which allows 2 way texting and mapping of our position to our family via satellite. We have been using a simple app on the phone for the overnight anchor alarm called Anchor and it seems to work fine. But, when we leave the boat at anchor, we have no means to monitor it.
After a lengthy discussion with tech support at Saved by Spot, I learned that we could use one of their subscription devices called the Trace. After 30 minutes it will send an email and/or SMS to up to 5 devices that report the vessel has moved out of a 100 square meter area. My problem is that you can't adjust the parameter's of the area. It's fixed at 100 square meters.

Is anyone aware of a method or device that could provide anchor monitoring for the boat while we are ashore? Satellite seems the best option from what I can tell, but some systems, e.g. Starlink can be VERY expensive. We can't justify the expense as we are only seasonal cruisers and will be away for hurricane season.

Thanks,

[brazenarticle]

If you are taking the dinghy to shore you'll almost certainly have cell service available (especially in Florida). The cell connection is cheaper and less complicated than satellite.
A Floathub device (FloatHub.com) with build in cellular will monitor location as well as bilge pumps, batteries, temperatures and other stuff you may want to add. It will also send anchor alarms or alarms for other things you want or need.
I've been using one for years, you can share your location with track, speed, depth via internet with others (good for family to keep track of whereabouts). It also creates a log of trips with a slider so you can look at what was going on at any given moment. Its interesting to look back a couple years to check your depths at a particularly tricky spot or to just rerun a trip on the computer google maps.
Floathub saves the files in standard formats so they can also be exported to marine charts and used as tracks for future trips.

[mjgill1]

Originally Posted by brazenarticle

If you are taking the dinghy to shore you'll almost certainly have cell service available (especially in Florida). The cell connection is cheaper and less complicated than satellite.
A Floathub device (FloatHub.com) with build in cellular will monitor location as well as bilge pumps, batteries, temperatures and other stuff you may want to add. It will also send anchor alarms or alarms for other things you want or need.
I've been using one for years, you can share your location with track, speed, depth via internet with others (good for family to keep track of whereabouts). It also creates a log of trips with a slider so you can look at what was going on at any given moment. Its interesting to look back a couple years to check your depths at a particularly tricky spot or to just rerun a trip on the computer google maps.
Floathub saves the files in standard formats so they can also be exported to marine charts and used as tracks for future trips.

Wow! That sounds really neat. I will check it out. Thank you!

[Flatswing]

I believe Aqua maps just introduced this feature. I have no personal experience with the remote monitoring feature. The anchor alarm seems to work well and of course, Aqua maps is a really cost effective and useful backup Nav system. I run it always on a parallel device as backup to Navionics on MFD.

[Franziska]

We used a cell based remote anchor app once.
Got a false alarm, rushed few miles back aboard to see her floating fine.

Then we rethought this, would she have really dragged, we would have been to late anyway.
So no real need for the alarm and associated panic and stress levels.
Unless you have someone very close by who could help immediately.

We leave our AIS on though. If she moves we can take a look if she moved out of the ordinary.

I agree it would be nice to be able to satellite track in remote locations.
Maybe an alternative option would be to pay for AIS satellite tracking.

[wrwakefield]

Siren Marine devices offer boat systems monitoring including position using cellular and/or satellite.

In case that is of interest.

Cheers, Bill

[AJAL]

Sailerver works on a 10year SIM and operates via cellular network. Won't work if no network is available, but on the Mediterranean it is everywhere. It will send you an SMS and email when your vessel moves outside parameters you set. It mainly works as a digital log book recording everything from your NMEA systems on board. I have it and love it.

https://sailserver.com/en

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by AJAL

Sailerver works on a 10year SIM and operates via cellular network. Won't work if no network is available, but on the Mediterranean it is everywhere. It will send you an SMS and email when your vessel moves outside parameters you set. It mainly works as a digital log book recording everything from your NMEA systems on board. I have it and love it.



https://sailserver.com/en

Out of curiosity, what is a 10 year Sim?

[CarlF]

The Vesper Cortex AIS/vHF provides their anchor watch functionality using their app on a phone anywhere. This includes the location of the boat compared to drop point, Wind speed/direction, and depth. We connect our Cortex to our Starlink so it’s always available on our phone ashore.

[AJAL]

A 10 year SIM, is a mobile SIM card that is able to send small batches of data to the network, the loaded on the internet to your account. It has sufficient data capability for 10 years.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by AJAL

A 10 year SIM, is a mobile SIM card that is able to send small batches of data to the network, the loaded on the internet to your account. It has sufficient data capability for 10 years.

Interesting, did not know that existed.
Do they work in foreign countries as well?

[AJAL]

I know it works in all of Europe. I think elsewhere, but cannot confirm from personal experience. The people at Sailserver (https://sailserver.com/en) are super responsive. Best ask them.

[mjgill1]

Originally Posted by Franziska

We used a cell based remote anchor app once.
Got a false alarm, rushed few miles back aboard to see her floating fine.

Then we rethought this, would she have really dragged, we would have been to late anyway.
So no real need for the alarm and associated panic and stress levels.
Unless you have someone very close by who could help immediately.

We leave our AIS on though. If she moves we can take a look if she moved out of the ordinary.

I agree it would be nice to be able to satellite track in remote locations.
Maybe an alternative option would be to pay for AIS satellite tracking.

I just paid the $6.00 for a pro version of an anchor alarm app. We tried it around the house. It requires cell signal and you have to leave one phone on the boat. It sends a notification via the Telegram app. It does work, but I fear the dreaded false alarm as well. I remember when we first started playing with anchor alarms on overnights and it was a disaster. False alarms at 0100 hours are not fun. I agree with you about the stress etc. and had a thought.
On land, folks use satellite on their vehicles to track them in case of theft. I don't know the apps or equipment associated with this, but couldn't that serve as an anchor alarm and theft locator for a boat? Not sure if the land version sends a notification if the vehicle moves, or it's a tracker only once discovered that it's been stolen. It's a thought though.

[mjgill1]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Siren Marine devices offer boat systems monitoring including position using cellular and/or satellite.

In case that is of interest.

Cheers, Bill

That's a neat system, but comes at a hefty price. Looks like about $1,200.00 to get set up, plus another $180/year subscription fee. I can definitely see the value in it though.

[jt11791]

If you and the boat have cell service, the Anchor Pro app combined with the Telegram app can do this. You need two phones. I leave my phone on board running Anchor Pro and it will send a Telegram message to my wife's phone if the boat moves out of the circle. She can also send a query and get a status report. We also have Starlink and with that, the system can work without cell service.