Frequently asked questions

VesselNow puts your boat's instruments, power, tanks, cameras and alarms on any screen aboard: phones, tablets, TVs and a fixed engine-room panel. It runs on one small computer on board, the VesselNow Hub, and works with no internet. vesselnow.io is where you manage licences and, if you turn on cloud sync, check the boat from shore.

Every plan from Navigator up includes Bridge, IT (internet and network) and AV (music and TV). Professional adds the Guest screens and the History, Wildlife and Fishing content. Enterprise adds AMS (the engine-room alarm and monitoring panel) and more than one boat on one account. Lite is for boats with a Victron Cerbo GX and no computer on board: phone and web only. Prices are on the Pricing page.

Plans are monthly, per boat, in US dollars: Lite $25, Navigator $75, Professional $250 and Enterprise $500, excluding GST and local taxes. Cancel any time. You can also buy a perpetual licence once instead. The computer on board and installation are quoted per boat.

Yes. A new install runs a 7-day trial with every Enterprise feature switched on, so you can see the whole thing on your own boat. Start from Get started. When the trial ends, choose a plan or a perpetual licence and enter the key in Settings.

Pay monthly, or buy a perpetual licence that includes three years of updates and cloud access. After three years it keeps working, and you can renew updates if you want them. You get one licence key per boat; enter it in Settings on the VesselNow Hub.

A VesselNow Hub: a small fanless PC we supply and install, or your own Windows PC, NAS or Docker host. Your instruments connect through NMEA 2000 or 0183, Victron or your PLC. Phones, tablets and TVs join the boat's Wi-Fi. Starlink or 4G/5G is only needed for cloud sync and weather downloads. Lite runs on your Victron Cerbo GX instead.

GMTS installs and supports VesselNow across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, and most boats are running in an afternoon. If you are handy with a PC and your instruments, you can install it yourself from the Download page. Talk to us for a quote.

On the VesselNow Hub on board: our fanless PC, or your own PC, NAS or Docker host. Your data stays on the boat unless you turn on cloud sync.

Yes. Everything aboard keeps working with no satellite or mobile link: instruments, alarms, cameras, guest screens and history. Weather downloads, cloud sync and remote access catch up when you are back in range.

Bridge is for the helm: chart, instruments, AIS, cameras, weather, anchor watch and the Status Board. Guest is for the saloon and cabins: where you are, the day's programme, menus and the stories along the coast, with no alarms or engine data. AMS (alarm and monitoring system) is for the engine room: power, tanks, engines, gensets and PLC alarms. All of them run on the same VesselNow Hub. VesselNow shows data from your instruments. It isn't a certified navigation or alarm system and doesn't replace your plotter or approved alarms.

Tap Crew login in the top-right menu (on a phone: More, then Crew login), pick your name and enter your PIN or password. Your installer gives you the first crew login at handover, and VesselNow asks you to change it the first time you sign in. Crew accounts you set up on vesselnow.io can be copied to the boat under Settings → Crew Accounts. Accounts then work with no internet.

After signing in, tap the VesselNow logo at the top left and pick one. A screen can also be set to always open on IT or AMS, under Settings → Crew Accounts → This device.

An admin creates a short code on the boat and enters it once on the screen. The screen keeps its access through restarts, only sees what its role allows, and can be removed at any time from Settings.

IT shows your internet links (Starlink, VSAT, 4G), the onboard network and connected devices, camera and UPS health, and raises an alarm when something drops. It's included from Navigator up. Crew open it from the VesselNow logo.

AV shows what's playing and whether each system is healthy (Sonos, WiiM, Denon, Marantz), and gives guests a simple now-playing screen. Fusion stereo control is coming once we have finished testing it. Crestron, RTI and Lutron aren't supported yet. Ask us if your boat uses them.

Offline stories, wildlife and fish guides for over 150 cruising areas worldwide, shown on the Guest map. They work with no internet. Install the regions you cruise from the Download page.

Not in the app stores yet. On any phone or tablet, open VesselNow in the browser on the boat's Wi-Fi and add it to your home screen, and it opens like an app. Ashore, sign in at vesselnow.io. Everything you can install today is on the Download page.

Only what you choose. The VesselNow Hub contacts vesselnow.io to check its licence. If you turn on cloud sync, it also sends position, alarms and the readings you pick (including an AMS summary of tanks, engines, gensets and active alarms) whenever Starlink or 4G/5G is up. Anything you sync is stored in New Zealand. Your instruments, cameras and history stay on the boat.

With cloud sync on, you can see the boat's position, alarms and the readings it sends, and follow her on the chart. AMS, IT and AV are shown read-only. Remote into Vessel is off unless the boat turns it on. When it is on, someone you have given access can open the onboard screens through vesselnow.io for up to an hour at a time. Before they can change anything they must confirm that it affects live equipment, cameras need a separate OK, and every change is logged on the boat and at vesselnow.io.

When you are logged in, Around vessel shows AIS traffic near your boat, picked up by VesselNow boats nearby that have cloud sync on. The map on our public home page is a demo, not live traffic.

Yes, for the readings the boat syncs. On the Dashboard and AMS pages, tap a reading to open a chart and choose 1h, 6h, 24h, 7d or 30d. Analytics goes back further. The full history stays on the boat.

No. One VesselNow Hub runs Bridge, Guest, IT, AV and AMS.

Yes. We connect Siemens PLCs through an MQTT gateway such as Node-RED, set up for your boat at commissioning. Bridge shows PLC readings; AMS can also operate equipment where your plan and installer allow it.

VesselNow checks for updates itself; install them from Settings. Your licence, settings and history are kept. A perpetual licence includes three years of updates.

Yes. On a NAS or Docker host, use the official image from Docker Hub with a persistent data volume, then open VesselNow in a browser and enter your licence key. On a Windows PC, use the Full installer instead. Step-by-step instructions are in the Guides.