Let’s face it, boats and yachts usually cost quite a bit of money. In most cases, the eye-watering sums involved are large enough to make the head spin, so it stands to reason you’d want to make sure such expensive assets are properly protected.
Of course, with boat theft figures continuing to rise, many vessel owners will invest in intricate alarm and locking systems, making sure to securely stow away any valuables while the boat is moored. But thieves are undoubtedly becoming more sophisticated in their methods, while there were over 200 pirate attacks in the last year alone (obviously without any eye patches or wooden legs). Suddenly, traditional security measures seem a little inadequate.
However, rapid advancements in GPS technology have offered an invaluable lifeline, allowing you to keep a watchful eye on your vessel through an innovative boat tracker. Instead of constantly worrying about your vehicle’s safety and whereabouts, modern technology provides you with incredible peace of mind in 2019.
What is a Boat GPS Tracker?
When you own a personal boat, yacht or any other kind of sailing vessel, sometimes you can go weeks (or even months) without using it. Alternatively, if you manage an entire fleet of vehicles or run a boat rental company, keeping track of a particular vessel’s movements can often seem like an impossible task.
Regardless of what it’s used for, a boat GPS tracker will help you prevent the theft, loss or misuse of your vessel; pinpointing its exact location from almost anywhere out on the water. Using the same innovative technology as a Sat Nav, boat trackers are waterproof devices that will typically fasten to the underside of your vessel and track its movements in real-time.
Additionally, these gadgets can actually improve the security of other marine equipment, with magnetic devices attaching directly to engines, electronics and other removable assets.
Real-Time Tracking Capabilities
When you’ve installed a reliable boat tracker, you’ll know exactly where your vessel is at all times. Since modern GPS systems allow you to pinpoint the location of a device in real-time, the authorities will stand a much better chance of recovering the vehicle in the event of theft—while you could also benefit from lower insurance premiums.
Such is the vastness and sheer scale of the open sea, recovering a vehicle lost on the water can often turn into a typical needle-in-a-haystack search, but an effective tracker will significantly improve the odds. In the case of a medical emergency or other urgent situation, the use of GPS ensures it’s much easier for the relevant services to find you quickly and efficiently.
Allowing you to check on your vessel’s whereabouts from multiple devices, boat trackers can also help you plan out the best routes and ensure you’re always moving in the right direction; potentially reducing fuel costs, lowering travel times and improving the safety of those on board.
Instant Movement Notifications
Not only will a boat tracker help you keep track of your vessel’s movements, but it can also be set up to notify you as soon as it’s been moved from its mooring or ventured away from its designated route. So, instead of constantly worrying about your vessel’s well-being, you can rest a little easier in the knowledge that it’s sat exactly where it should be.
Of course, if you do happen to receive a notification and realize your vessel has been compromised, then the instant alert helps you to react as quickly as possible; while the ability to then track your boat’s movements will significantly increase the chances of its recovery. For those that operate a Charter fleet, the use of this technology will undoubtedly improve the safety and behavior of your drivers.
Full History of Boat Journeys
When renting out your boat, there’s obviously a much higher chance of the vehicle being stolen, and the lack of any GPS technology is bound to cause you endless feelings of anxiety. With a high-quality tracker installed, however, you’ll be able to check up on your vessel’s real-time movements if you ever need a little peace of mind.
Perhaps more importantly, modern devices allow you to view a full history of the routes, speed and fuel used throughout the rental, meaning you can always be certain that a vessel has been used exactly as agreed—a particularly useful feature for any Charter vessel owners out there.
When implemented alongside instant alerts and pre-set travel boundaries, this feature ensures that a vessel can never venture off-course without you knowing about it. Ultimately, boat GPS trackers are helping to prevent theft, improve safety and ensure good driver behavior, and they’re fast becoming an essential maritime gadget.
