Someone ashore wanting to know where the boat is: that is the whole problem boat tracking solves, and there are three honest ways to do it. Satellite hardware for offshore, AIS for bigger vessels near receiver coverage, and your phone for coastal trips. This guide compares them by coverage, cost, and effort, and shows the no-hardware option most weekend boaters overlook.
- Satellite trackers (inReach, Zoleo, YB) work anywhere on earth and are the only real answer offshore.
- AIS shows your vessel on services like MarineTraffic, but only where shore receivers or satellites pick you up.
- Phone-based tracking with a live share link costs nothing extra and is ideal for coastal and day trips.
- A good share link shows the track so far, a freshness indicator, and works for viewers without an account.
- Cellular coverage fades within a few miles of shore, so match the tool to the trip.
#Satellite trackers: offshore, at a price
Garmin inReach, Zoleo, and YB trackers send positions over satellite networks, so they work mid-ocean, and most add two-way messaging and an SOS button monitored around the clock. PredictWind integrates several of them into polished tracking pages with blogs and photos, which is why offshore cruisers standardize on this stack. The costs are real: a device purchase plus a monthly plan. For passages beyond cell range, nothing else does the job.
#AIS: visibility, not quite tracking
An AIS transponder broadcasts your position to nearby vessels, and websites such as MarineTraffic show AIS targets picked up by volunteer shore receivers and satellites. Family can genuinely watch a boat with AIS move along the coast. The caveats: transponders cost several hundred dollars plus installation, coverage depends on receivers being in range, and gaps are normal. AIS is primarily a collision-avoidance tool; treat the tracking as a bonus, not a promise.
#Phone-based tracking: the overlooked option
For coastal cruising, day trips, and club racing, the phone already in your pocket is a capable tracker. The Marine OS route planner has an Underway mode that records your track as you go and updates your route's share link about once a minute: anyone with the link sees the planned route, the breadcrumb trail of where you have actually been, and a live position badge when your last fix is fresh. Viewers need nothing installed and no account. The honest limits: it uses cellular data, so it fades a few miles offshore, and the tab needs to stay open with the screen on, so keep the phone on charge in the cockpit.
A share link is most useful when it is already in the family group chat alongside your float plan. Send both before departure, agree on when to expect the "arrived" message, and the people ashore stop needing to call you every hour.
#Choosing by trip, not by gadget
- Day trips and coastal hops within cell range: phone-based live share, no new cost.
- Coastal passages with dead zones: phone-based share plus a PLB or inReach as the safety layer.
- Offshore passages: satellite tracker with an SOS function, full stop.
- Vessels over 12 m or racing fleets: AIS for safety, with public tracking as a side benefit.
Marine OS is marina management software, and our route planner for boaters includes Underway tracking with live share links, plus an off-route alert and anchor watch on the same screen.
#Tracking is one leg of the stool
Pair the tracker with a float plan so the person watching knows what to do if the dot stops, an anchor alarm for the nights, and a weather window picked so the dot never has to stop. For the planning side, compare the best marine route planner apps.
Give your family a live link for the next trip
Plan the route in the Marine OS route planner, start Underway tracking, and share one link that shows your route, track, and live position.
#Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Match the tool to the water: phone and share link inshore, satellite offshore, AIS for the big boats, and a float plan behind all of them. Start by planning the route itself with how to plan a boat route.
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