Bert, my Red Fox English Labrador, loves the water just as much as I do. In my recent transition to “professional dog dad,” I have quickly...
From real-time hazard updates, to route planning guides, to help booking boat slips, and more, these tools are guaranteed to make your boating season fun and frustration-free.
Time flies when your having fun! We originally published this post in 2015, and are now (August 2018) revisiting our top picks. Stay tuned as we test out apps, survey our boaters, and keep you up to speed on the best boating, sailing, and cruising apps for iPhone and Android.
1. Keep an eye on the weather
Every boater has his or her favorite weather app: it all depends on what your day holds. My personal favorite is Windy, which incorporates NOAA data in clean, super-fast animation. More apps to try: WindFinder for wind velocity and direction, WindMeter for actual conditions on boat, PredictWind, MyRadar, and another personal favorite of mine (because I find clear skies boring): Dark Sky.
2. Stay above board by knowing what's below
Responsible boaters know never to take navigation for granted. Popular options include Navionics, and more budget-friendly options include Boatie for tides and VesselFinder for tracking other boats via AIS.
3. Anchor with more peace of mind
Boat Beacon, Anchor Watch, and Drag Queen are all boater favorites – stay tuned in the coming weeks as we survey our boaters and test them for ourselves.
4. Safety at Sea
If you boat long enough, eventually you will have a hectic moment you'll be glad you prepared for. Check out apps by the Red Cross and DANBoater's mobile site.
5: Make Marina Reservations with Dockwa
Of course, our list wouldn't be complete without tooting our own horn. The first of its kind, Dockwa allows boaters to research and reserve boat slips and moorings at marinas directly from their phones. Among the many benefits of using Dockwa: in advance or last-minute bookings, direct contact with marinas in your area, the ability to automatically pay for your slip directly through the Dockwa app, and local travel and marina information via our blog.
