You walk the docks because you have to. Verify occupancy. Catch issues before they become incidents. Make sure the next shift knows what was actually out there before you handed it off. It's not glamorous work, but when something goes wrong — a boat in the wrong slip, a billing dispute, an insurance claim — the dock walk is the first place anyone looks for a record.
The problem is most marinas are still doing it with a clipboard and a pen. And while that technically works, the costs compound: notes that get lost, handwriting nobody can read two hours later, 1-2 hours spent transcribing back at the office, and the uncomfortable "I think someone checked that" answer when an owner asks what happened on Dock B last Tuesday.
Dockwa's native Dockwalk tool is built to solve that. It's available now for every marina on the Dockwa Storage module.
The process doesn't change. Your dockmaster still walks the docks, checks each slip, notes what they see, and flags anything that needs attention. That routine is not going anywhere.
What changes is what happens with all of that information.
Instead of a clipboard, your dockmaster opens the Dockwa app on their iPhone or iPad. Their walk route is pre-configured to match the physical path they already take. For each slip: two big buttons, Occupied or Vacant. They tap. The app advances to the next slip automatically — no scrolling, no searching, no losing their place.
If something needs attention — unauthorized boat, broken cleat, frayed power cable — one tap flags it. The office manager sees it immediately through an in-app filter. No sticky notes. No radio calls. No hoping the message got passed along.
If they get pulled away (and they always do), the app saves their position. When they come back, they pick up exactly where they left off.
When the progress bar hits 100%, they're done. Every check is logged with the user, device, and timestamp. No transcription. No filing. No "I think it was Mike."
The same tool lands differently depending on where you sit.
Owners and GMs. The Summary Webview gives you a real-time picture of what's happening on your docks — from your desk. Every flagged issue is visible the moment it's logged: the space, the note from whoever flagged it, and the timestamp. You don't have to be on the dock or wait for someone to come find you. You open the dashboard and see it. That same record is also your compliance trail — every inspection attributed to a specific staff member with a device and timestamp. When an insurance claim comes in or a boater disputes a charge, you have documentation you can pull in seconds.
Dockmasters. Less time on the walk itself, more time on the docks. Large marinas that were spending 2+ hours per walk on a clipboard are getting it done in under 30 minutes. Auto-advance navigation alone accounts for most of that difference — you're not scrolling through a long list trying to find where you left off. The flag system means you stop carrying issues in your head until you find someone to tell; you flag it and move on. And for the first time, the work you're doing every single day has a record attached to it.
Office managers. Instead of starting the day trying to piece together what happened on the last walk — who checked what, what got flagged, whether anyone knows about it — the information is already there. No reconstruction, no chasing down dock staff for a verbal rundown.
Dockhands. The simplest possible experience. Two big buttons. Auto-advance to the next slip. One-tap flagging. A progress bar that shows exactly how far along you are. Get pulled away — close the app, come back, it picks up where you left off. No training required. Nothing to write down, nothing to hand off.
For marinas already on Dockwa's Storage module, this is a short checklist:
That's it. The app is the process now.
Dockwalk is now live in the Storage module. If you're not yet using Dockwa for Storage, now is a good time to check it out.