HullSpeed
A better boat speedometer
11 followers
A better boat speedometer
11 followers
HullSpeed is a sailing and boating GPS speedometer for Apple Watch and iPhone. Track live boat speed, record voyages, view routes, and export GPX, KMZ, or CSV.
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I often sail smaller sailboats without electronics or instrumentation, and I wanted a way to measure the speed of my boat with my Apple Watch. There was no lack of speedometer apps for Apple Watch and iPhone, but I couldn’t find one I really liked. Some would go idle and stop showing the speed on my watch while sailing, requiring me to re-launch the app (annoying when solo sailing). Others did not have the legibility I wanted on my watch (I wanted a big speed readout and few other things besides a trend chart). Some apps turned out to be bloatware with features I didn’t need (like social features). Many had subscription fees, which I didn’t want to pay. So I created my own.
The core feature is a simple GPS speedometer, which also saves your track and allows you to export your data. I also added a real-time view on your iPhone that shows a map and your projected location based on your current speed (a feature I liked from marine navigation apps, but I often didn’t want to pay full price for a marine chart app just for that). I also added a Live Activity because I’d often forget to hit Stop after a voyage, and with the Live Activity showing on my phone, it’s a great reminder that a voyage is being recorded.
I use this app myself daily and I hope others find this as useful as I do!
Does it pull speed from the watch's GPS directly or hook into the boat's NMEA network for more accurate readings in tricky conditions?
@enoldemirkfdby it just uses GPS. It’s meant to be quick and simple and low cost yet useful. So no interfacing with ship electronics.
Does the app pull speed directly from the Watch's GPS or does it need to pair with an iPhone for accurate readings out on open water?
@gizemezmj the speed comes directly from iPhone GPS (and watch GPS if available). At the end of the voyage the two are merged and the best value between phone and watch is saved.
Solid little app, the wrist readout is actually fast enough to trust under sail. Liked that I could dump a GPX after a day out without fiddling.
@ayferekiolrsu6 thank you!
Finally tried HullSpeed on my phone during a quick sail and the live speed readout felt spot-on even in choppy water, plus exporting the GPX took seconds.