JacksonI 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!

HullSpeed

A better boat speedometer

A better boat speedometer