Sailserver User Manual

Creating the Sailserver account

Before you can use your Sailserver, you need to create and account, so the Sailserver can upload the data it is collecting. The Sailserver account is used to control access to your data, and sharing data with friends.

How to create the Sailserver account:

In the Sailserver App press the Login menu in the upper right corner.
A Login form will appear on your screen, if you don’t have an account yet, select the Signup here menu item.
You must select a username for your account, this name will be visible within the app for other users.
You must use an active email address, so you can receive alerts and communication from the app.
Create a good password that is at least 10 characters long.
When you have filled out the form, press the Signup button.

When you press the Signup button you will receive an email with instructions on how to proceed with your account.

NOTE: Because there are a lot of spam mails that have content regarding sign ups, the email from Sailserver might be classified as spam in your mail system. If you have not received the email within a few minutes, please check your spam folder in your mail client.

The email you receive contains a link to activate your account. Click the “Activate Account” link in the mail to confirm your email address.

You can now sign in on your account with your email address and password, by selecting the Login button at upper right corner of the screen.

Linking your Sailserver to your account

For the Sailserver to know what account owns the data it is collecting, it has to be linked to your account. In the upper right corner of the App, select the Menu / Account option.

Power on your Sailserver and press the small button next to the NMEA 2000 connector.
The Sailserver will start blinking blue, and is ready to be linked to your account
Under your Account, select Boat.
Select the Add Boat link.
A form field will show, where you can add your boat name and the ID of your Sailserver.
Find the Sailserver ID on the sticker that is located on the back of the Sailserver
Type the ID number in the form field.
Select Add Boat to save the Sailserver ID.

You can now mount your Sailserver and power it on, and within a few minutes you will start seeing data from your Sailserver in the App.

There is a possibility to add more information in the form about your boat, such as Boat model, Sail number, Registration number, MMSI, VHF Call sign and Home port. There is no requirement to fill out this information, but it does make it easier for others to find your boat to follow or send friend requests.

If you have added your MMSI number to your boat profile, Sailserver can send information to other services, such as Marinetraffic and Vesselfinder, and also send finished tracks to Noforeignland. If you choose to send data to these 3rd. party services, mark the checkboxes at the bottom of the form, and select Save to update your boat information.

If you have more than one boat with a Sailserver, you can add them to the same account. Just select Add boat and follow the same procedure as above.

Unlinking your Sailserver

If you sell your boat or just your Sailserver, you can unlink the Sailserver from your account. All the data the Sailserver has collected up until then, will still be there after it has been unlinked. The new owner of the boat or Sailserver, can link it to their own account to start a new track collection to their account, without it affecting the data you already have collected.

To unlink your Sailserver:

Select the “Burger” menu in the upper right corner of the app
Select Account and then select boat
Select the “Edit” text on the right side of your boat name
Select the red “Unlink” button
Select the blue “OK” to confirm that you want to unlink your Sailserver

The new owner of your boat or Sailserver, can now create an account at sailserver.com, and add their boat with the Sailserver, without affecting your data.

If you get a new boat and Sailserver, just use your existing account to add your new boat, and link the new Sailserver ID to the new boat, and you will have all the information from both boats on the same account.

Sailserver Account options

In the account section you can control how your information is displayed in the App, and control who has access to your data.

Profile - Here you can change the name you want to use on your account. The name can be visible to others when they search for you or your boat in the Sailserver App.
Boat - Here you can add or remove information about your boat, and if you want to share the Sailserver data with 3rd. Parties
Preferences - Select your preferred measuring units for the data within the Sailserver App.
Privacy - Choose what data is shared with who, and what is visible to those you share it with. This option will be explained in detail in the privacy section of this manual.
Change Password - The place to change your password for your account.
Tools - If you have collected data from another GPS tracking device, we have a tool to import this data into the Sailserver App.

The Sailserver Dashboard

When you open the App on your mobile device, or use a Internet browser at www.sailserver.com, you will be taken to the Dashboard page, where you can see information about your current track, or the last complete track.

What is on the page

At the top of the app you will see the name of the selected boat and its current status. The status can be either Sailing, Moored or Offline. You will also see how long it has been, since the boat has been online and updated the logbook.

At the right side of the screen you can access the menu to check the weather forecasts and make changes to your profile.

Below the status bar you will see a map, with your current track, or last completed track. The Green pin shows where the track started, and the Blue pin where it ended.

Below the map you can see the last recorded weather, wind and water data. The water and wind conditions are collected from the boat instruments, and the weather conditions from a forecasting service with data from your current position.

Next you see information from the last track, how long you have been sailing, how many nautical miles the track was, and the average speed for the track.

The location and time from where the track started, and time and date where it ended, is displayed below the track statistics.

The last section of the screen shows the current relevant sailing data. This data will be updated every time your Sailserver is updating.

At the bottom of the screen there are 5 shortcuts, so you quickly can navigate to the other features of the Sailserver App.

From left to right:

Dashboard - Information about your last finished or current track.
Tracks - List of all your tracks categorized by date.
Anchor watch - Set alarms for changes in various conditions.
Friends - Find other sailors or boats to follow.
Clubhouse - Meet new sailors near your current location.

The data from the instruments is also shown as graphs if you scroll down in the App. The graphs are updated every time the Sailserver sends its log to the system.

At the end of the Dashboard screen, there is an overview of the last 5 tracks with map and information on distance, duration and average speed for the track.

The logbook

The logbook page is where all your tracks can be found. The tracks are categorized by year and shows how many tracks you have created, and how many nautical miles you have been sailing. At the right side of the year statistics, there is a small arrow that you can select to expand the year into months.

Each month has the same statistics as the year, and can be expanded further into days of the month, by selecting the arrow on the right side of the track statistics.

The tracks are sorted by date, with the latest tracks listed at the top. Below the maps there are options to sort your tracks in other ways. You can choose to sort the track by Distance, Duration or Average speed. By default the tracks will be sorted with the highest value first. If you select the menu item again, it will reverse the sorting and the lowest value will be first in the list.

Selecting a track

To see the details of a track, you can select the > arrow on the right side of the screen. Selecting this will open a screen with the information of the specific track. At the top you have the statistics for the track, and below you have a graphical representation of all the data collected from the instruments for the track.

Just below the map there is a menu where you can go back to the previous screen by selecting the < arrow, or you can Edit and Export your track.

Editing a track

Selecting Edit opens a form where you can add notes or comments to your track. This can either be something for your personal use, or something you want to share with those that follow your boat. You can also add information about how many hours you have been using the engine, and if you have refuelled during the track.

Exporting your track

Selecting export you can export your tracks in various formats for use in other applications. The formats you can export to are .CSV .TXT .GPX and .JSON. The files can be downloaded to your computer, or sent to the email address associated with your account.

Anchor Watch

The Anchor watch can send you notifications if conditions change where your boat is located. As default the anchor watch is disabled, and to use it you must go to the anchor watch section and select the Enable button.

When enabled you have to set up the alarm conditions, to do that select the setup button and a small form will open. The conditions you can set are: Drifting, Wind speed and Water depth.

Drifting Alarm - The default value here is 30m but it can be set lower. However the lower the value is, the bigger the risk is for faulty alarms since the GPS is not 100% accurate

Strong wind alarm - The default value here is 20 knots which might be too low depending on your situation, and where your boat is located. Set the value according to your needs.

Water depth alarm - The default value is 1,5 meters. Before setting this alarm, check your instruments to get an idea how much this value should be.

To activate the alarms, select the checkbox on the left to enable it, and type in a value when the alarm is triggered. At the bottom of the form, you must add a phone number with the country code to receive the alarms. When all is set, select the Save button to activate the Anchor watch.

After you have set the alarm conditions and added a phone number to receive the alarm, you should test that it is working. In the top menu you can select the Test button to receive a test alarm notification.

When an alarm has been triggered, the alarm state will be active until it has been reset. You can not receive any new alarms until the current alarm state has been reset.

To reset the alarm state, select the Reset Alarm button in the menu below the map, and select OK on the popup dialog.

When the Drift alarm is set select the Drop Anchor button to allow the boat to sway around the anchor, if the current changes direction.

Before you start sailing again, it is a good idea to Disable the Anchor Watch, by selecting the Disable button in the top menu.

Friends

The Friends page is where you can find other boats that have a Sailserver. This is also the page where you get an overview of all the boats you follow, and the users you are friends with.

Below the overview maps there are 3 menu options:

Boats - List with Boat name, Username and below the current status of the Sailserver.
Friends - List of Sailserver usernames that you have accepted as friends.
Search - A free text search field where you can search for any data associated with the Sailserver account.

Viewing Boats

This is the list with your own boat, the boats of your friends and the boats you follow. When you select a boat in the list, selecting the boat again, the list item will expand to show you more information about the selected boat and the user.

The information listed in the expanded box is limited to the information the user has added in their profile. There is also the possibility to send a friend request to the user from this screen, or to stop following the boat.

Viewing Friends

The friends menu is the place where you can see all your friends, and accept new friend requests. You can also remove friends from your account here.

Searching for boats

The search menu is where you can search for boats and users in the Sailserver App. The search field is a free text search, so you can search on all the information that has been added in the account section.

Using the search function

When you start typing in the search field, the search is performed instantly. The search will match any information that a user has added to their profile, and also parts of a name. Typing an “O” in the search field will list all the boats that have an “O” anywhere in their information, that be Username, Boat name, home port etc.

When you find the boat you are looking for, select it twice to expand the view to see the information, or to follow the boat or send a friend request.

Clubhouse

The Clubhouse is the place where you can meet other sailors nearby. When you enter the Clubhouse you are signalling that you are open for visitors, from other boats that also have a Sailserver and have entered the Clubhouse.

When you enter the Clubhouse you will see a list of other Sailserver users that have entered the Clubhouse. The list displays the name of the Boat, its home port and boat type. The next column shows the distance from you in nautical miles. It also shows the status of the Sailserver ( Green for Online, and Yellow for Offline ).

If you no longer want to be in the Clubhouse, you can leave by selecting the “Leave Clubhouse” button below the map.

Weather forecast

The Sailserver app has a built in Weather map from windy.com. To open the weather forecast, select the menu in the upper right corner, and a drop down list will be displayed, then select weather. The weather conditions and the forecast will be displayed for the area around the location of your boat.

The weather forecast will show information for the next 5 days as an animated map with the wind conditions in the area. To see the weather forecast as graphics, select the little down arrow that is displayed next to the wind speed for the location of your boat.

You can also see the weather conditions for the locations of other boats. To see how the weather is for the location of one of your friends, select their boat from your Boat list, and then go back to the weather forecast map

How to use Sailserver privacy settings

In your account settings there is a privacy section that is used to control how you share data from your Sailserver. By default all your data is private, and can not be viewed by anyone.

Sailserver is private by default

No information about you or your boat is shared outside of the app, unless you give us permission to do so. However we do make the name of your boat, and your username visible in the “Search” function, so other Sailserver users can find you.

Sailserver is not only a tracking device for your boat, but it also has a social element. It should be easy for the Sailserver users to use the features in the app, so that “Friend requests” works without any user interaction.

When you have accepted all the family and friends that you want to give access to follow you, you can hide your username and boat name in the search function, without any impact on the friends you have accepted.

Search settings

The first section handles what data is visible to other users that have a Sailserver account, when they use the “search” function in the Sailserver app.

Hide boat in search

The name of your boat is visible so that other users can find it and send a friend request. If you do not wish for other users to be able to search for your boat, you must check the box “Hide boat in search”.

Hide user name in search

The username you used to sign up with, is also visible as default. The username can also be used in search to send friend requests. If you do not wish other users to be able to use your username in search, you must check the box “Hide username in search”

Show boat on map in search

When users search for your name or your boat, the location of the boat can be shown on the map. If there are boats with the same name, the location can be a useful way to find the correct one to follow. By default this setting is off, to have the location of your boat shown on the map, you must check the box “Show boat on map in search”

Friends and Links

This section handles what is visible to the friends you have accepted, and what is visible to people that have a shared link to your boat.

Hide tracks for friends

When you accept a Sailserver user as a friend, he will be able to see all the tracks that have been recorded by your Sailserver. If you do not wish for your friends to see your tracks, but only the last track on the Dashboard, you must check “Hide tracks for friends''

Hide comments of tracks to friends

The friends you have accepted, can also see the comments you have added to your tracks, if you do not want your friends to see those comments you can check the “Hide comments of tracks to friends”

Links works the same way as friends

In the Privacy section at the bottom, you can create a link to your Sailserver profile. This link gives the same access as if you have added a Sailserver user as a friend. The difference here is that those that have the link, do not need a Sailserver account to follow your boat.

This link is not recommended to share on the public Internet, eg. on a blog site, or in a public Facebook post, unless you want everyone to be able you follow your tracks. We have made an effort to exclude these links from the search results, but the search engines like Google, Bing and others, are not required to adhere to this block, so we can not guarantee that these links will be excluded.

Other users

This section handles what is visible to those that have a Sailserver account, but is not added as a friend.

Other users may follow your boat

If you do not want to accept a lot of friend requests, you can check this option to allow everyone with a Sailserver account to follow your tracks.

>Hide tracks for other users

You can limit how much other users can see, if you only want them to see your current position and the current data from your last track and not all your tracks, you can check the “Hide tracks for other users”.

Hide comments of tracks for other users

If you make lots of comets to your tracks, and do not want to share those with others, you can check the “Hide comments of tracks for other users”. If the “Hide tracks for other users” is not checked, other users will be able to see your tracks, but not your comments.

Public (Visitors that are not logged in)

This section handles what is visible to anyone and everyone on the Internet. As per default this is off, and no information about you, your boat or its positions will be displayed anywhere.

Show position and boat name public

By public we mean “what can be displayed” on the Sailserver homepage, and on the sailserver.com subpages. Allowing public view, will show information about you and your boat to anyone visiting sailserver.com

Hide tracks for public

You can hide your tracks for the public visitor on sailserver.com by checking “Hide tracks for public”. This will still show the position of your boat and other dashboard information to anyone that visits sailserver.com.

Hide comments of tracks for public

You can allow the public to see your tracks, but still hide the comments you have made. If you want the public to see the tracks, but not your comments, check the “Hide comments of tracks for public”.