New ‘low-cost’ platform enables owners to keep tabs on their boats from home

A new platform that enables the UK’s power and sail boat owners to keep tabs on their boats from the comfort of their sofa has been launched for the marine industry. VirCru is dubbed as the marine industry’s ‘first low-cost, high-tech remote monitoring and control platform’. 

The system comes with a set of installable sensors and a hub that can monitor a variety of elements including GPS positioning, anchor drag alarm, boat listing, antenna connections, temperature probe, DC switch, intruder alert and smoke, gas, humidity, and carbon monoxide detection. The number of sensors installed can vary depending on the owner’s requirements.

When something changes on board, the owner is informed via a notification from the VirCru app on their phone.

VirCru features include:

• Onboard sensors that send battery power, water levels, bilge pump activity (and more) data to the owner’s phone in real-time, regardless of where they are.
• Custom GeoFencing capability from 1m to 100m – helps owners keep tabs on their boat’s whereabouts at all times, sending an alert through if any unusual movement is detected.
• Security alerts that notify the owner if any door, cabin, hatch or window is opened or any equipment taken.
• Remote control and management of appliances wired to the owner’s boat battery e.g. being able to turn on the fridge so refreshments have time to cool prior to the owner’s arrival
• Inventory Management System that collates all the boat’s documents, records, and details in one place e.g. dates for the next routine lifejacket, life raft, and fire extinguisher checks and boat insurance documents.

The company has launched in the marine market in response to the boat sale boom in the past 18 months.

VirCru is battery-powered giving owners flexibility on where they choose to moor, coupled with a guaranteed battery life of ten years for the sensors and three years for the hub.

Although VirCru can be used by any power or sailboat owner, the developers say it will prove particularly useful for boat owners who:

• Keep their boats on swinging moorings and want to monitor their boats remotely
• Keep their boats in marinas and want a more in-depth internal system monitoring whilst also ensuring their boat is immediately ready for use on arrival thanks to being able to remotely control comfort systems such as shorepower, fridges and heating.

Founder and telemetry expert, Tristan Dargay, is a boat owner himself and found the impetus to develop VirCru after finding no suitable ‘affordable, low-maintenance, high-tech solutions on the market’.

“As an enthusiastic boat owner, there were three things that kept me up at night: whether the isolator was off, if I’d closed the hatches, and would the fridge be cold enough. I was driven by a simple desire to ensure owners can alleviate any worries associated with keeping a boat without forking out a small fortune, even if living further away. I felt I could achieve all these by creating VirCru.”

Prices range from £399 for the starter package of a hub, sensor and tag which will give a base level of monitoring – location, main battery voltage, anchor drag, boat listing, flood, door sensor, cabin temperature and bilge alarm. There is a £10 monthly subscription to run the monitoring system on the app.