YachtLog Support & FAQ

Open Base Data (quick-access bar in the dashboard) and create your yacht: name, type, skipper, home port, flag, MMSI, tank capacity, engine consumption (l/h) and cruising speed. These values are the basis for range, fuel and ETA calculations.

Enter the departure and destination – the search finds harbours and cities, the direct distance is calculated automatically. The fuel advisor calculates consumption and reserve based on the passage type (coastal/offshore). In the Route Editor the route can be adjusted freely: tap and drag a waypoint to move it, long-press to set a new waypoint, the undo arrow reverses every step.

Add all crew members with name, licence and experience – the skipper named for the yacht is automatically carried over. The optional watch schedule distributes shifts automatically and protects the skipper from the dog watch. Role assignments, safety briefing and provisioning list are also available for passage planning.

Download the chart for your planned route before casting off. The OSM base map and OpenSeaMap sea marks are then available offline as well.

Tap Manoeuvre Entry and select the appropriate manoeuvre (e.g. Departed, Sailing, Reefing, Engine, Refuelling, Anchoring) – optionally with a note. GPS tracking runs automatically, and course changes of more than 20 degrees are logged automatically from 3 knots.

After the passage, review the entries, then optionally confirm digitally as skipper. The exporter in the dashboard creates a PDF logbook (with nautical GPS coordinates, notes and confirmation stamp), PDF statistics and PDF watch schedule – plus GPX (for iSailor/Navionics) and KML (Google Earth).

Set a radius between 25 and 500 m. If the boat leaves this area, the app triggers an alarm with sound and push notification – even when the screen is locked.

During an active trip YachtLog monitors the fuel level in the background (notification below 15 %) and the wind forecast for the current position (notification for gusts from 28 knots within the next 24 hours, internet required). Location access set to "Always" is required.

The anchor button at the top of the dashboard pauses GPS tracking in port or at anchor. It activates automatically for the manoeuvres Moored, At Anchor and Refuelling – and ends automatically at the next "Departed" or when the trip ends.

A tap on "Man Overboard" in the manoeuvre entry freezes the GPS position, starts the alarm, shows the live bearing back to the MOB position and a quick-stop procedure.

The red SOS button creates an Emergency Card to IMO standard (English) with boat name, MMSI, current GPS position, crew list, Mayday procedure and five European MRCC emergency numbers.

The most important safety features do. Always offline: GPS tracking, logbook, anchor alarm, MOB. Offline after caching: chart (OSM + OpenSeaMap). Stored locally: tides (last retrieved data). Internet required: marine weather (Windy/ECMWF).

Tide data comes worldwide from WorldTides, including automatic passage windows for the Alderney Race, Gibraltar and Messina. Marine weather is based on Windy with ECMWF data, centred on the current yacht position.

German, English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. YachtLog is a native iOS app for iPhone and iPad.

Location is used for GPS tracking in the logbook, the anchor alarm and the man-overboard function. "Always" access is recommended: only then do tracking as well as fuel and storm warnings continue reliably when the screen is locked – with "While Using" they pause in the background.

Yes – logbook data (yachts, trips, entries, crew) synchronise automatically via iCloud and survive a device change. The current passage planning – ports, route, role assignments and watch schedule – also transfers automatically: plan on the iPhone, continue seamlessly on the iPad. Automatic trip recording only runs on the device that started the trip; additional devices display all data. Prerequisite: the same iCloud account on all devices and iCloud enabled for YachtLog. Entries recorded offline are synchronised as soon as internet is available again. App settings and offline cached charts remain device-specific.

GPS location data is used for the logbook, anchor alarm and MOB, and is stored locally on the device; logbook data is additionally synchronised between your devices via iCloud (Apple CloudKit). For marine weather (Windy/ECMWF, Open-Meteo) and tides (WorldTides), the current position is transmitted to the respective provider. Charts are loaded via OpenStreetMap/OpenSeaMap tile services and cached locally. YachtLog does not use advertising networks and does not track users for advertising purposes – see the privacy policy for details.

Feel free to write to us at with a brief description – ideally including your device and iOS version as well as a screenshot.