See your boat on the map,
wherever the water takes you.
Live tracking for narrowboats and cruisers on the UK canals and rivers. Share your position with friends and family, plan routes through the locks, and connect any GPS device — or your own Node-RED flow.
No app to install · works on any phone · Pro from £12/year.
On board
Everything you need on the cut
Built for inland waterways, not the open sea.
Live position
Your boat's location updates in real time on the map, with speed and heading.
Live trip strip
While you're under way, a strip across the top of the map shows today's speed, miles, locks passed and moving time — and tucks itself away when you moor.
Track from your phone
Tap once to share your phone's GPS live — no extra kit. Drop through a signal blackspot and fixes are buffered, then re-sent so your track fills back in. Or add the free OwnTracks app for hands-off background tracking. Setup guide →
Share with friends
Invite family and boating friends to follow your boats — no account needed to be added.
Route planning
Plan a trip along the waterway network with distance, lock count and estimated time.
Save waypoints
Mark moorings, water points and hazards. Free accounts save 10; Pro is unlimited.
Track history
Look back over where you've been. Pro keeps your full history — the whole season.
Export your data
Download your tracks and waypoints as GeoJSON or GPX — open them in QGIS, Google Earth, OsmAnd or Strava.
Add to your home screen
On iPhone, tap Share → Add to Home Screen: Track My Boat gets its own icon and opens full-screen, just like a native app.
Private & secure
Encrypted connections, your data stays yours, and you choose who sees your boat.
Tinkerers welcome
Bring your own tracker — including Node-RED
Track My Boat speaks the open OwnTracks protocol over HTTP or secure MQTT. Use the free OwnTracks phone app, a dedicated GPS tracker, or wire it straight into a Node-RED flow on your boat's Raspberry Pi — push a position from your own sensors, battery monitor or chart plotter in a couple of nodes. Lose the internet mid-cruise and the Node-RED node buffers each fix, then re-sends it — with its real timestamp — the moment you're back on.
Already running a Victron Cerbo GX? Flash the free Venus OS Large image and you get Node-RED built in, alongside the GX device's own GPS support (USB, NMEA 2000 or a virtual GPS via GPSd). Drop in the Victron nodes to read your live position and battery state of charge, then send them straight to Track My Boat over MQTT — no extra hardware, no separate tracker.
Connect a device Setup guidePricing
Simple pricing
Start free. Upgrade when you want more.
Free
- Live tracking & sharing
- Route planning
- Up to 10 saved waypoints
- 5 days of history
Pro
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited waypoints
- Full, unlimited history
- No ads
Chandlery
Kit we like
Gear that pairs well with life on the cut. Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
GPS trackers
A dedicated OwnTracks-compatible tracker keeps reporting even when your phone isn't aboard.
View →Solar & battery monitors
Keep the leisure batteries topped up off-grid and always know your state of charge. A Victron Cerbo GX doubles as your Node-RED tracker.
View →Waterways guides
Nicholson and Pearson canal guides — the classic paper companions for planning a cruise.
View →Raspberry Pi kits
Run Node-RED on board and push positions from your own sensors straight into the app.
View →Mooring essentials
Pins, mallet, ropes and a windlass — everything you need to tie up for the night.
View →Contact
Get in touch
Questions about Track My Boat, Pro, or connecting a device? Drop us a line and we'll get back to you.
FAQ
Questions
The short answers.
How do I pay?
Securely by card (Stripe) or with PayPal, from inside the app. Prefer a bank transfer? You can also pay by Wise — we confirm those by hand, so Pro switches on once we've matched your payment, usually within a day. Pro is £12 per year and you can cancel anytime. Payments are handled by Incanus Ltd.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every new account gets 14 days of Pro free — unlimited waypoints, full history and no ads — so you can try everything before you decide. No card needed to start, and you drop back to the free plan automatically if you don't upgrade.
What device do I need on the boat?
Any phone with the free OwnTracks app, a standalone GPS tracker that speaks OwnTracks, or your own Node-RED / Raspberry Pi setup. If you run a Victron Cerbo GX on Venus OS Large, its built-in Node-RED and GPS can report straight to us. Our setup guide walks through each option step by step.
Can it track in the background?
Yes — with the free OwnTracks app, which keeps reporting with the screen off and the phone in your pocket. Tracking straight from the browser instead is quick to start but needs the screen on and the app open, since phones pause GPS in the background. The setup guide covers both, and explains the OwnTracks Quiet / Manual / Significant / Move modes.
Who can see my boat?
Only you and the friends you invite — unless you turn on a public share link for a boat. Nothing is public by default.
Can I get my data out?
Anytime. From Settings → Account you can export all your boat tracks and saved waypoints as GeoJSON or GPX — standard formats you can open in QGIS, Google Earth, OsmAnd, Strava and most mapping tools. Your data is yours.
Do my friends show up in the OwnTracks app?
Yes. If you connect via OwnTracks in MQTT mode, the friends you've added in Track My Boat appear as friends on the map in your OwnTracks app too — and you on theirs. We only ever share a boat with its owner and their accepted friends, nothing wider.
Do I have to pay to be added as a friend?
No. Following someone else's boat is free. A subscription is per boat-owner account.