The “Internet of Things,” or IoT as it’s called, now includes everything from doorbells to dishwashers and is forecast to encompass over 20 billion connected devices by 2025. One of those many machines might be your boat. And though it may seem a bit overly complex and tech-heavy for someone who just wants to catch a few speckled trout or cast topwater lures for bass, having a communicative watercraft will make your boating life better.
Change of Attitude
Late one rainy evening, a few months after the Siren system had been installed, my phone started blowing up. I grabbed it, swiped, and learned that a high-water alarm was ringing its bells. Knowing that the boat was well maintained and had multiple bilge pumps, I figured it had to be a false alarm, but grudgingly grabbed a raincoat and headed for the door.
I later discovered that the piles of brownish crud clogging the scuppers consisted of sawdust and wood chips. A contractor had been making repairs to the dock, and carelessly ignored where all the refuse was blowing as they cut new boards. Where it was blowing was directly into my boat. When the rain began that evening the dust and chips washed to the scuppers, collected, and eventually stopped any water from flowing down the drains. Had I not arrived when I did the result could have been disastrous — and the Siren system was solely responsible for triggering the alert. I realized that while geofencing service was great, having 24/7 remote alarms was downright boat-saving.
More for 2024
Since that original system was produced, the tech surrounding connected boats has evolved at warp speed and today is already in its third generation. Yamaha Marine purchased Siren in early 2022 and immediately began integrating it with their engine’s systems, and as Yamaha’s Director of Connectivity Andrew Cullen puts it, allows boat owners “to ‘be’ aboard their boat even when they can’t be in person, putting everything a customer needs to know about his or her boat at their fingertips.”
Tech Talk
So, how does this stuff work? The Siren connects to the IoT and the wider world via 4G/5G cellular. For boaters who range far afield and can’t depend on cell service there’s the optional SirenSat, an offshore-capable satellite antenna. Monitoring functions, which range from battery level to tank levels, to that critical high-water alarm, work via both wired and wireless sensors which communicate with the Siren 3 Pro Main Device. And remote control comes via direct integration with a CZone digital switching system or the addition of a 12-V DC Accessory Relay. All the data that’s collected and the ability for remote control then gets into your hands via the app. You can also set it up to deliver the engine data directly to your Yamaha dealer.
The value of having a connected boat has at this point been proven by the boat-saving experiences of many people, along with my own. And now, many top boatbuilders like Grady-White, Regulator, SunCatcher, and Skeeter have begun offering Siren systems as standard equipment on some models. You can bet that as time goes on, more and more will. And as more and more boats get connected to the IoT, more and more boat owners will be glad for it.
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