Quick start

Five steps. If your marina already runs a DockNeighbor Station, the sensors are the whole install and step 3 is a single tap. DockNeighbor is in beta, so if anything looks odd along the way, tell us from the ? button in the app.

1. Create your account

Sign up, then sign in to the app wherever you will actually have it with you:

• Web: app.dockneighbor.com — nothing to install, works in any browser.
• macOS, Windows and Android: the downloads page.
• iPhone and iPad: the iOS app is in beta; the web app works in the meantime.

Signed in on Free, you already have the anchor alarm from your phone’s GPS, friends, messaging and the trip planner. Putting sensors on a boat starts at Dockside — see pricing.

2. Add the boat

Everything in DockNeighbor belongs to a vessel. Add yours with a name and a type from Settings › Vessel. You can add more later; each keeps its own sensors, settings, sharing list and plan. If your marina is on DockNeighbor, choose it as your home port in Community — that is your Dock, and it is where the marina’s station lives.

3. Add a station — if you need one

Every DockNeighbor sensor reports through a DockNeighbor Station: a small box that hears sensors up to about a mile away and carries their readings to the cloud. Where it lives is the only real decision:

• Your marina runs one. Pick your marina as the boat’s home and your sensors report through its station from the day you arrive. Nothing to plug in, nothing to keep online.
• No station nearby, or you cruise. Bring your own aboard. The M2 ($99) plugs into power and the boat’s own internet; the M2-4G ($149) adds a cellular connection with your own SIM so it needs nothing from the dock. Plug it in, open Settings › Devices, and the app sets it up in a few minutes. Which one, and where to buy →
• Become the host for your marina. If your marina has no station yet, put one on the dock yourself. Every boat there is covered, and the boats that call it home earn you credits toward a free plan. Host a station →

4. Scan in the sensors

Each sensor carries a code. In Settings › Devices, scan it and the sensor appears under the matching system: leak and float sensors under Flood, battery and shore power under Power, the tracker under Location. A few sensors finish their setup over Bluetooth from the app; it tells you when. Then put each one where it belongs — Hardware setup is the placement guide.

Battery sensors report on a schedule and the instant something changes, so one that looks quiet right after setup is working as designed. Dockside includes up to 2 DockNeighbor sensors; Weekender carries 15 devices and Voyager 25, DockNeighbor sensors and partner devices together.

5. Choose who gets told

An alarm reaches you first: push on your phone with the app closed, on every plan. Paid plans add email; Weekender and Voyager add SMS and WhatsApp, and Voyager can place a voice call. Set the destinations under Settings › Notifications.

Then mark the friends who should hear about it next. If the alarm is still live five minutes later and you have not acknowledged it, it reaches them — one friend on Free and Dockside, up to five on Weekender and Voyager. A dragging anchor skips the wait. Details in Sharing & roles.

Then test it

A protection system you have never tested is a hope, not a system.

1. Leak and float sensors: bridge the probes with a damp cloth, or lift the float. The alarm should appear in the app and the push should land on your phone.
2. Battery: check the voltage reading against a multimeter at the terminals.
3. Shore power: switch the shore-power breaker off for a moment and watch the power-lost alert arrive, then the power-back one.

If those pass, the boat is watched. From here, look around the app, or add partner devices such as a LinkTap valve (Weekender and up) — see partner devices.