Why Full Monitoring — Not AIS or Trackers — are Becoming the industry standard
The habitual response to tender protection we still hear is “fit AIS” or “add a tracker.” But these legacy methods are proving insufficient. With longer tows, unpredictable weather, and more night operations, yacht managers are reporting significant losses, even from garaged tenders left on the line. Insurers are now requiring better protection and really so should you.
The AIS question– why we don’t rely on it and you don’t need it
AIS was designed for collision avoidance on large yachts. For tenders it provides no status awareness beyond position, not if the bilge is filling, the battery is failing, and more. It does not report the live distance between the tender and the mothership or trigger immediate separation alarms
MCA and SOLAS recommend that AIS (if fitted – not compulsory) is generally expected to be deactivated on a towed tender to reduce network loading, as it can generate collision-avoidance alerts which are distracting. When off, the tender itself loses any live awareness even though they were at set intervals, not immediately and can be spoofed.
Trackers are also not the answer
Most trackers often rely on land-based infrastructure, so once offshore, out of coverage, or moving country, they stop reporting; Satellite based trackers (with hefty subscriptions) also tend to only update in intervals rather than real time. A tender can sink in less than 5 minutes! They also don’t measure the distance between the two moving vessels which requires GPS on both sides, and sent immediately. That’s why Yacht Trace uses a dedicated two-way RF communications link between the mothership and tender that requires no external network. It will work anywhere and update in real time.
Tender Insurers’ Requirements
We work closely with the majority of insurers and underwriters, who now increasingly require advanced tow-protection systems that actively monitor:
- bilge levels
- battery condition
- pitch, roll
- live distance between mothership and tender via a dedicated communications link that operates independently of shore infrastructure
- delivers instant bridge alerts the moment thresholds are breached, allowing action
- provides global web-based tracking in the event of total loss or theft
In practice, insurers will not cover night towing, over 50–90 nautical miles, or offshore towing without a dedicated system such as Yacht Trace in place.
Our name if often named in policy clauses or referenced generically as “advanced monitoring” or “tow protection”. Some insurers do not allow their logos to be used, so if you don’t see that on our website it does not mean we don’t work with them. Please get in touch.
Engineered by experts
Dr. Dan Rogers, has a PhD in advanced embedded control systems. His background includes MW-scale lithium-ion energy storage systems, UGVs, robotics and traffic management systems. Within yachting, for the last 6 years he has gained hands on experience of Wajer, HCB, XTender, Windy, Axopar, Vanquish, Pardo and more,. The result is a system built by someone who understands both complex embedded engineering and the operational pressures of crew with a deep understanding of the tenders themselves.
Yacht Trace is a unique and agile engineering company, where products (all developed in-house) are not gadgets, but fully engineered, private monitoring, robust architecture, with bespoke options available (all vessels and their uses are unique). A client asked for an integrated prop shaft monitor as they wanted to tow a 48ft Viking 4000nm across the Pacific. A successful voyage! Other add-ons include fleet monitoring, jet ski’s, off-gassing sensors for electric and hybrid yachts and other custom integrations.
Watch our video explaining the bridge side of our system here.
Tender monitoring built for simplicity for crew, yards, manufacturers
Yacht Trace is a fully standalone two-part system that can be installed and commissioned in under an hour, without the mothership. It requires no invasive cutting, complex wiring, or reliance on other systems. It can be delivered with a simple plug-in connection (no shock or install the other end). Some yards also use the system to monitor yachts in their care.
The system can also be installed by crew and transferred to a new vessel. It draws just 100 mA, (keep it on). Operation is intentionally simple, recognising the busy crew and even crew changes. Prices are transparent and we have deliberately positioned the basic core (insurance led) system to be commercially viable for both insurers and captains.
The Real Cost of Tender Loss
Through awareness of our system, there is now a growing trend of captains and owners wanting to protect assets irrelevant of the insurance requirements. Consider what a tender loss would ‘actually cost’—replacement, recovery/salvage, downtime, disrupted operations or lost charters, and the impact on guest experience—versus protecting it for well under £10,000. Is it really worth saving a few thousand on a tracker if the event of loss could cost hundreds of thousands or more.
With Yacht Trace, the goal is simple affordable prevention with no gimmicks.
Website www.yachttrace.com
Experience https://yachttrace.com/superyachts-and-chase-boats-tenders-that-yacht-trace-has-worked-with/
Email info@yachttrace.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yachttrace/
Yacht Trace also monitors full fleet including Jet Ski, and bespoke options with unique 2 way comms.
