This is the page that turns an empty account into a working logbook. Everything else in Saillogger depends on data arriving from the boat, and this is where you arrange that.

There are three supported paths. Pick one, then follow only that section. Setup lives at saillogger.com/getting_started/, which offers exactly these three: Use PredictWind Tracker, Use a Victron GX Device (Recommended) and Use Raspberry Pi (Advanced).

Which path is yours

Your Collector ID

Whichever path you take, the credential that ties a device to your account is your Collector ID. Find it in Settings > Boat, in the Collector ID row: saillogger.com/settings/?tab=boat.

Treat it like a password because it connects a device to your boat. Do not post it in a public forum thread or include it in a screenshot.

The PredictWind path is the exception: those boats show PredictWind in the Collector ID row rather than an identifier, because the link is made with the tracking URL instead.

Path 1: PredictWind tracking link

Three screens, and no hardware to buy. Note the limitation before you start: a PredictWind tracker sends position only. You get trips, tracks, distances, moorages, stays and statistics, but no instrument monitoring, because there are no instrument readings in the feed.

Have your tracking link ready. Saillogger accepts either of these two forms, where <BOAT> is your own boat's part of the address:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/<BOAT>/
https://www.predictwind.com/tracking/<BOAT>/

1. Go to saillogger.com/getting_started/ and click Use PredictWind Tracker.
2. Paste your PredictWind tracking link and click Continue.
3. Choose your boat type, Motorboat or Sailboat, and click Continue. PredictWind does not send this, so Saillogger has to ask.
4. Wait. The setup page tells you: "It may take up-to 5 minutes for changes to be recognized." The page refreshes itself when the link goes live, so leave it open.

If it does not work:

• A link Saillogger cannot read is refused on the spot with Invalid tracking link. Copy the address out of your browser's address bar on the PredictWind tracking page rather than typing it, and keep the trailing slash.
• Check the tracking page actually loads for you in another tab. If PredictWind is not publishing positions, there is nothing for Saillogger to read.
• Allow the full 5 minutes before trying the setup again.

Path 2: Victron GX device

This is the recommended path and the one most boaters use. It takes eight steps and you have to be aboard for most of them. Allow an hour, and more if the plugin install runs slowly on your device.

Step 1: hardware

You need a Victron GX device (a Cerbo GX or similar) and the Victron VE.Can to NMEA 2000 micro-C cable, which connects the GX to your NMEA 2000 backbone.

Step 2: enable the large firmware image

On the GX device, go to Settings > Firmware > Online Updates > Image Type and choose Large. The standard image does not include what the next step needs.

Step 3: turn on Signal K

Go to Settings > Venus OS Large features > Signal K and switch it on. Wait a couple of minutes for it to start.

Step 4: enter your boat's details

Open http://venus.local:3000/admin/#/serverConfiguration/settings while on the boat network, and under Vessel Base Data fill in:

• Name
• MMSI
• Ship Type

All three matter. A missing MMSI in particular has left boaters with no monitoring data at all, weeks later, in a way that is hard to trace back to this screen. If you do not have an MMSI, enter 123456789. It does not affect anything else.

Step 5: install the Saillogger plugin

1. Open http://venus.local:3000/admin/#/appstore/apps.
2. Type Saillogger into the search box at the top right.
3. Click Install.
4. Wait.

Step 6: reboot the GX

On the device, Settings > General > Reboot.

Step 7: paste in your Collector ID

1. Open http://venus.local:3000/admin/#/serverConfiguration/plugins/signalk-saillogger.
2. Enter your Collector ID in the field of that name.
3. Click Submit.

If that address does not load, the GX may still be rebooting from step 6. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Step 8: wait for the connection

The setup page sits and waits for your boat, and moves on by itself as soon as data arrives. Leave it open.

If nothing happens after a few minutes, check each of these:

1. The Victron GX is powered on and connected to the Internet.
2. The Victron GX is connected to your NMEA 2000.
3. The NMEA 2000 network is powered on.
4. There is a GPS source on the NMEA 2000 network and it is powered on.
5. Your Collector ID is entered correctly, with no leading or trailing space.
6. The Victron GX and your chartplotter are set to the same timezone.

The GPS check is easy to overlook. Your position usually comes from the chartplotter or AIS transceiver, so if the instruments are off, the GX may have Internet but no position for Saillogger to log.

If you have worked through all six and the page is still waiting, Troubleshooting covers install failures and Signal K problems in detail.

Path 3: Signal K on your own hardware

The plugin is signalk-saillogger, and it runs on any Signal K server, not only a Raspberry Pi. If you already have Signal K running, this takes minutes.

1. Open your Signal K server's admin page and go to the app store.
2. Search for signalk-saillogger and install it.
3. Open the plugin's configuration and paste in your Collector ID.
4. Restart the Signal K server.

Your boat then appears as connected on saillogger.com/getting_started/, which refreshes itself once the device links.

Recommended hardware if you are building from scratch: a Raspberry Pi 4 with a PiCAN-M HAT. The PiCAN-M gives the Pi its NMEA 2000 connection and can also power the Pi from the NMEA 2000 network, which saves you a separate supply.

The plugin's source code is at github.com/itemir/signalk-saillogger.

The plugin's settings

Whether the plugin is running on a Victron GX or on your own Signal K server, it shows you the same two fields.

GPS source. This is an advanced option for boats with conflicting GPS receivers. Leave it empty unless you are resolving that specific problem with support; a wrong source stops trip logging until the field is corrected.

Everything else is on saillogger.com. Choose which sensor feeds depth, wind, pressure, temperature, humidity, battery voltage and battery charge under Settings > Monitoring & Tracking. If an older instruction sends you to the plugin for those choices, use the website instead. See Make Saillogger yours.

Your boat's name comes from Signal K

Boat name, MMSI and ship type are not Saillogger settings. They arrive from Signal K, and Saillogger displays them read-only in Settings > Boat.

To change any of them, open your Signal K server and go to Server > Settings > Vessel Base Data. On a Victron GX, when you are on the boat network, that is http://venus.local:3000/admin/#/serverConfiguration/settings.

Changes take a little while to show up on saillogger.com, so do not keep editing if the old name is still displayed a minute later.

Keep the plugin up to date

Update the Saillogger plugin from the Signal K app store when an update is offered. Version matters for what you can configure:

• 3.0.0 or later is needed for sensor-source settings and custom monitoring sections. Below that, monitoring sources are still configured in the plugin rather than on saillogger.com, and several of this guide's instructions will not match what you see.
• 5.x adds native engine logging, which records engine hours per trip without any hand-built configuration.

You can see which version Saillogger is receiving in the Plugin Version row of Settings > Boat.

Starlink

If your boat has Starlink, you need nothing special for tracking. Saillogger sees Starlink as an Internet connection like any other, and an Internet connection is all tracking needs.

Starlink used to be usable as a backup GPS source through an optional Signal K plugin. Starlink no longer shares its position with the local network, so that no longer works. If your usual GPS disappears when the instruments are switched off, fit a USB GPS receiver to the monitoring device instead.