BEACON Boat Safety App Goes Live

BEACON Boat Safety is free for iOS on the App Store at the time of this writing. Courtesy BEACON Boat Safety

A boat can be impeccably equipped for an emergency and still fail the simplest safety test: knowing where everything is, whether it’s current and whether the paperwork can be produced when somebody asks for it. That’s the problem BEACON Boat Safety sets out to solve.

I was given access to a pre-release version of BEACON Boat Safety by founder, Jonathan Boswell. I uploaded my own boat’s information. What follows is my opinion based on that use.

Available for iPhone and iPad, BEACON is less a navigation or emergency-response app than a digital glove box for the boat. It lets owners create a vessel profile, enter specifications and registration information, inventory safety equipment, track expiration dates and store important documents in one place. 

The appeal becomes obvious aboard a boat that accumulates the usual paper trail: registration, insurance information, manuals, inspection records and certificates, plus an assortment of flares, fire extinguishers and other safety equipment with expiration dates that are easy to overlook. Instead of digging through a file cabinet, rummaging through flares and batteries—or discovering at the worst possible moment that something expired months ago—BEACON puts those records together digitally.

The safety-equipment inventory is the most useful feature. Owners can catalog onboard gear and monitor expiration dates, turning an otherwise haphazard chore into a repeatable maintenance routine. That makes BEACON potentially valuable not just before a cruise, but during the annual spring commissioning when the boat gets its once-over.

BEACON provides boaters with organization and at-a-glance equipment information, such as expiration dates. Courtesy BEACON Boat Safety

There’s also a clever social component. BEACON generates a QR-based inspection ID that can provide a read-only version of the vessel’s safety profile. That could make sharing information with a marina, law enforcement inspector, service provider or fellow boater considerably easier than passing around screenshots or paper records. The app also includes a Live Clearance Manifest for keeping track of vessel and crew information.

BEACON is an organizational tool, not a substitute for the equipment it catalogs—or for sound seamanship. This new app does not provide government approval, certification or an exemption from inspection or legal requirements. 

Still, that may be beside the point. The best safety gear is the gear you maintain, understand and can produce when needed. BEACON brings some welcome discipline to that process.

Verdict: A smart digital filing cabinet for safety-conscious boat owners. It won’t keep the boat out of trouble, but it can help make sure the owner is better prepared in advance of any trouble that comes calling.

The BEACON Boat Safety app is free on the App Store.

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