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For boat rental operators

Boat rental fleet tracking that tells you who is late, and why.

Pathr Fleet puts every rental boat on the Pathr nautical chart with readings from its own engine, fuel and batteries. It flags a rental the moment it is overdue, warns you when a boat leaves your rental area, and keeps the record of every trip for when a customer comes back with a story.

Open the interactive demo

The demo runs a simulated fleet in your browser. No account needed.

The Pathr Fleet overview in the demo at 3:40 PM with the rental Tern open: overdue 25 minutes at anchor 3.5 nm out, due back at 3:15 PM, with its trip and HelmLink readings. On the chart, every boat in San Diego Bay, the rental area limit, a rental outside it with a critical alert, and the active alerts underneath.

Overdue rentals, flagged on time

Each rental has a due-back time. If the boat is still outside your return zone after it, Pathr Fleet marks it overdue on the trips board, on the chart and in alerts, with how late it is and how far out. Nobody has to walk the dock with binoculars or call around.

You choose the grace period (10 minutes by default). If the boat stays out, the alert escalates to critical an hour later, and it clears by itself when the boat is back in the return zone.

  • Minutes overdue and distance from the dock, live
  • Escalation you can set per fleet
  • Every alert records who acknowledged it and when
See an overdue rental in the demo
Tern's card on the Trips board at 3:40 PM: overdue 25 minutes, the Alvarez party of 5 on a rental, due 3:15 PM and stopped 3.5 nm out, at anchor, with fuel, start battery and water temperature, and the trip bar past its due-back time.

A rental area that enforces itself

Draw your rental area on the chart. When a boat crosses the line you get a warning with how far outside it is; past 500 meters it becomes critical. A 30 meter band absorbs GPS jitter, so a boat running along the line does not set off a stream of alerts.

Charted no-entry zones, such as naval security areas from NOAA charts, raise a critical alert the moment a rental enters one.

See a rental that left the area
The Pathr chart in the demo: Harbor Island with 2 boats ready and 1 out of service, boats under way with their speeds, Windward at anchor on a low house battery, Tern overdue 25 minutes, a naval no-entry zone hatched in red, and the rental area limit across the south bay.

The record of every rental

Every trip keeps its track on the Pathr chart with speed, engine and fuel along the way, and every alert it raised. When a customer disputes a fuel charge, a late fee or what happened near the rocks, you can replay the trip instead of arguing about it.

  • Track colored by speed, with playback
  • Engine hours, fuel used and alerts for the trip
  • Kept for every boat, every day
Open trip history in the demo
Skipjack's rental on the trip history chart after it docked: the track colored by speed from Harbor Island out through the bay entrance, the critical alert where it crossed the rental area limit, and the way back.

Ready for the next customer

Before a boat goes back out, Pathr Fleet shows its fuel, battery voltage and charging, engine hours against the next service, and any open issue. A reading outside its normal band raises an alert with the trace behind it.

An open issue keeps the boat out of service, and a boat out of service cannot be booked, so the next rental never goes out on a boat with a known problem.

See an open issue in the demo
Pelican's open issue in Maintenance: raw water impeller failed, high severity, in progress and keeping Pelican out of service, with the engine coolant trace climbing past the critical line where the engine overheating alert opened.

Engine hours without a logbook

HelmLink reads the hours from each engine on the boat's own network, so every service interval counts down by itself. No clipboard at the fuel dock, and no service missed because a reading never got written down.

See a rental boat in the demo
Sea Lark's HelmLink telemetry, labelled simulated, a 22 ft rental with a Mercury 150: the 100 hour engine service due in 66 hours, engine hours and RPM, coolant, oil pressure and alternator in their normal bands, fuel at 86 percent with 32 gallons left, the battery charging, and state of charge marked not equipped.

Questions operators ask

Do we have to replace our booking software?
No. Pathr Fleet tracks the boats; it is not a booking system. During the pilot, rentals are entered in Pathr Fleet so it knows each due-back time. Integrations with booking software are planned.
What goes on the boat?
A HelmLink unit on the boat's NMEA 2000 network, the same network the chartplotter and engine gauges already use. It reads the position, engine, fuel and battery data that is already there. Pilot units ship with a cellular modem.
Does it work with outboards?
Yes, when the engine reports to an NMEA 2000 network. Many modern engines do through the maker's gateway, Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki among them. Where a boat cannot measure something, Pathr Fleet says Not equipped instead of guessing.
What happens when a boat loses cell signal?
The unit keeps recording and fills the gap when it reconnects. Every reading shows its age, so a boat out of signal reads as out of signal, not as stopped.
How often does a boat report?
The plan for cellular units is every 15 seconds under way and every 60 seconds at the dock. Units in the field today upload their readings over Wi-Fi.
Can Pathr Fleet stop a boat or call for help?
No. Pathr Fleet supports your team: it shows where boats are and what needs attention. It never controls a boat, never dispatches help on its own, and does not replace required marine safety equipment or emergency services.
How do we try it?
With the 60-day Pathr Fleet Pilot: up to five of your boats, HelmLink hardware with cellular, the fleet dashboard and onboarding, including drawing your operating areas and return zones with your team. Pricing is discussed on the call.

Pathr Fleet for other operators

The pilot

60-day Pathr Fleet Pilot

Up to five of your boats on Pathr Fleet for 60 days, with HelmLink hardware, cellular tracking, the fleet dashboard and onboarding.

Pricing is discussed on the call.

Book a call

How it starts

  1. We reply by email to set up a short call.
  2. We look at your boats and their NMEA 2000 networks together.
  3. If it is a fit, we plan your 60-day Pathr Fleet Pilot: HelmLink units on up to five boats, with your operating areas and return zones set up with you.

Open to a small number of charter and rental operators.

What the pilot includes

  • Up to five vessels

    Start with the boats you most want to keep an eye on: rentals, charters or both.

  • HelmLink hardware

    A unit on each boat, on the NMEA 2000 network already aboard. Pilot units ship with a cellular modem.

  • Cellular tracking

    Positions and readings while boats are under way, not only when they are back at the dock.

  • Fleet dashboard access

    The chart, alerts, trips and bookings, maintenance, routes and reports for your team.

  • Onboarding

    Operating areas and return zones drawn with your team, and a walkthrough for your staff.