Vessel Sense

05/12/2026

VesselSense is an official software integrator. Specializing in VenusOS and custom or common IoT sensors. We can build from Cerbo GX or from scratch using a Link in bio. Check out our capabilities!

05/11/2026

Demo of Signalk Freeboard-SK charting app. This runs from your Signalk server and ships with it by default. I am demonstrating vector + raster charts by , as well as maps for seeing land detail. Freeboard just added chart details for navigation aids, and other points of interest. If you are running Signalk and would like help getting charts setup feel free to reach out for assistance.

04/30/2026

Let’s walk through the hardware of a computer build. I’ll explain the components and why use a raspberry pi computer instead of a laptop or desktop computer on board. I will also explain the two HATs (hardware attached tops) from both Hatlabs and Waveshare.

This build is going onto an ocean racing yacht (more on that later) and will be centralizing data coming from NMEA 2000 and all Victron charge and monitoring components.

04/25/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paoGWk5gY4s

Raspberry Pi 4B running OpenPlotter and SignalK as a centralized marine data server. Two HATs stacked — a Hat Labs Sailor HAT for 12V power management with supercapacitor UPS, and a Waveshare 2-CH CAN FD HAT for reading the NMEA 2000 network. USB Bluetooth dongle for passive BLE scanning of Victron devices. IP68 enclosure for below-deck installation.

Raspberry Pi Marine Integration: NMEA 2000 and Victron Bluetooth

04/07/2026

Waveshare ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Touchscreen Display: SignalK Marine Instrument Panel and Autopilot

A demo of our open-source SignalK instrument panel running on the Waveshare ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box — a 4” 720x720 IPS touchscreen powered by the ESP32-P4 with WiFi 6 via an ESP32-C6 coprocessor. The firmware discovers your SignalK server automatically via mDNS and displays live instrument data, a wind rose compass, dynamic data browser, and autopilot control — all on a compact wall-mount form factor.

What’s shown in this video:
- Phone-style launcher UI with swipeable app pages
- Wind Rose — heading-relative compass with apparent/true wind speed
- Data Browser — auto-discovers every SignalK path on your server with live values
- Autopilot — engage/disengage, mode switching, heading adjust with audio feedback
- Settings — timezone, speed, depth, temperature, pressure, volume unit preferences
- WiFi Settings — on-device network scan, connect, and saved credential management
- Automatic SignalK server discovery via mDNS (no hardcoded IPs)

Check out our linktree page for links to the GitHub repository and product page

04/06/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjOsZRqFYdw

Waveshare ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Touchscreen Display: SignalK Marine Instrument Panel and Autopilot

A demo of our open-source SignalK instrument panel running on the Waveshare ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box — a 4" 720x720 IPS touchscreen powered by the ESP32-P4 with WiFi 6 via an ESP32-C6 coprocessor. The firmware discovers your SignalK server automatically via mDNS and displays live instrument data, a wind rose compass, dynamic data browser, and autopilot control — all on a compact wall-mount form factor.

What's shown in this video:
- Phone-style launcher UI with swipeable app pages
- Wind Rose — heading-relative compass with apparent/true wind speed
- Data Browser — auto-discovers every SignalK path on your server with live values
- Autopilot — engage/disengage, mode switching, heading adjust with audio feedback
- Settings — timezone, speed, depth, temperature, pressure, volume unit preferences
- WiFi Settings — on-device network scan, connect, and saved credential management
- Automatic SignalK server discovery via mDNS (no hardcoded IPs)

Hardware:
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4B ("Smart 86 Box")
- Purchase: https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-p4-wifi6-touch-lcd-4b.htm
- Wiki: https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4B

Source Code:
https://github.com/VesselSense/esp32-p4-smart86-signalk

Built with ESP-IDF v5.4, LVGL 8.x, and the esp-ui (esp-brookesia) launcher framework.

---
About VesselSense
VesselSense designs and builds custom marine systems for boat owners and marine businesses — onboard computers, wireless sensors, instrument displays, and the software that ties them together. Based in San Diego, remote consulting worldwide.

Website: https://vesselsense.io
Instagram: https://instagram.com/vesselsense
YouTube: https://youtube.com/-io
GitHub: https://github.com/VesselSense

---

A demo of our open-source SignalK instrument panel running on the Waveshare ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box — a 4" 720x720 IPS touchscreen powered by the ESP32-P4 with...

03/08/2026

Custom Sensor: Bilge Pump Cycle Counter

Most boats have a bilge pump. Almost none have visibility into what it’s actually doing.

A bilge pump that runs once every few days is normal. One that’s cycling every hour — and trending up — is telling you something. Without data, you won’t know the difference until you’re dealing with water you didn’t expect.

The VesselSense bilge pump cycle counter gives you that data.

Two voltage dividers tap directly onto the pump wires — no float switch splices, no interruption to existing wiring. A Seeed XIAO ESP32 reads the signal, persists cycle counts and timestamps across reboots, and sends everything to SignalK over WiFi.
Connections are sealed in heat shrink to handle the wet, corrosive environment of a working bilge.

What you get in SignalK:

- Cycles per hour, day, and week counts the cycle rate
- Last cycle date and time tracks the last cycle
- Cycle duration and total runtime tracks the pump duty
- Pump voltage tracks if the pump is getting the power it needs

Feed it into Grafana for long-term trend lines. Set threshold alerts directly in SignalK’s built-in Zones. When the cycle rate crosses a limit you define, SignalK notifies you.

This is what VesselSense custom sensors do. Where your vessel has gaps in visibility, we build ESP32-based wireless sensor nodes using SensESP that connect over WiFi and feed directly into your existing SignalK stack — no proprietary hardware, no subscriptions, no replacing equipment that already works.

On-site installations in San Diego. Remote configuration and ship-to-location for everyone else.

SailboatLife BilgePump ESP32 MarineMonitoring

03/08/2026

🔧 Custom Sensor: Bilge Pump Cycle Counter

Most boats have a bilge pump. Almost none have visibility into what it's actually doing.

A bilge pump that runs once every few days is normal. One that's cycling every hour — and trending up — is telling you something. Without data, you won't know the difference until you're dealing with water you didn't expect.

The VesselSense bilge pump cycle counter gives you that data.

Two voltage dividers tap directly onto the pump wires — no float switch splices, no interruption to existing wiring. A Seeed XIAO ESP32 reads the signal, persists cycle counts and timestamps across reboots, and sends everything to SignalK over WiFi.

Connections are sealed in heat shrink to handle the wet, corrosive environment of a working bilge.

What you get in SignalK:

- Cycles per hour, day, and week counts the cycle rate
- Last cycle date and time tracks the last cycle
- Cycle duration and total runtime tracks the pump duty
- Pump voltage tracks if the pump is getting the power it needs

Feed it into Grafana for long-term trend lines. Set threshold alerts directly in SignalK's built-in Zones. When the cycle rate crosses a limit you define, SignalK notifies you.

This is what VesselSense custom sensors do. Where your vessel has gaps in visibility, we build ESP32-based wireless sensor nodes using SensESP that connect over WiFi and feed directly into your existing SignalK stack — no proprietary hardware, no subscriptions, no replacing equipment that already works.

On-site installations in San Diego. Remote configuration and ship-to-location for everyone else.

vesselsense.io/services | [email protected]

03/02/2026

Our website is live! Take a look at our services and capabilities pages and join our mailing list -

Open-source marine systems integration. Onboard computer builds, Signal K, OpenPlotter, and Victron VenusOS configuration. On-site in San Diego, remote worldwide.

02/17/2026

Waveshare ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2
Key Features
Integrated Development Platform
* ESP32-S3 dual-core processor with WiFi + Bluetooth LE
* 4.2” RLCD (Reflective LCD) display (400×300 resolution) - sunlight-readable, no backlight
* Ultra-low power consumption using ambient light for visibility
SignalK Marine Data Display
* Real-time marine instrument data via WiFi/WebSocket connection
* 4-zone layout displaying wind, heading, depth, and speed
* Auto-reconnect with WiFi/server disconnection handling
* Unit conversion (m/s → knots, meters → feet, radians → degrees)
Practical Marine Applications
* Dedicated SignalK client displaying live vessel data
* Real-time visibility of critical navigation and performance metrics
* Wireless connectivity eliminates complex wiring installations
* Extensible platform for custom marine data visualization needs
Ideal Use Cases
* Cockpit/helm instrument display (sunlight-readable without backlight)
* Engine room monitoring with wireless connectivity
* Portable marine data display powered by battery or USB

Code: https://github.com/VesselSense/waveshare-rlcd-sk-oss

02/17/2026

Waveshare ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2 (400×300 reflective LCD).

Displays real-time marine instrument data via WiFi/WebSocket from Signalk path subscription

- Wind speed and direction
- Heading (compass)
- Depth
- Speed over ground��

The device is battery powered and has a deep sleep mode using push button. It is sunlight readable and retains a rendering in display during deep sleep. Lots of great use cases for it due to portability.

Just a prototype but has a lot of potential. Next is to build a water resistant enclosure so I can install it into the cockpit as an add on display.