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Vessel maintenance App and software

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by John Sakovits, Oct 6, 2019.

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  1. John Sakovits, Oct 6, 2019
    #1
    John Sakovits

    John Sakovits Member

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    Wanted to get folks feedback on what vessel maintenance App or software folks use. Not too simple but not too difficult. Should have maintenance records, parts lists, fuel log, contacts.....

    ideallly would be an App that can be uploaded to a PC also.

    thanks in advance for your feedback !
  2. captholli, Oct 7, 2019
    #2
    captholli

    captholli Senior Member

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    The top vessel planned maintenance programs are expensive and most smaller size vessels aren't ready to invest $10,000+ in a maint. program but to answer your question, the best planned vessel maintenance program out there in use aboard large yachts is "IDEA", basic to set up and enter your specific data and vessels needs with good support and upgrades shoreside. Seahub has made some inroads as something new vs IDEA but hasn't gotten the traction the publishers desired but is still adequate. Deep Blue has massive marketing $$$ and is gaining market share but this program is way to difficult to set up and it isn't intuitive as IDEA nor SeaHub so don't let the marketing fool you into purchasing . I don't know your vessels size nor specific needs but all of the above maint programs can be custom tailored to fit any vessels engineering dept. or a owner operators specifics machinery space wise.
  3. Sea Gull, Oct 7, 2019
    #3
    Sea Gull

    Sea Gull Member

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    We used VesselVanguard on a prior boat. It was helpful, but opted against it for our current boat.
  4. d_meister, Oct 7, 2019
    #4
    d_meister

    d_meister Senior Member

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    No app available, only the Windows program, but I used Yacht Manager for years. It's very configurable, and can be interfaced with the log software to keep engine hours up to date. The scheduled maintenance entries can be set to equipment hours, time, or both. Lots of bells and whistles for $50.
  5. olderboater, Oct 7, 2019
    #5
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    IDEA was the leader by far, but had a sale of the company in 2008 and then it was split back out in 2018 and that's led to a lot of disconnect, lack of direction, and uncertainty. They also seem have reduced their emphasis to equipment and maintenance.

    Seahub seems to be an excellent option for equipment and maintenance management. What it, and others lack are the logs and the crew and passenger management.

    As Holli says, Deep Blue markets well, but then it reminds me of a software company that years ago made a presentation to me in Guatemala. Everything asked they would say "It can be made to do that" but it seemed straight out of the box it really didn't do much, needed a lot of effort and further development to get what you thought you were buying.

    Manage My Vessel is interesting but not as far developed as Idea, more a framework. It is web based and one has to decide if they like that or not, although it does allow you to work off line. It has all the modules one might want but not as fully developed as one would hope. In some ways, I'd say it has the greatest potential but it's a long way from being there.

    Latitude 365 is more directed toward the financial side. It's good for what it does, but not a complete offering.

    Vessel Vanguard is designed strictly for maintenance programs.

    Yachtsys is designed for managing charters.

    Total Superyacht is really just a collection of checklists.

    Yacht Manager is actually pretty interesting for an inexpensive solution. It's trip logs are useful as are it's maintenance log. As to it's inventory and ordering, I'd probably suggest QuickBooks or something as an alternative.

    Why no great comprehensive programs? It's a very limited market. IDEA gets a few, largely with builds of new boats. Then a few at each level. The good ones require a tremendous amount of up front work on the part of the user. The demand and willingness to pay just isn't there it seems.
  6. captholli, Oct 7, 2019
    #6
    captholli

    captholli Senior Member

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    I have no idea if the OP has a 20 meter Bayliner or a 50 meter Heesen, As far as planned maintenance programs specifically tailored to the engineering Dept. of a vessel goes , I don't think that we're on the same page when it come to Yacht Mgr. & Vessel Vanguard in that regard. IDEA is the go to for larger vessels especially when management companies are involved and run their own planned maint. programs simultaneously through their portals. The management Co. always wants to cover themselves in bilateral ways when dealing with maint issues and expenditures.
  7. captholli, Oct 7, 2019
    #7
    captholli

    captholli Senior Member

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    Thx , OP. You being clarity to a situation that wasn't known to me i.e., IDEA being sold off and reincarnated. Sounds like you've found some excellent alternatives so thank you for updating me!