Description
Sail Buddy is a light-weight app that displays course, speed and NMEA data in a fast, clean interface. This is not a "kitchen sink" application with lots of features you may or may not use. If you want a clean, easy-to-read data display to complement your navigation and weather apps, this might be the one for you. Also works very well on iPads and other tablets, including "split screen" mode so you can use other navigation apps side-by-side. And the Apple Watch lets you keep track of course, speed and essential data, hands free, no matter where you are on your boat! Sail Buddy receives NMEA data from external hardware via a WiFi connection. Your hardware must support WiFi or be connected to a multiplexer with WiFi support. Sail Buddy includes a "demo" mode that plays sample NMEA data if you just want to see how the app works without connecting to an NMEA network. Features: • Displays course and speed and NMEA data in a large, easily read display • Multi-view instrument dial option for wind, course, speed and satellite views • Support for TCP and UDP connections • Support for Sail Timer wind instrument™ and Sail Timer wind vane™ • Route tracking with full capture of GPS and NMEA data • Export routes in CSV, KML, GPX and GeoJSON • Alarms for lost data connections and potential groundings (if your hardware supports depth data) • Start and stop instruments and tracking with your Apple Watch • Full support for "dark mode" • Supports Split View on newer iPads (use Sail Buddy alongside your favorite navigation app)
What's New
Version 5 gives you full control over the selection of data fields, their order and appearance. You can optimize the display to match your boat and your style of navigation, showing just the fields that interest you, in any order you want. You can also automatically calculate DBK and DBS from DBT, display the system time, and override screen lock when underway.
Details
- Developer
- Tim Herzog
- Main Category
- Navigation
- Version
- 5.0
- Version Release
- 2026-05-25
- Initial Release
- 2016-04-13
- Size
- 3 MB
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Price
- USD 4.99
- Languages
- EN
- Bundle ID
- com.zog.SailBuddy
- Version Rating
- ★ 4.36 (14)
- First Seen
- 2026-06-12
Metadata updated 2026-06-12
Rank History
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User Reviews
Sail Buddy is a simple and inexpensive app that squarely hits the sweet spot. I wanted something to display wind, speed and depth data by the wheel where I could see all clearly. This app turns my iPhone into a multifunctional display presenting all the desired information in an easily readable format. Literally saved me thousands.
Looks like this will really be a useful app. Will update rating once I have a chance to get on the water! Used it on a windjammer trip a few years back, worked great!
I love this app. Have used it stand-alone as well as NMEA with my SailTimer Wind Instrument. I would like to be able to toggle in Configuration between True and Magnetic Course readings to display in the Navigation panel. Also, I would like the option to display Lat/Long in degrees-minutes-decimal minutes. Thanks & keep up the good work.
Just downloaded this to try the GPS and tracking features - they work well and I appreciate the large, clear display that's easy to see outdoors or when moving.
Best app like this I’ve found. Very user friendly and intuitive. Love it.
Worth a try! GPS tracker and other cool offerings.
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