Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about Sailmate.

These instructions concern the new Sailmate-application (formerly known as “Sailmate Nova").

The instructions concerning the older Sailmate-application ("Sailmate Classic") you can find here.

If needed, please contact Sailmate customer service with e-mail at the address tuki(at)nautics.fi.

Sailmate instructions

View/hide display panel

Main Menu

Start/stop recording your track

View/hide toolbar

Route management

Recorded track management

View/hide zoom buttons

Map Menu

Center view on location

Rotating Map

Look-Ahead

Taking the Sailmate application in use

1. Download Nautics Sailmate from your app store.

2. Open the application and register using your email-address, which will be confirmed with a pin-code. If you have a previous Sailmate-account at this or another email-address, you can use the information and licenses there.

Note that it may take a while to receive the code. More specific instructions on how to log in can be found from the section “How do I sign in to my account”.

3. If you do not have a previous Sailmate-account, you will have to create one. Then you will get access to the Free-level, where you can see the sea charts with an internet connection.

You can then purchase the "Sailmate Premium" -feature package which includes navigational features.

You can also purchase the "Scout Routes" -content package, which contains information about natural harbours and unmarked boating routes.

You can make the purchases either from the application’s main menu or from our website.

Using Sailmate

Sailmate is ready for use when you have installed the application and signed in to your account.
The application opens the sea chart, which you can scroll and zoom freely. Free-level users can see the services of harbours and marinas as icons by tapping the symbol of the location.
Premium-users can enjoy several additional services. The device centralizes the view onto your location if you tap the blue "location" key in the bottom center of your screen.
When the map is in centralized mode, buttons for automatic map display during boating are located in the upper corner of the screen. The left-side compass button activates automatic map rotation according to the direction of travel. The right-side button activates look-ahead display, which shows a larger portion of the map in the direction of travel.
You can open and hide the bottom bar of the screen containing additional functions from the left arrow key at the bottom of the screen. You can display and hide the speed and direction display from the right arrow key at the bottom of the screen.
From the main menu key you can see your account- and subscription information, saved routes, change personal settings, switch on Scout routes, and download the charts to your device for offline use.
From the map menu, you can select what information is displayed on the map. The map menu opens from the button in the top right corner of the screen.
You can record the track you have travelled on the screen. The recording is started and stopped by pressing the “record” key in the bottom toolbar. You can save the track into your Sailmate-account in by pressing the “Track info” button. Further instructions on how to record tracks can be found in the “How do you use the track recording?” -section
By pressing and holding on the map you can also plan and save routes with Sailmate. You can find specific instructions in the paragraph "Route planning".

Sailmate account

How does Nautics Sailmate work?

Sailmate is a cloud service, which consists of a mobile application and a route planning software, which is used with a browser over the internet. The user has a Sailmate-account, which they can use to log into their applications and the route planning program. Users personal routes and points of interest (PoI) are shown in all devices, which are logged into the same Sailmate-account.

What is the purpose of a Sailmate-account?

A Sailmate -account is mandatory to all Sailmate users. The account is personal to you, and only you can access it. Sailmate does not share the information in the account to third parties. If you log into the same account with all devices you are using, you have your subscriptions and personal routes and PoI´s in all your devices.

What is the user name of a Sailmate-account?

Your e-mail address is used as the user name of your Sailmate-account. It is important that you choose an email address which is in active use so that you can receive messages related to your account (such as pin-codes). We recommend a private address, as company addresses sometimes cause usage issues.

How do I sign in to my account?

You sign in to your account using a pin-code, which is sent to your e-mail. We do this to make sure that nobody else is using your e-mail address.

When you open the application for the first time, or open it after signing out, you are asked to give your e-mail address. Sailmate will then send a personal pin-code to this address, and you must type the code into the application. It may take several minutes before the code arrives, so be patient. If you ask the application to send a new code, you must wait until it arrives, since the older codes are not valid any more. Every code is valid for 15 minutes before it expires.

Do I need a password to my account?

If you only use the Sailmate app, you don't need a password because your email address is verified with a PIN code. However, if you use the older Sailmate Classic app, the online route planning service, or if you want to link an account with a different email address to a new one, you'll need a password for authentication.

How can I define a password to my account or change it?

The password management address is https://app.sailmate.fi/forgot-password?lang=en. You can also access the link from the sailmate.com -page ("Define password"), or from the route planning sign-in window. If your browser remembers previous passwords, you have to either log out from Sailmate before clicking the link at the home page, or use the browser in incognito (private) -mode.

How can I change the e-mail address I use as the user name?

Please e-mail to the customer service at the address tuki@nautics.fi.

How can I find out which e-mail address I have used to log in?

The login-address is shown in the application main menu's profile page.

Can I use Nautics Sailmate in several devices?

Yes you can. You have to log into the same account with all your devices, and then you have your subscriptions and personal routes and PoI´s in all your devices.

How many devices can I connect into one account?

A Sailmate-account is personal, and the usage of the account is limited according to fair usage policy. You can connect as many devices to your account as you have in your personal use.

How do I request the deletion of my account?

You can select the option "My Profile" from the application’s main menu, where you will find the button "Delete this Sailmate account" at the bottom. You can also contact us via email at tuki(at)nautics.fi If you request your account to be deleted, the account and all the information stored in the account will be deleted permanently as soon as possible.

Services

What paid content does Sailmate offer?

The application download is free. With the free version you can see the sea charts, you can mark personal PoI´s and see the service desrciptions of marinas.

"Sailmate Premium" is a feature package, which is intended for navigational use. When you have activated your Premium service, you will see your exact position on the map with course indicator and speed display, and you can see marina maps. As a Premium user you can also plan routes, save a track and download the maps to the device for offline use.

In addition, you can activate a "Scout routes" -content package. This package includes descriptions of over 450 harbours, including natural mooring places and smaller village harbours, and over 2000 sea miles of unmarked boating waterways, which have been explored by Turun Partio-Sissit ry, a scout troop operating in Turku archipelago area. The harbours and waterways are located mainly in the Turku archipelago, Åland, Gulf of Finland and Bothnian sea areas. The Harbour descriptions are mostly available only in the Finnish language.

How can I get the chargeable packages?

You can buy the chargeable packages in two different ways: Either as an in-app purchase in the main menu of your application, or in the web shop at the Nautics Sailmate homepage www.sailmate.com.

If you choose to use in-app purchases, you will be charged by the payment method you have specified to the application marketplace (Appstore/Google Play).

If you buy from our web shop, you can use a credit- or debit card. You can use most cards payment cards. PayPal can not be used to pay at the web shop.

After a successfull payment the license is activated to your Sailmate-account, and it can be used right away. Depending on your device type, in some cases you need close the app and reopen it to synchronize the activation to your device. The most reliable way to synchronize the activation is to log out and back in.

How long is the subscription of Premium or Scout Harbours and Routes -packages? Will it renew automatically?

Your subscription renews automatically every year, unless you cancel according to the terms of your payment agent. The Sailmate application’s Profile page has links to the management page of your payment agent. You can cancel the subscription at any time. If you cancel the subscription, the license is still valid until the end of the period you have already paid for.

How can I find out how long my subscriptions are valid?

You can see the renewal dates of your subscriptions from the profile page of the main menu of your applications. The route planning website shows the expiry date in the user profile page (the top button in the bottom right corner).

I bought a license but it does not work - what should I do?

Apparently your device does not know about the license yet. You should try to log out from your Sailmate-account and back in, because then your user data is synchronized. If you accidentally bought the license to a wrong account, please contact Sailmate support at tuki(at)nautics.fi, and we can move the license to another account.

Can I cancel my order if I am not satisfied?

The order can be canceled. If you have made a purchase in the Google Play Store or at sailmate.com web shop, and cancel within 14 days, we will refund the amount you paid. If you made a purchase in the Apple Appstore as an in-app purchase, we are unfortunately unable to process the cancellation, you have to cancel your order and request a refund in accordance with the terms of the App App Store itself. We will provide instructions if necessary. If you want to cancel your order, please contact customer service at tuki(at)nautics.fi.

Route planning

Route planning principle

1. Sailmate Premium users can create and save route plans either directly in the application or using a bigger screen in the Sailmate route planning service at sailmate.com.

2. Routing can be done automatically along fairways or as line routing, one waypoint at a time.

3. By entering the average speed of your boat, you will see the time it takes to sail the route. Setting the average speed can be done by opening the main menu, selecting 'Settings,' and then turning the number rings.

4. After saving the routes will be displayed in the routes list in all your mobile devices and the route planning software. The routes can be used in boats to support navigation, much like with a plotter. However, the Sailmate is not a true chartplotter, and caution and safe navigation must be followed when navigating the waters.

5. A Sailmate Free -user can try creating routes in the route planning service, but saving routes is only available for Premium users.

6. When calculating the route Sailmate is yet unable to take into account the depth of a channel or the free space under a bridge, but it will define the shortest possible route. The user must themself make sure that the planned route is suitable for their boat, and if necessary, ask Sailmate to bypass a certain point by defining an intermediate waypoint outside the route to avoid.

How do I plan routes with the application?

You can plan routes with the Sailmate application in two different ways:

1. A route to a destination from the current position

First, choose a destination by opening a harbor page or a saved place, or by long pressing the map. The route is created along fairways when you select "Add to route along fairways" from the window that opens.

After this, you can manage the route from the "Route info" button in the bottom bar of the screen. For example, you can delete the route, or name and save it. From the same view, you can also see the length of the route and the travel time at your set average speed. You can change the average speed in the app settings.

2. A route through several independent waypoints:

The default starting point for the route is your current location. You can set a different starting point by opening a harbor page or a saved place, or by long pressing the map, then selecting "Set as starting point."

Next, create the waypoints in order, either by opening a harbor page or a saved place, or by long pressing the map.

In each waypoint, choose either "Add to route along fairways" if you want the route to follow navigational channels, or "Add to route direct line" if you want the route to form a straight line between the waypoints.

Once you've set the last point, you can manage the route from the "Route info" button in the bottom bar of the screen. You can remove the last waypoint, delete the route, or name and save it. From the same view, you can also see the route length and travel time at your set average speed. You can change the average speed in the settings.

How do you use the route planning service?

You can access the route planning service with a browser at the address www.sailmate.com and by choosing route planning. Alternatively, you can type the direct address app.sailmate.fi to your browser address field. When you choose to "log in" you are asked to log in unless your browser remembers your credentials. The principles of the route planning are:

Route planning has two modes: routing along fairways or direct routing. The routing mode can be switched using the button in the bottom left corner. You mark the starting point with a long press, then the point turns into a coloured mark. After that you mark the rest of your waypoints in a similar manner, the software connects the points according to your selected routing mode.

The route information can be viewed from the red middle button in the bottom right corner, where you can also give a name to the route and save it. After this the route can be displayed in your Sailmate mobile application.

How do you use the track recording?

You can record your traveled route on the map. Start and stop drawing by using the "record" button in the bottom bar. To start drawing, press the button and then confirm by swiping the slider that appears. After drawing, the route remains visible on the map. You can view the saved track by pressing the "track info" button at the bottom of the screen. You can name the track and choose whether to save it among your routes for later use. Even if you don't save the route, it will still be visible on the screen until you delete it or close the app. The drawing functionality works even if the app is running in the background and the device is used for other purposes.

How do you use the saved routes?

All the saved routes are listed in the main menu of the mobile application. The route you want to display can be searched by name and can be chosen in the list. The route list also works offline without data connection as long as you’ve read the route list once while connected to the internet.

How are saved routes deleted?

Saved routes are deleted from the route list by swiping them to the left.

Ports, own places and routes

How do I use personal places (PoI´s)?

You can create your own personal place by tapping the chart at the point where you want to have the PoI. A window opens, where you can name the place or write information, and then save or delete the point. With some devices you can also see the coordinates of a point and the distance to the current location.

How long the personal routes and PoI´s are stored in the Sailmate-account?

Your personal routes and PoI´s are stored in your Sailmate-account as long as the account exists. The Premium-level information you see if your Premium-license is valid. If your e-mail address changes, change the address of the account so that you do not loose your data (see "How can I change my e-mail address").

Does the Sailmate harbour data feature the same information as is available in other marina guides?

The marina data, which all users can see, and the marina maps, which the Premium-users see, are the same as in the "Käyntisatamat" -book (satamaopas.fi).

Some of the harbours in the Scout Routes -content package are the same as in the Harbour Book of Turun Partio-Sissit (satamakirja.fi), but the majority of the harbours are natural mooring places, which are not available in the book. The harbour descriptions are currently mostly in Finnish - we apologize this, and we are working to introduce more descriptions also in Swedish and/or English.

How safe are Sailmate harbours?

The purpose of the harbour information as presented in Sailmate is to help the skipper to choose a usable mooring place for normal boating purposes.

The information in the blue marina maps has been collected by Suomen Vierassatamat Oy, and the information is based on marina operators reports. The harbour information as shown in the Scout Routes -package has been collected by Turun Partio-Sissit, a scout troop operating in the Turku Archipelago area. The majority of the information of the scout harbours has been manually checked.

The usability of all scout mooring places has been confirmed with aerial photographs and satellite images. The indicated depth figures are estimates of the average water depth in the area, but actual water depth cannot be guaranteed.

You must approach the harbour carefully and slowly enough, and if necessary the depth of the mooring site must be confirmed before mooring. If you experience suspicious depth measurements while using these harbours, please inform us immediately at e-mail address tuki (at) nautics.fi and we will figure it out. We appreciate your feedback!

Scout routes

Do I have to be a Premium-subscriber in order to buy the Scout Routes -content package?

No. You can buy the Scout routes -content package both at the Free- and Premium-levels. The scout routes are switched on/off in the app settings or route planning setting.

Does the Scout Routes -content package replace the printed Harbour Book or Route Book of Turun Partio-Sissit?

No, it does not replace a printed book. These medias do not contain exactly the same information and they are two different ways to use the information. A printed book format has many clear advantages, while mobile use is in many situations easier. We believe that most users will use both formats depending on the situation.

Does the Scout Routes -content package include the same routes as the printed Scout Route Book?

Sailmate shows about a half of routes of the Route Book on the nautical chart, but the other half are other useful boating routes which are not in the book. Some of the routes in the book require information about shallow areas which are not shown on the official charts, and therefore these routes cannot be shown in Sailmate.

How safe are the Scout Routes?

The scout routes have been defined by Turku Partio-Sissit scout troop. The routes are unofficial boating routes, which have been tested and found useable based on aerial photographs and satellite images. The routes are intended to be used in ordinary boating situations up to about 2,3m depth. However, the routes have not been probed, and the actual depth of the routes cannot be guaranteed in all possible situations. The scout routes must be used based on visual observations and with care. The routes must be used with low speed assuring sufficient safety distance to shallow water. Outside the marked routes the depth information in sea charts is often inaccurate.

Remember, that the master of the watercraft is always responsible for the safety of his crew and his boat. If you experience suspicious depth measurements while using the scout routes, please inform us immediately at e-mail address tuki@nautics.fi and we will figure it out. We appreciate your feedback!

What do the markings in scout harbour maps mean?

The harbour maps as shown in the Scout Routes -package feature the following special markings:

Black dotted line: about 1m depth line

Red dotted line: about 2m depth line

Blue dotted line: 2,5-3m depth line

Red dashed line: 4-6m depth line

Black arrow: mooring site which has been manually checked

Red arrow: mooring site, which has been checked using aerial and satellite images and topographic maps

Red depth markings: Uncertain estimate

Red shallow water mark: Shallow area is reported in either a nautical chart or topographic map, but the actual existence has not been confirmed.

Yellow circle around a red shallow water mark: with high probability an error in the nautical chart.

General

What are the technical requirements for the mobile device?

System software requirements on mobile:

Apple iOS 13 or Android 6 or later releases.

The device must have access to either the Apple App Store or Google Play services. Downloading the offline charts takes a maximum of 800MB memory space.

How can I know if Nautics Sailmate will work in my device?

Sailmate works fine in most commercial smartphones and tablets, but unfortuntately there is no straightforward way to confirm this beforehand. The easiest way to confirm this is to download the Sailmate Free and test it. In some tablets (e.g. some iPad-models) the GPS-receiver, which is needed for location, is installed only in those devices which are equipped with a SIM-card slot. If you intend to track your location, make sure that your device supports GPS.

Also, it is mandatory that your device can access either Apple´s Appstore or Android´s Playstore in order to download the application. Some Huawei models do not support this requirement, and unfortunately Sailmate cannot be used with such devices.

The Sailmate-application can unfortunately not be downloaded to Windows-phones any more.

Can I download the nautical charts to a device (offline use)?

The Premium-users can download the nautical charts to their device from the main menu page. The downloaded charts work without a data connection. It is highly recommended to download the charts to the device, because the data connection is often slow at sea. The charts use approximately 800 MB storage space.

I am using the free version, but my position is not shown. Why?

Sailmate Free is used to see and browse the sea charts license free. Sailmate Premium is intended for navigational aid, and it shows your location accurately.

How accurate is the position in Sailmate?

The mobile device of the user determines the position of the vessel as shown on the chart. The accuracy of the position depends on the quality, features and software of the device. The position of the device in the boat, the changes in the orientation of the device, reflections or other disturbance in the satellite signal propagation, and the time used to track the location satellites can also affect the location accuracy produced by the device. It is also technically possible that the satellite positioning system is intentionally interferred by a hostile outside party, which would deteriorate the accuracy of the positioning. In normal use the position is usually accurate enough to be used as a navigational support, but Sailmate does not replace a plotter. The real position of the boat must always be verified by a marine plotter and by visual observations.

How much battery Sailmate consumes?

Due to constant location process Sailmate drains battery relatively fast. Plase make sure that you have charged your battery sufficiently and use a charger or power pack if necessary. Please also take into acoount that in direct sunlight the device may shut itself down due to overheating.

What Sailmate is not?

Sailmate is not an officially approved sea chart as is required by the law. Sailmate is not an official safety product, and it has not been designed to prevent accidents. Sailmate cannot be used to alert rescue forces and it cannot be used to contact rescue officials.

Although the Sailmate application has been designed to be used while boating, the devices have generally not been designed for a boat environment. Therfore there may be restrictions in the useability of the devices, and as an example the location display may not be accurate. Sailmate is not a replacement of a real plotter designed for boat use. In spite of these restrictions, Sailmate is an excellent navigational aid and safety improvement, and it can well serve as an emergency back-up device.

How can I get help in using Sailmate?

We help our customers by e-mail. If you need help, please write a message to tuki(at)nautics.fi, and we respond as soon as possible. You help us to give a more useful answer, if you write as specifically as possible. Please also tell which product and what device you are using. If you do not see a response, please check your junk mail folder. We do our best to serve in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Who is developing Nautics Sailmate?

Sailmate is done by Nautics Oy, a privately owned and operated Finnish startup company. The harbour data and marina maps -content are provided by Suomen Vierassatamat Oy. The scout routes -content is provided by Turun Partio-Sissit Ry. Septic station data is provided by septit.net.

We do this with love and passion to boating, the sea, and Finlands thousands of lakes!