Hardware setup
Where each sensor goes on the boat, how it behaves once it is there, and the details that save you a support thread.
DockNeighbor sensors are small, sealed and battery-powered, and they talk to the station by long-range radio rather than Wi-Fi, so the bilge is as easy to cover as the saloon. There is no wiring to run for most of them: scan the code in the app, put the sensor where this page says, and it reports. For the station itself and the full list with prices, see Supported Devices; for the first-time flow, start with the Quick start.
| Sensor | Where it goes | Power |
|---|---|---|
| Water leak sensor Dragino LWL02 |
Bilge, sump, under a sink | Two AAA batteries, years of life |
| Bilge float sensor Dragino CPL03-LB |
The bilge itself | Sealed battery, years of life |
| Battery voltage sensor Dragino PS-LB-NA |
House or start battery | Its own battery, years of life |
| Battery, bilge and shore power in one box Dragino LT-22222-L in a DockNeighbor housing |
Near the house bank | Runs from the house bank, a few milliamps |
| Shore power outlet switch Dragino LC03 |
Any outlet on the shore-power circuit | Plugs into a cabin outlet |
| Shore power current sensor Dragino CS01-LB |
Behind the AC panel | Sealed battery, years of life |
| Shore power loss sensor Dragino POM01-L |
At the shore-power inlet | Hard-wired, with a backup cell |
| GPS tracker Dragino TrackerD |
Anywhere with a view of the sky | Rechargeable battery |
Water where it shouldn’t be
Water leak sensor — probes at the alarm height
Two steel probes on short leads. Water bridging them raises the alarm. Mount the probes at the height where water means trouble, not on the floor of the bilge: a little residual water is normal on most boats, and a sensor sitting in it cries wolf. Above the usual dampness and below anything you cannot afford to get wet is the right spot. The alarm waits long enough to ignore a splash of hose spray.
- Bilge — the essential one. Set the probes a finger or two above the residual-water line.
- Under sinks — galley and head, where supply-line drips start.
- Water heater bay and shower sump — tank, relief-valve and pump failures show up here first.
Bilge float sensor — in the bilge itself
A sealed, waterproof unit with a float switch, for the bilge proper. Mount it where water collects first, with the float free to rise, at a height just above where your bilge pump normally keeps the level. It finishes its setup over Bluetooth from the app. One per compartment that matters: sensors are cheap, and several also tell you where the water is.
Batteries
Battery voltage sensor — two fused leads on the bank
Two leads on the battery bank and nothing else. Fuse both leads at the battery — an inline fused ring-terminal harness is cheap and protects the wiring if anything chafes. Fix the sensor body near the bank, out of the bilge; in a damp engine bay or battery box, inside a small junction box. It reports voltage and alarms on a threshold or a fast drop, and finishes its setup over Bluetooth from the app. Compare the first reading against a multimeter at the terminals.
Battery, bilge and shore power in one box — near the house bank
For most boats this one unit is the whole install. It runs from the house bank (a few milliamps), reads the bank’s voltage, takes a bilge float on its input, and watches shore power. Mount it near the house bank with fused leads, run the float lead down to the bilge, and give the shore-power input a feed from the shore-power circuit.
Shore power
Shore power outlet switch — any outlet on the shore-power circuit
Plugs into a cabin outlet. When the pedestal drops — a tripped dock breaker, a marina outage, someone unplugging the wrong cord — it tells you power is lost, and tells you when it is back. It is also a switch you can turn on and off from the app, so a heater or a dehumidifier can plug into it. Use an outlet that is on the shore-power circuit, not one fed by an inverter, or it will never see the outage.
Shore power current sensor — the clamp behind the AC panel
A clamp around the shore-power conductor reports the amps you are drawing: the loads you forgot were on, and the moment the draw goes to zero. The clamp goes behind the AC panel, around one conductor of the incoming shore-power feed, and the sensor body nearby. It finishes its setup over Bluetooth from the app.
Shore power loss sensor — hard-wired at the inlet
Wired to the mains at the shore-power inlet, with its own backup cell so it can report the outage itself the moment it happens. This is the one to have an electrician install.
Location
GPS tracker — anywhere with a view of the sky
A small rechargeable tracker that reports the boat’s position through the station. It needs sky: a cockpit locker lid, a shelf under a hatch, the inside of a canvas dodger. Deep in a metal hull or under a steel deck it will struggle. Its position feeds the anchor alarm and Away Mode.
Partner devices
Gear already on the boat’s own network — a LinkTap valve, Shelly relays and meters, Starlink, Peplink, Cradlepoint and GL.iNet routers, a chartplotter GPS feed — can be read by the station and shown next to your sensors. Nothing is installed on them. Partner devices are on Weekender and Voyager, and each takes a device slot like a sensor. The list is on Supported Devices.
If you add a LinkTap valve, put it at the source spigot — the dock or marina tap — and run the hose from the valve to the boat. Downstream of the spigot the valve cannot stop a burst hose; at the spigot it protects the hose and everything after it, and the weight hangs on a metal spigot instead of your boat’s plastic fittings. How the valve bounds water damage is in Water control & safety.
Buying hardware
The station comes from Seeed. Models and approximate prices for the station and every sensor are on Supported Devices.