Borrowd
An app that tells sailors where the lobster pots are
How Go Pottie gives sailors a way to see lobster pots on the chart and get warned before they run over one.
- Client
- Go Pottie
- Size
- Mobile app
- Connected
- Device GPS and mapping
The problem
Lobster pots are marked by small floats that are hard to spot, especially in poor light or a chop. Sailors who run over one risk wrapping the line around a propeller, which is dangerous and expensive.
Pot locations were known only to the people who set them. There was no shared, up-to-date picture a sailor could check before or during a passage.
What we did
- Step 1
Worked out what a sailor needs at the helm
A skipper's hands and eyes are busy, so the app had to be glanceable, readable in sunlight and quiet until it matters.
- Step 2
Built the pot tracking
Pots and their locations are recorded and kept on a map, so there is one place to see what is where.
- Step 3
Added location-aware alerts
The app watches the boat's position and alerts the sailor as they approach a recorded pot, with enough warning to change course.
The result
Sailors get a clear picture of where pots are and an alert when they are close, instead of relying on spotting a float in time.