I built my own marine monitoring system using a Raspberry Pi

This project was recently featured in Practical Boat Owner magazine — so I figured some of you might like to see how it works…
I’ve put together a completely free and open-source marine monitoring and automation system that anyone can build themselves using a Raspberry Pi, a few ESP32 modules, and affordable sensors.

Leverages a Massive Open-Source Platform: Built on Home Assistant—which celebrated 2,000,000 active installations and a thriving global community of contributors—so you tap into continuous innovation and support Home Assistant.

This is not a commercial product — it’s a personal project I built for my own boat and shared so others can do the same. It’s already being used by hundreds of DIY boaters around the world.

What it can do:

• NMEA 0183 & NMEA 2000 integration (USB or wireless)
  
  
• ⚙️ Engine monitoring: temps, RPM, oil pressure, fuel
  
  
• Solar and battery stats, tank levels
  
  
• Bilge, leak, smoke, fire alerts
  
  
• Anchor alarm with GPS and siren
  
  
• Remote access & automation via phone or tablet
  
  
• Custom automations (e.g., anchor light at sunset if boat is stationary)
  

It runs entirely offline with no subscription fees, built using Home Assistant and ESPHome. You’ll need to assemble and configure it yourself, but I’ve documented every step — wiring diagrams, YAML files, dashboards, and more.

Resources:

Overview: https://smartboatinnovations.com
Intro guide: Build a Central Marine Computer - Smart Boat Innovations https://smartboatinnovations.com/build-central-marine-computer/
▶️ 26-part YouTube series: https://www.youtube.com/@SmartBoatInnovations
Introduction video:
▶️ 25-part tutorial playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGKcAl-AeSpU7W7GXD86MF9qR1fRT1nx2
Magazine feature: Smart boat: how to control your yacht remotely for under £400 - Practical Boat Owner https://www.pbo.co.uk/gear/smart-boat-how-to-control-your-yacht-remotely-for-under-400-90466

 

Greetings, and thanks for posting your guide. Open source computing is poised to be a game changer for boaties.

I will be attempting a similar system and have a preliminary question. I have a couple of Airmar triducers with proprietary plugs and was wondering if you know of anyway of hooking these to a network please?

 

If your Airmar triducers are the versions with the brand‑specific proprietary plugs (Raymarine, Garmin, Simrad, etc.), the important thing to know is that the connector is proprietary, but the signals inside are not. Airmar sells the same sensor body to different manufacturers, and they just change the plug to lock you into their ecosystem.

How you get them onto a network or into a Raspberry Pi depends on which type you actually have:

1. If the triducer is NMEA 2000 (Airmar “Smart” series)
This is the easiest path. All you need is the correct Airmar‑to‑Micro‑C adapter cable for your plug style. Once adapted to standard N2K, it will drop right onto a small backbone and the Pi can read it through:

• PiCAN‑M
  
  
• Actisense NGT‑1
  
  
• Any N2K → SignalK interface
  

Depth, speed, and temperature PGNs show up immediately.

2. If it’s NMEA 0183
You can either buy the bare‑wire pigtail or cut the proprietary plug off. Then feed the 0183 output into a USB‑RS422 adapter on the Pi. SignalK will parse DBT/MTW/VHW sentences without any special configuration.

3. If it’s one of the older analog Airmar units
These can’t talk directly to a Pi. They output:

• Paddlewheel frequency (speed)
  
  
• Echo pulse timing (depth)
  
  
• Thermistor resistance (temp)
  

To use these, you need a converter such as:

• Airmar DST‑2 (analog → NMEA 0183)
  
  
• Raymarine iTC‑5 (analog → SeaTalkNG/N2K)
  
  
• Or a DIY microcontroller that reads the pulses and outputs 0183
  

Once converted to 0183 or N2K, the Pi can ingest the data normally.

Bottom line
Yes — you can get those proprietary‑plug Airmar triducers onto a Pi‑based network, but the exact method depends on whether yours are N2K, 0183, or analog. If you can post the model number or a photo of the plug, I can tell you exactly which adapter or wiring scheme you need.

 

Thanks for this, It is old from a Koden CSV-101. I do not have it with me to photograph.

 

I just checked on the adapters you mentioned Don, and talking Australian currency here. The Airmar DST-2 is not mentioned and the Raymarine ITC-5 is about $650, while the Airmar DST-810 triducer is about $800.

It does not make sense to me to introduce another point of failure in the adapter, plus spliced cabling etc, when I can install the shiny new NMEA 2000 ready device for little additional expense.

Really appreciate your help Don thanks, I do not enjoy the current "toss it" mindset, but it is the environment we operate in.

 

That makes perfect sense, and honestly your math checks out. Once the price gap between an adapter path and a native NMEA2000 sensor closes, the argument for keeping the legacy transducer gets weaker. Every extra interface — CAN adapter, protocol converter, splice, or custom cabling — is another potential failure point, especially in a wet, vibrating environment.

The DST‑810 is expensive, but it gives you a clean N2K drop, proper isolation, and a known-good calibration path without having to maintain a translation layer. From a systems‑engineering perspective, fewer components in the chain almost always means fewer surprises later.

I’m with you on the “don’t toss it if it still works” mindset, but the marine electronics world doesn’t always reward that approach. Sometimes the most reliable architecture is the simplest one, even if it means replacing a working sensor to avoid a long-term integration headache.

Glad the info helped — and I completely agree that reducing complexity is often worth more than squeezing a few extra years out of older hardware.