SailTracks vs Sail Tactician
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SailTracks
Read full descriptionHide full description
SailTracks THE OFFICIAL RACING APP OF THE BLACKSTRAP SAILING CLUB LOCATED IN SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA (BSSC.CA) SailTracks is a practical app designed for sailboat racing, providing essential tools to help you track and improve your performance on the water. Key Features: • Speed and Track Measurement: Monitor your boat's speed (to two decimal places) and track your course in real-time. • Built-in Timer: Use the precise, easy-to-use timer feature to keep track of race timings. • Performance Metrics: View your maximum speed, average speed, and total distance covered. • Travel History Indicator: Analyze your sailing performance with a visual log of your direction of travel. • Apple Watch Support: See important measurements on your wrist. • Landscape and Portrait modes. • No internet required - this app does not access the internet EVER. No phoning home, etc. This app DOES NOT do the following: • Export any data that can be used later. No GPX files, etc. There's plenty of other apps for that - search for SailTies which is great! SailTracks offers a straightforward interface with the functionality you need to navigate and compete effectively. Download SailTracks today and enhance your sailing experience. Any suggestions for updates? Email us at contact@smellslikedonkey.com Limitations: • Note that performance of the app depends on the underlying hardware including refresh rates of location data and accuracy of the readings. Your results may vary. See the ETrk, ESpd, and EPos values for errors.
Sail Tactician
This app transforms your Apple Watch into a tactical instrument for sailing races. It provides real-time data, start line assistance, and performance analysis to help sailors improve their racing strategy and speed.
- Audible countdown with voice cues
- Real-time start line metrics
- VMG to upwind/downwind targets
- Tack and gybe suggestions
- Live compass with no-sail zone arcs
- Automatic GPS track recording
- Standalone watch recording
Read full descriptionHide full description
A sailing instrument for Apple Watch and iPhone, for racing, training or a day sail — start-line tactics, live VMG, a coach that calls your drills, and a logbook that shows what went well and what to work on. START STRONG Ping the pin and committee boat and the app does the rest: distance to line, time to line, time to burn, and which end is favored, updating every second. The countdown speaks every whole minute from ten down and every second from 30 out — spoken numbers or beeps, a long tone at the gun. Record from the watch or the phone alone, or mount the phone and run it from the watch. On Apple Watch Ultra the Action button starts and syncs the countdown. Black Box shows nothing but the clock and still records the race in full. SAIL FAST A live compass with your no-sail zone drawn from your own boat's angles. VMG with a target heading and tack/gybe calls. The app tracks the wind as you sail, tells you whether you're lifted or headed. Build your own screens, full-width stacks or grids up to 8-up, and lock one to stay class-compliant. CRUISE, TOO Choose Cruise for a day sail: just Start, no countdown. See sunset, the forecast and GPS and battery readiness before you leave; afterwards, your track on the map, distance, top speed and your season so far. TRAIN WITH A COACH Pick a workout and the coach calls it a word at a time — TACK, GOOD, HEAD UP — spoken from the watch or the phone, with a tap on the wrist. It counts your reps and scores each one against your own usual turn. Tap any drill to learn the maneuver: what it is, the steps, a diagram from your boat's angles, and your reps so far. Eleven presets or your own, run from the watch alone or with the phone mounted. Training is marked beta in the app. KNOW YOUR BOAT Over fifty classes built in — ILCA 7 (Laser), Optimist, Snipe, Melges 24, J/70, Etchells, MC Scow, Nacra 17 and more — each with its own upwind and downwind angles, or define your own. Save your boats: sail number, hull length and rigging notes. Mounted, the phone reads live heel and trim from one tap on level water. REVIEW EVERY SESSION Every session lands on a map, colored by speed, with course, heel, trim and heart rate. The pre-start is kept apart, with a Start tab on your approach to the gun. Replay that jumps between maneuvers. Speed and VMG charts, a polar diagram with the angle you held on each tack, port vs starboard, upwind/downwind splits, and every tack timed from when you crossed the wind. The Coach is a map and one finding at a time, each with the seconds it cost, with a tacking cone on every beat showing where you overstood. Place the windward mark afterwards and the app works out the wind from it. Trim or clip a race; the original is never touched. The watch shows the same analysis cards. RACE AGAINST YOUR FRIENDS Share a race with the sailors you raced against and compare boat-on-boat on iPhone: who led when, where the race changed hands, and a two-boat replay lined up at the gun. FREE TO SAIL, PRO TO GO DEEPER Free to download and sail with: countdown timer, Black Box, cruise mode, compass, live speed and heading, your first five recorded sessions with full analysis, tacking drills, and import and export. Every session is recorded and saved on every tier. Pro is one subscription, monthly or yearly — first month free — unlocking start-line tactics, VMG and wind shifts, every drill, race sharing and comparison, and your full history. FOLLOWS YOU EVERYWHERE Sessions sync privately between your devices over iCloud, and the app says plainly when they don't. Sign in with Apple is optional; everything works signed out. Speeds in knots, MPH or km/h; distances in nautical miles, miles or kilometers. Export STX, GPX, CSV, KML or TCX. Import STX, and in beta FIT from Garmin, COROS and other watches, GPX, CSV, TCX, Vakaros VKX and NMEA 0183. Capsize and knockdown detection requires the iPhone mounted to the boat. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SailTracks at none against Sail Tactician's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Sail Tactician sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $29.99 per year. SailTracks asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | SailTracks | Sail Tactician |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Smells Like Donkey, Inc. | Graham Hutchinson |
In-app purchases
SailTracks
No in-app purchases
Sail Tactician
- Sail Tactician Pro1 Month trial$29.991 Year
Questions
Is SailTracks free?
Is Sail Tactician free?
Do SailTracks or Sail Tactician have ads?
Other comparisons















