Helmer
Helmer is a companion app for boat owners on Swiss lakes. It draws the legal shore zones of Art. 53 of the Swiss Inland Navigation Ordinance (SR 747.201.1) around your boat, shows your GPS speed against the 10 km/h limit, and watches your anchor while you sleep.
- ⚓️ Anchor watchDrop the anchor, set a radius, sleep. Escalates green → amber → red and fires critical alerts that break through Silent mode.
- 🌊 Shore zonesThe 300 m shore zone and the 150 m inner zone drawn on the chart, with a live banner when you are inside one.
- ⏱ GPS speedometerAnalog gauge with the 10 km/h tick, top speed, trip distance, course and GPS accuracy. km/h or knots.
- 💨 MeteoSwiss windLive 10-minute wind and gust measurements, cached so they survive a dead spot mid-lake.
- 🗺 Chart detailsHarbours and marinas, boat fuel stations, restricted and bathing areas, locks and weirs, scheduled-ship routes.
- ⌚️ Watch & CarPlayA glanceable zone-coloured speed ring on the wrist, and the chart with a speed HUD in the car.
Support →FAQ, requirements and how to reach me
Privacy Policy →No data collected. Here is exactly why
Your data stays on your boat
Helmer has no accounts, no analytics and no tracking. Your position and speed are processed entirely on your device and are never transmitted. The only thing Helmer fetches from the internet is the public MeteoSwiss wind measurement file — which tells the server nothing about where you are. See the privacy policy.
Data sources
- Lake geometry and chart details © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Zone lines are computed from the shoreline at 150 m and 300 m.
- Wind measurements © MeteoSwiss, published as Swiss Open Government Data.
- Maps rendered with Apple MapKit.
Helmer is an aid, not an official navigational chart. The skipper remains responsible for complying with the law.
Available in English, German, French and Italian.