Service
Vessel Monitoring and Remote Oversight, Gold Coast
Remote oversight of your vessel's electrical systems. Cerbo GX configured for VRM, alerts that fire for shore power loss, low battery, bilge events, and offline status, all visible from your phone wherever you are. Built for owners who spend significant time away from the boat (work travel, holiday homes, seasonal use) and want to know it's safe between visits. The first time the system tells you something's wrong before you would have noticed yourself, the install pays for itself.
Who actually benefits from remote vessel monitoring
Remote monitoring earns its keep when there's a real risk of something going wrong while you're not on the boat, and a real cost if it does. The five situations where it pays for itself:
- The boat is at the owner's home, dry storage, or driveway and stays there for weeks or months between trips
- Shore power dropping out (storm, breaker trip, marina power failure) means the bank stops charging and the fridge eventually stops running
- The bank is LiFePO4 and a stuck-on load could discharge it below the BMS cutoff, taking the bank offline for the next visit
- A stuck bilge pump running flat would be the difference between a wet bilge and an emergency
- The original installer commissioned the Cerbo locally but never set up VRM, so you can see what's happening when you're on the boat but not when you're 500km away
If the boat is used most weekends and rarely sits unattended for more than a fortnight, monitoring is useful but not essential. If it sits unattended for months at a time, monitoring is the difference between coming back to a working system and coming back to a problem.
What the audit covers for monitoring work
Vessel monitoring is scoped from the Combined Estate Audit, $900, which covers home and vessel together, or a vessel-only scoped audit ($600 to $1,200 depending on vessel size) if you don't need the home covered. The on-vessel portion of the assessment covers the same six areas:
1. Existing Cerbo GX (or absence of one)
Whether a Cerbo GX is fitted, what generation (Cerbo GX, Cerbo GX MK2, Ekrano GX, Venus GX), firmware version, and current commissioning state. We pull the current configuration via the local interface and document what's set up, what's broken, and what's missing. Roughly half the vessels we audit have a Cerbo present but never properly commissioned.
2. Existing Victron components and BMS comms
Make and model of every Victron component on the vessel: MultiPlus II, MPPT controllers, BMV-712 or SmartShunt, Lynx Distributor, Orion-Tr Smart, BMS-Can connections. Confirm whether everything is talking to the Cerbo properly, whether the BMS (LiFePO4) is integrated, and whether charge sources are reporting cleanly.
3. Internet path back to VRM
The single most important physical requirement for remote monitoring. The Cerbo has to have a continuous internet path back to the VRM portal for alerts to leave the vessel. Options: marine 4G/5G router (Peplink, Teltonika, dedicated marine cellular like Pepwave MAX), Starlink Mini, or shore-side Wi-Fi if the vessel is at the owner's home. We assess signal quality at the actual install location, not at the dock.
4. Existing alarm thresholds
Most factory-default alarm thresholds tell you when the battery is critically low, not when something interesting is happening. Default thresholds: typically too late, too generic, and configured for a battery type that may not match yours. We document the existing thresholds and identify what they should be for your specific bank and your actual concerns.
5. What you actually want to know about
The audit conversation that matters most. Some owners want detailed daily reports. Some only want phone calls when something's actually broken. Some want shore power loss alerted immediately. Some only care about the battery falling below 30%. The alert profile should match the owner, not the default. We document the priorities so the install matches them.
6. Physical and environmental considerations
Where the Cerbo lives now, ventilation, signal quality at that location, accessibility for future maintenance. Salt environment exposure. Whether the existing install has weather sealing where it should. Marine environments are unforgiving and the install detail matters.
The audit produces a written report with photos, current configuration documentation, recommended scope, and a fixed-price commissioning quote. Fee credits 50 percent against installation when you proceed within 90 days.
What audits typically uncover
After enough vessel monitoring audits, certain patterns repeat.
1. The Cerbo is fitted but VRM was never set up
Found on roughly half of vessels we audit. The hardware is there, the wiring is correct, the local display works. But VRM (the cloud portal) was never paired or activated, or was activated under the previous owner's email. The owner has zero remote visibility despite paying for the hardware. Setup is a one-hour job once we have access.
2. The internet path is unreliable
Marine cellular routers configured to fall asleep when idle. Starlink terminals that stop reporting because the vessel orientation drifted. Shore-side Wi-Fi that drops every time the marina updates the network. The Cerbo loses connection to VRM, the dashboard goes stale, and the owner only finds out weeks later that the data hasn't been updating. Fix is robust connectivity hardware and proper Cerbo network configuration.
3. Alarm thresholds are at factory defaults
Default thresholds tell you the battery is dying, not that something's happening. We rebuild the alarm profile around what the owner actually wants to know: shore power lost, BMS error, charger fault, temperature out of range, SOC below specific value, bilge cycling abnormally. Most owners want fewer alerts at the right moments rather than more alerts that get ignored.
4. Bilge sensing is missing or basic
Many vessels have a bilge pump float switch but no sensing into the Cerbo. The pump cycles, the system has no idea. A simple current-sensing module on the pump circuit, plus a separate water-level sensor, lets the Cerbo report not just "is the pump running" but "is the pump cycling abnormally," which is the actual signal that matters. Pump cycling every few minutes is a different problem from one running for three hours.
5. Multiple Victron systems on the vessel that don't see each other
A house bank with its own Cerbo, a separate engine room install with its own MPPT and BMV. Each works independently, neither aware of the other. Consolidation onto a single Cerbo with unified VRM reporting takes a half-day and gives you one dashboard for the whole vessel.
What the install or commissioning actually involves
Vessel monitoring work is typically focused, fast jobs. Three common shapes:
Commissioning only
Existing Cerbo and Victron components are in place. We configure VRM access, set alarm thresholds for your specific use case, verify BMS comms if LiFePO4, ensure every charge source feeds reporting correctly, and walk you through the VRM mobile app and alert configuration. One day on site. Indicative cost $1,200 to $2,500.
Cerbo install plus commissioning
Vessel has Victron components but no system controller. We supply and install a Cerbo GX, wire it to every Victron device, configure cellular or Starlink connectivity, set up VRM, configure alarms, and add bilge sensing if part of scope. One to two days on site. Indicative cost $2,500 to $5,500 including hardware.
Full monitoring install
Cerbo, cellular router or Starlink terminal, bilge sensors, additional temperature and current sensors as needed, and full alarm profile setup. For vessels that will sit unattended for months at a time and need belt-and-braces oversight. Two to three days on site. Indicative cost $4,500 to $9,000 depending on scope and connectivity choice.
Every install ends with documentation: VRM access credentials, alarm threshold list, network configuration, and a written guide on what each alert means and what to do when it fires. The system is yours. Any qualified Victron technician can pick it up later if needed.
Available packages
Combined Estate Audit, from $900 (Zone 1)
For owners with both a home and a vessel. Three to four hours on the vessel, two to three hours at the home, single combined report with marine and home sections.
Vessel-only audit
If you only want the vessel side assessed, custom-quoted from the scope. Usually $600 to $1,200 depending on vessel size and access.
Final scope and pricing for installation work land after the audit. Audit findings credit 50 percent against installation when you proceed within 90 days. See /pricing/ for the full pricing structure.
What good remote monitoring actually delivers, and what it requires
Remote monitoring is one of those things that sounds simple in the brochure and turns out to be detailed in practice. Here's the technical context most owners don't get from the original installer.
The Cerbo GX is the system controller, not just a display
The Cerbo sits at the centre of a Victron managed system. It talks to the shunt, to the MultiPlus inverter, to every MPPT controller, to the BMS if LiFePO4, and to VRM. It doesn't just display data. It coordinates the system. The MultiPlus takes charge instructions from the Cerbo, which takes them from the BMS. Without a Cerbo, each component runs in isolation. With one, they run as a managed system. Remote monitoring is a feature of the Cerbo, not a separate product.
VRM is what makes it remote
Victron Remote Management is the cloud portal that turns local Cerbo data into something visible from anywhere. State-of-charge, solar input, AC input, alarms, historical graphs, configurable alerts via email or push notification. Free for the basic tier, optional paid tier for advanced features. The Cerbo uploads to VRM every minute or two. Latency is low enough that "real-time monitoring" is genuinely real-time for vessel use cases.
The internet path is the weakest link
Cerbo to VRM only works if the Cerbo has internet. Marine cellular routers (Peplink BR1 Mini, Teltonika RUT240, Pepwave MAX Transit) are the most common option: small, marine-rated, run from 12V or 24V. Starlink Mini is increasingly popular for vessels that travel beyond cellular range or want consistent bandwidth for remote video access. Shore-side Wi-Fi is fine if the boat is at the owner's home, but flaky for boats at marinas. The audit picks the right path for your specific use case and budget.
Alerts have to match what you actually care about
Default Cerbo alerts fire on ten or twelve generic conditions. Most owners want a much narrower profile: shore power lost (immediate notification), low battery (warn at 30%, alarm at 20%), BMS error (immediate), charger fault (immediate), and that's it. Configurable thresholds matter. A vessel kept at home doesn't care about "system offline" if the owner is on the boat with the Cerbo unplugged for service work. Properly configured alerts get attention. Over-noisy alerts get muted, which defeats the purpose entirely.
Bilge monitoring is more useful than it sounds
A bilge pump float switch tells you the pump is running. It doesn't tell you whether running for thirty seconds is normal cycling or running for three hours is a problem. Adding a current-sensing module on the pump circuit (cheap), plus a separate water-level sensor (cheap), gives the Cerbo two independent signals. The alert profile then becomes "alert if pump cycles more than X times per hour" or "alert if water level above sensor for more than Y minutes." Catches actual problems early, ignores normal pump cycling.
The hardware to spend on, the hardware to skip
Cerbo GX: essential. SmartShunt or BMV-712: essential. MultiPlus integration: essential if you have one. Cellular router or Starlink: essential for remote monitoring. Bilge sensors: high value, low cost, install them. Tank level senders: nice to have if you have the wiring done already, otherwise skip. Temperature sensors: useful in engine rooms, optional in bilges. Camera integration: rarely worth the bandwidth and complexity for vessel monitoring use cases.
For deeper reading, see our guides on Marine System Design and Starlink Marine Install, and the related Marine 24V/48V DC and Vessel-to-Villa service pages.
Frequently asked
▸ What does vessel monitoring actually show me?
▸ How does it know if shore power drops?
▸ Do I need cellular service on the boat?
▸ Can it warn me about water in the bilge?
▸ Does it work when I'm overseas?
▸ How much data does it use?
▸ What if the Cerbo or the cellular router dies?
▸ Can my partner or family member also see the dashboard?
▸ Does this work if I sell the boat?
Book the audit
Tell us the vessel make and model, what Victron components are already fitted, and how long the boat typically sits unattended between visits. Most enquiries get a response within four business hours. If you've got VRM access already, sharing the dashboard before the visit lets us pre-diagnose half the issues before we arrive.