Plan Your Trip
Build and save routes, organize waypoints, record vessel and passenger information, and prepare the details before departure.
THE STORY BEHIND FLOATPLANWIZARD
Built by a Solo Boater Who Needed a Better Way
FloatPlanWizard began as a simple way to send my family a saved float plan whenever I headed out alone. Today, it helps boaters plan trips, share their journey, and keep the people waiting at home informed.
A PERSONAL NEED
Why I Built FloatPlanWizard
FloatPlanWizard began with a simple personal need.
I go boating alone most of the time, and I wanted an easy, dependable way to let my family know where I planned to go, when I expected to return, and what information they would need if something did not go according to plan.
I did not want to recreate the same float plan every time I used the boat. I wanted to save my information once, prepare the trip ahead of time, and send the plan when I was ready to leave.
So I built it.
THE FORGOTTEN-PLAN MOMENT
The Original FloatPlanWizard
The first version was designed for one straightforward purpose.
I could save a float plan online with my vessel, contact, route, and trip information. Whenever I took the boat out, all I had to do was click a button and the float plan was sent to my family.
I cannot tell you how many times I had already left the dock and suddenly realized I had forgotten to send it.
Instead of turning around, rebuilding the plan, or trying to remember every detail from the boat, I could open the website, click a link, and have the saved plan sent for me. Then I would send my family a quick text letting them know it was on the way.
That simple process worked. My family had the information they needed, I did not have to recreate the plan at the dock, and I could keep moving knowing someone on shore understood where I intended to be.
Save the plan. Send it with one click. Let your family know.
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1
Save Your Plan
Prepare the route, boat, contacts, and timing ahead of time.
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2
Send Before Departure
Send the saved float plan when it is time to leave.
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3
Keep Family Informed
Let the people waiting ashore know where you plan to be.
BOATING MEETS WEB DEVELOPMENT
Built From Real Experience
FloatPlanWizard brings together two major parts of my life: boating and professional web development.
For more than 30 years, I worked directly on websites, applications, databases, integrations, and the everyday problems that come with building technology people actually depend on.
I spent my career working in the trenches. I learned that successful websites are not defined by how many features they contain. They work because they solve a real problem, make sense to the person using them, and remove unnecessary steps.
That experience shapes every part of FloatPlanWizard.
I know what works. I know what creates confusion. I know how easily a useful idea can become buried beneath too much complexity.
Now that I am retired, I can build the boating website I always wanted to use—one based on practical boating needs instead of corporate deadlines, committees, or short-term trends.
FloatPlanWizard is built from the perspective of someone who has spent decades creating websites and who also personally uses the product on the water.
WHAT FPW HAS BECOME
More Than a Float Plan
FloatPlanWizard has grown beyond that original one-click system. It is now a boating trip-planning, float-plan, sharing, check-in, and monitoring platform designed to help captains organize their trips and keep the people who care about them informed.
Send Your Float Plan
Share the planned route, vessel information, passengers, operators, shore contacts, departure time, and expected return details.
Stay Connected
Use trip check-ins and float-plan monitoring to help the captain and shore contact stay aware of the trip’s progress.
Share the Journey
Give invited friends and family a way to view the trip, planned route, updates, photos, and shared activity.
BUILT ESPECIALLY FOR SOLO BOATERS
Especially Valuable for Solo Boaters
Solo boating offers a special kind of freedom, but it also creates a responsibility.
When no one else is aboard, the people waiting at home may have very little information if plans change, the boat is delayed, or communication becomes difficult.
FloatPlanWizard was originally built specifically for that situation.
It helps solo boaters prepare their information before leaving, send it without rebuilding the plan each time, and give family or trusted contacts a clearer picture of the trip.
It is also useful for couples, families, fishing trips, day cruises, overnight trips, and any captain who wants to plan more carefully and communicate more clearly.
Especially valuable for solo boaters. Useful for every captain.
WHAT GUIDES THE WORK
Our Mission
Our mission is to make thoughtful boating trip planning and float-plan sharing easier for recreational boaters.
Safety Before Complexity
A planning tool should make preparation and communication easier—not create another complicated task before departure.
Useful Tools Should Be Accessible
Planning, route organization, boating information, and trip preparation should be practical for everyday recreational boaters.
The Captain Remains in Control
The captain decides what to plan, what to share, who receives the information, and when a trip begins or ends.
Families Should Not Be Left Guessing
The people waiting ashore should have more than a vague description of where the boat may be going.
Useful Technology Should Feel Simple
Good software should handle complicated work behind the scenes while remaining clear and practical for the person using it.
THE FOUNDER’S PERSPECTIVE
A Tool That Came From Real Boating
FloatPlanWizard was not created from a theoretical business idea.
It came from an actual routine I used whenever I took my own boat out alone. I needed a better way to prepare my plan, send it quickly, and reassure my family that they had the information they might need.
Sometimes that meant sending it before departure. Sometimes it meant realizing after I had already left that I had forgotten, opening the website, and sending the saved plan with a single click.
That real-life convenience is still at the heart of the product.
After more than three decades of building websites professionally, I now have the freedom to apply everything I learned to a project I genuinely care about. I can build it thoughtfully, improve it based on real use, and focus on what actually helps boaters.
The platform has grown, but its original purpose still guides it today:
Help boaters prepare for the trip, stay connected on the water, and give the people waiting at home greater peace of mind.
Plan Ahead Before You Leave the Dock
Whether you are boating alone, taking family for a day cruise, fishing, or preparing for a longer journey, FloatPlanWizard helps you organize the trip and keep trusted people informed.
Your trip should not begin with your family wondering where you are going.
Start Planning Your Next Trip