Building in public

What I'm building, and why

I want this to be a clear, honest place to share progress with the people using Adrift. I'll explain what changed, what I chose to prioritise, and why some updates come before others.

Most recent note: June 17, 2026

Digital boat logThe practical skipper record for passages, status, maintenance, and follow-up.Sailing journal appThe more personal side of Adrift: photos, notes, routes, and voyage memories.Boat maintenance logHow Adrift helps owners keep repairs, tasks, and proof of work together.Public voyagesShared voyage maps and journals from the first Adrift skippers.

Passages now feel like real trips, not just dots on a map.

I made each passage feel more like something you can come back to, rather than a scatter of pins and notes. You can see where the trip began, where harbour time fits in, and keep the private boat context beside the voyage instead of in a separate notebook.

  • Clearer trip stories
  • Less scattered context
  • Private boat notes

Why this came next: I prioritised this because Adrift only works if it helps you remember what actually happened without turning the trip into admin.

Voyages are easier to keep using when the signal drops.

I made voyage pages more ready for the moments when the signal fades. The aim is simple: keep Adrift useful at sea, then let things catch up when you are back online.

  • Works better at sea
  • Less connection stress
  • Keep recording

Why this came next: I prioritised this because a boat app that only behaves well on a perfect connection is not very honest about sailing.

Routes learned to follow the water.

I improved the way routes are shown so shared voyages feel less like rough lines on a map and more like a journey on water. Harbours and coastlines should make more sense when you look back at them.

  • More believable routes
  • Better voyage maps
  • Cleaner harbour views

Why this came next: I prioritised this because the map is often the first thing people use to understand a voyage, and it should feel trustworthy without needing explanation.

Journal drafts are harder to lose.

I made journal notes feel less fragile while you are still working on them, and made it clearer who added what. That matters when a voyage becomes a shared record rather than one person’s memory.

  • Safer writing
  • Clearer authors
  • Better shared memories

Why this came next: I prioritised this because the best notes often get written in small gaps, and people should not feel punished for writing before everything is polished.

Your vessel has a better home base.

I tidied up the vessel area so it feels less brittle once real life gets involved: more than one person, more than one document, and decisions that should be hard to do by accident.

  • Calmer boat records
  • Clearer documents
  • Safer choices

Why this came next: I prioritised this because Adrift is not just for one sunny passage; it needs to hold the practical mess of owning and caring for a boat.

Checklists and crew seats arrived.

I added reusable checklists and a better way to bring crew into the boat record. The goal is to make repeated jobs, shared responsibilities, and handovers easier to keep on top of.

  • Shared routines
  • Fewer forgotten jobs
  • Crew can help

Why this came next: I prioritised this because many boat jobs are small, repeated, and easy to forget until they become annoying.

Maintenance became a proper workflow.

I made maintenance feel more like a living list of work: what needs doing, what has been done, and what proof you want to keep with the boat. It is built around the little jobs as much as the big ones.

  • Know what is due
  • Keep proof
  • Less mental load

Why this came next: I prioritised this because maintenance is where a digital log can save real future stress, especially when memory and receipts are not enough.

The dashboard became a working surface.

I brought the main parts of the boat record closer together so you can open Adrift and get your bearings faster: the trip, the vessel, the work, and the next thing that needs attention.

  • Quicker orientation
  • Boat context together
  • Clearer next step

Why this came next: I prioritised this because people should not have to hunt through the product to understand what is going on with their boat.

Sign-in and emails got friendlier.

I made sign-in and email preferences friendlier so the first steps feel less fussy. If I am going to send updates, I want people to know what they are getting and feel in control of it.

  • Simpler sign-in
  • Clearer emails
  • More control

Why this came next: I prioritised this because trust starts before someone has logged a single voyage.

The public website became easier to discover.

I made the public site clearer and gave shared voyages more presence. If Adrift is useful, people need to be able to understand it quickly and find examples that feel real.

  • Clearer story
  • Real voyage examples
  • Easier to find

Why this came next: I prioritised this because building quietly is not enough; the product also needs to explain itself to the right people.

Trials and billing went live.

I added trials and a clearer path into the product so people can explore Adrift before committing. I want the decision to feel informed, not rushed.

  • Try before paying
  • Clearer choices
  • Less pressure

Why this came next: I prioritised this because charging for a product only feels fair if people can understand what they are getting first.

The web and mobile foundations landed.

I put the early foundations in place so Adrift could grow beyond one screen and one workflow. This was the unglamorous start, but it made the later progress possible.

  • Room to grow
  • Better foundations
  • Future mobile use

Why this came next: I prioritised this because the product needs a steady base before the more visible features can be trusted.

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