Getting Started with YachtLINK®

Setup at a Glance

1

Install

Add the included tee to the backbone, connect the device with the included drop cable and mount it.

2

Connect

Open YachtLINK® in the app, scan the label and choose the boat or marina Wi-Fi.

3

Check the Light

Solid green means data is flowing to your account.

Before You Start

A working NMEA 2000® backbone with room for one more tee — an M12 T-connector is in the box.
A mounting spot within reach of the included 1 m (3.3 ft) drop cable — or your own NMEA 2000® drop cable of up to 6 m if you need to mount it further from the backbone.
The name and password of the boat or marina Wi-Fi the device will use (2.4 GHz).
A YACHTWAVE® subscription on Plus, Fleet Edition Ultimate or the Operations Edition, with the vessel already added. Compare Editions →
A phone or tablet with the YACHTWAVE® app, signed in to that account, with internet access to start the setup.

Safety first. YachtLINK® is a fixed installation. Mount it where at least 20 cm (8 in) is kept between the device and anyone aboard during normal operation. Connect it only to a standard 12 V NMEA 2000® network supply — never to mains or directly to a battery. Do not open the enclosure: there are no user-serviceable parts inside, and opening it voids the seal and the warranty.

Phase 1

Install the YLK-1-WIFI

1

Power Down and Connect

With the NMEA 2000® network switched off, add the included tee to the backbone and run the included 1 m (3.3 ft) drop cable from it to the device's M12 connector. Hand-tighten the coupling rings — no tools.

2

Mount It

Fix the device on its two-hole flange below deck, within Wi-Fi reach of where you will stand to do the setup. There is no separate power connection: the device runs on the backbone.

3

Power Up

Turn the network back on. The status light blinks white while the device starts, then blinks amber: it is in setup mode and waiting for you.

Phase 2

Connect the YLK-1-WIFI to Your Boat

4

Start Setup in the App

Open the YACHTWAVE® app, choose your boat, tap the YachtLINK® tile, then SET UP YACHTLINK®. When the app asks, scan the QR code on the label — on the device or on the side of the box — with the app's scanner. The app joins the device's Wi-Fi for you. If it can't, tap Connect manually and follow the steps on screen. On Android, allow location access when asked; Android needs it to join a Wi-Fi network.

5

Choose a Network in the YACHTWAVE® App

Pick the boat or marina Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz only), enter its password and tap CONNECT DEVICE. The app registers the device to your boat. This usually takes under a minute, so keep the app open. When it finishes, the app shows YachtLINK® is set up.

6

Wait for Solid Green

Once the device joins your network, the status light alternates green and blue for up to five minutes while it waits for an equipment-setup request from the app. This is normal — leave the power on and let it finish.

When the status light turns solid green, the device is online and data is flowing to your YACHTWAVE® account. By then its setup Wi-Fi has closed, and it runs on its own from here on.

That's it. Engine hours, tank levels, position and the rest of what your network broadcasts now reach the app without anyone typing them in. If the boat leaves Wi-Fi range, the device keeps capturing and catches up when it is back on the network. One more thing: tell the app which engine and which tank each signal belongs to — see Match Your Boat's Signals below.

What the Lights Mean

The main status light changes colour to show what the device is doing. The power light stays on whenever the device has power; it does not tell you whether the device is working. The RX light flickers each time an NMEA 2000® message is received, and the TX light flickers when the device sends on the NMEA 2000® network or sends data to your account — flickering is normal.

Status Light	What It Means
Blinking White	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is starting up.
Blinking Red	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI has hit a problem it cannot fix by itself, such as a firmware download that failed, a problem on the NMEA 2000® network, or a hardware fault. If it keeps blinking red, contact us using the details below.
Slow Amber Blink	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is in setup mode. Its Wi-Fi network is on and ready for you to join, and it is not connected to a network yet.
Solid Amber	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI has saved your Wi-Fi network but cannot reach the internet. Check that the boat or marina network is working.
Red / Green	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI reached our servers but was turned away. Your network is working; the problem is with the account or our servers. Contact us using the details below.
Green / Amber	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is online, and its setup Wi-Fi stays open for a few seconds after it joins your network.
Green / Blue	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is waiting for an equipment-setup request. Each time it starts up, this happens for up to five minutes from the moment it first connects to Wi-Fi, and is normal. The light turns solid green by itself.
Green / Purple	Equipment setup, started from the YACHTWAVE® app, is running. While it runs, your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI sends its data every 30 seconds and holds any firmware update until setup ends.
Slow White Blink	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is installing a firmware update. Do not remove power until it finishes.
Red / Green / Amber	A settings reset has been confirmed. Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is erasing its settings and restarting. The sequence plays once; the light then blinks white while the device starts up again.
Solid Green	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is connected and working normally.
Blinking Green	Your YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI is sending data to your account.

Keep Your Label

Every YachtLINK® has its own Wi-Fi password, set at the factory and printed with the serial number and QR code on two matching labels: one on the device and one on the side of the box. It cannot be changed, and a factory reset keeps it, so both labels stay valid for the life of the device. Keep the box — once the device is mounted, its label may be hard to reach, and the label on the side of the box is the easy one to scan. A photo of the label is a handy backup for the password and serial number.

If Something Isn't Right

?

No Lights at All

The device takes its power from the backbone. Check that the network is switched on and powered, and that the drop cable's coupling ring is fully seated on both ends.

?

Solid Amber

The device saved your Wi-Fi but cannot get online. Check that the boat or marina network has internet access and uses 2.4 GHz, and that the password was entered correctly.

?

The YachtLINK-… Network Has Disappeared

That is normal: the setup Wi-Fi closes a few seconds after the device connects. To open it again, switch the NMEA 2000® network off and back on.

Next Step

Match Your Boat's Signals to Your Engines and Tanks

Your boat's NMEA 2000® network carries a steady stream of signals: engine hours, RPM, fuel rate, tank levels, battery voltage and more. YachtLINK® listens to that network and sends what it hears to YACHTWAVE®.

There is one thing the network cannot tell YachtLINK®: which engine or which tank a signal belongs to. Two engines send the same kind of signal. Three tanks send the same kind of signal. The network labels them with numbers, not names.

Matching is how you tell YACHTWAVE® which is which. You do it once, in the app, and from then on every reading lands on the right engine or piece of equipment: the port engine's hours on the port engine, the fuel tank's level on the fuel tank.

Before You Match

YachtLINK® is set up and registered to your boat — steps 1–6 above. Matching lives on the Configuration tab, which appears once the device is registered.
Your engines and equipment are already on the boat in YACHTWAVE®. A signal can only be matched to something that is there. Add engines under Mechanical, and tanks, batteries and other equipment under Equipment. Give each one a location, such as Port or Starboard, so you can tell them apart in the list. Tanks are the one exception: you can add a tank from the matching screen itself (see Adding a Tank on the Spot below).
The boat is powered up, so the network is live and YachtLINK® is online.
Your phone is online. Matching talks to the YACHTWAVE® server.

7

Open the Configuration Tab

In the app: bottom tab bar → My Boats → tap your yacht → YachtLINK® → Configuration.

The card at the top, Signals from your boat, shows your progress, for example 2 of 6 matched. The number badge on the Configuration tab is how many signals still need a match. Below the card is one list of signals, one tile per signal:

UNMATCHED tiles (orange) are signals YACHTWAVE® hears but has not been told about yet. Each shows the signal's name and its latest reading, such as the engine hours it carries.
MATCHED tiles (blue) show the signal's name and the engine or equipment it now belongs to.
Grey tiles at the end are readings from the boat itself, such as position, depth and wind. They belong to the boat, not to any engine, so they need no match. Tapping one just tells you that.

Pull the list down, or tap the round refresh button at the bottom right, to reload the signals.

8

Match the Signals You Can Already Identify

Some signals are obvious. If your boat has one generator, the generator signal can only be the generator. Match those first.

Tap an UNMATCHED tile. The Match YachtLINK® Data page opens.
The card at the top describes the signal: its name, its message number and instance, when it was last heard, and every current value it carries.
APPLIES TO TYPES lists the kinds of engine or equipment that can send this signal, for example Engine (Inboard) or Tank (Fuel).
MATCH TO lists the engines and equipment on your boat that fit. Tap the right one. A check mark appears.
Tap MATCH. You return to the list and the tile turns blue.

If MATCH TO says Nothing on this boat can send this signal, you have not added that kind of engine or equipment yet. Add it under Mechanical or Equipment, then come back.

9

Use Setup Mode to Tell Look-Alike Signals Apart

Now the hard ones: two engines, two transmissions, several tanks. Their signals look identical in the list. Setup mode solves this by letting you watch which signal reacts when you turn one item on.

Normally YachtLINK® reports to YACHTWAVE® only now and then. In setup mode it reports every 30 seconds for up to 60 minutes, which is often enough to see a change as you make it.

Turn Setup Mode On

Tap START SETUP MODE in the card at the top.
Read the Enable Setup Mode? message and tap OK. YACHTWAVE® asks the YachtLINK® cloud to put your device in setup mode.
Restart the YachtLINK®: disconnect or reset its power for 10 seconds. The device only checks for a setup request in the first 5 minutes after it starts, so this restart is required.
An orange banner appears: Waiting for YachtLINK® to reboot, which takes about 2 minutes. On the device, the status light alternates green and blue while it listens.
When the device picks up the request, the banner turns green: Setup mode on · 59 min left. The status light alternates green and purple for as long as setup mode runs. The same banner shows on the Status tab.

If the banner is still orange after 4 minutes, the app asks whether to Wait another 4 minutes or Cancel. If you cancel, power-cycle the device (or the whole NMEA 2000® network) and start again.

Identify Each Item, One at a Time

With everything else off, start or switch on one item: the port engine, say.
Wait about 30 seconds, then tap the refresh button.
The signal whose values just changed jumps to the top of the list, purple, marked CHANGED. That is your port engine.
Tap it, choose Engine (Port) under MATCH TO, and tap MATCH.
Switch that item off, switch on the next one, refresh, and repeat.

A tile stays marked CHANGED for about 3 minutes after its value moves, then goes back to orange if you have not matched it. Only unmatched signals are flagged, so the list gets shorter as you go.

For tanks, you cannot "turn a tank on". Instead, change its level: run a tap for a minute to lower the fresh-water tank, or pump a holding tank. Any change in value is enough to flag the signal.

Turn Setup Mode Off

When you are done, tap END SETUP MODE. YachtLINK® returns to its normal reporting schedule. If you forget, setup mode ends by itself after 60 minutes.

Adding a tank on the spot. If a tank signal appears and you have not added that tank yet, the Match page offers QUICK ADD TANK below the MATCH TO list. Tap it, choose the tank Type (the app pre-selects it from the signal where it can) and its Location, then tap ADD & MATCH. The tank is added to your boat with the manufacturer set to Other (Unknown), and the signal is matched to it in one step. You can fill in the manufacturer and model later under Equipment.

Changing or removing a match. Tap a MATCHED tile. Choose a different engine or piece of equipment and tap SAVE, or choose Leave unmatched and tap SAVE to remove the match.

Good to know

Match what you care about. You do not have to match every signal. An unmatched signal is simply not recorded on any engine or tank.
One signal, one home. A signal is matched to exactly one engine or piece of equipment.
Values catch up after the next data refresh. Right after matching, the engine may not show the reading yet. Pull down on My Boats to refresh your boat's data.
One item at a time. If two things change together, you cannot tell their signals apart. Switch one on, refresh, match, switch it off, then the next.
Setup mode uses more data for a short while. Reporting every 30 seconds instead of occasionally, for at most an hour, then back to normal on its own.

If Something Isn't Right While Matching

What You See	Why	What to Do
Nothing on this boat can send this signal	No engine or equipment of a fitting type is on the boat yet.	Add it under Mechanical or Equipment, then match.
Setup Mode Timeout	The device did not enter setup mode within 4 minutes.	Power-cycle the device or the NMEA 2000® network, then tap Wait or Cancel.
Couldn't enter setup mode	The cloud could not take the request.	Wait a few minutes and try again.
This YachtLINK® is no longer registered to this vessel	The cloud no longer lists the device on this boat.	Open the YachtLINK® screen and check the device's status.
Could not read the signals from your boat	Your phone could not reach the server.	Check your connection and try again.
A signal never changes in setup mode	The item is not actually sending on the network, or setup mode has ended.	Check the banner still says Setup mode on, and that the item is powered and connected to the NMEA 2000® network.

Three-Year Limited Warranty

YACHTWAVE® warrants your YachtLINK® gateway against defects in materials and workmanship for three (3) years from the date of original purchase. If the gateway fails in normal use during that period, we will repair or replace it, at our option, free of charge. This warranty does not cover damage caused by accident, misuse, improper installation, connection to a power supply other than a standard NMEA 2000® network, immersion, or opening the enclosure. To make a claim, contact us at the address below with the serial number and your proof of purchase. This warranty is in addition to, and does not affect, your statutory rights under the consumer law of your country.

Still Stuck? Talk to a Person

Write to [email protected] or call +1 (941) 291-0040. Have the serial number to hand — it is on the label on the device and on the side of the box. Regulatory declarations for your device are on the Product Compliance page.

Getting Started with YachtLINK® YLK-1-WIFI