A float plan is your route, boat and return time, left with someone ashore who will call for help if you’re late. You can’t file one with the Coast Guard. The apps differ in one big way: some text your contacts automatically when you’re overdue (Float Plan App, Afloat Plan Home, Paddle Logger’s paid PaddleLIVE), and some only send the plan (Float Plan Messenger, the U.S. Coast Guard app). VesselSOS shares a live link, but it does not alert anyone automatically yet: at your return time, only your own phone asks “Are you OK?”.
A float plan holds the details someone ashore would need if you don’t come back: who’s aboard, what the boat looks like, where you’re going and when you’ll be back. You leave it with a responsible person, such as family, a friend or your marina. If you’re overdue, that person calls the Coast Guard or 911 and hands over the details. The plan only works if someone reads it, notices you’re late and acts.
The U.S. Coast Guard app’s own listing says it plainly: “you cannot file a float plan directly with the Coast Guard.” The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a free template at floatplancentral.cgaux.org, and our float plan guide walks through what to include. Apps make the plan quicker to send, and some add tracking and an automatic overdue text. The table below is based on each app’s App Store listing (U.S. Coast Guard, Float Plan App, Afloat Plan Home, Float Plan Messenger, Paddle Logger, DECKEE), checked 3 Oct 2026. Features change, so check the listing before you rely on one.
If you want someone alerted automatically when you’re overdue, VesselSOS can’t do that yet. Pick an app whose listing says it does, or leave a float plan with a person who will act on it. VesselSOS is for being seen live by the people ashore and for making the emergency call fast. It isn’t connected to the Coast Guard or to 911, it doesn’t file float plans with anyone, and it doesn’t replace a VHF radio, a PLB or an EPIRB.
No. You leave it with a responsible person, who calls the Coast Guard or 911 if you’re overdue. The Coast Guard Auxiliary’s template at floatplancentral.cgaux.org is a good starting point.
Of the apps above, the listings for Float Plan App and Afloat Plan Home describe automatic overdue alerts to contacts, and Paddle Logger lists automatic alerts in its paid PaddleLIVE. VesselSOS doesn’t do this yet: automatic texts to your contacts are planned but not built.
They do different jobs. A float plan tells someone what you intended; a live link shows where you actually are. Use both: the plan so someone knows when to worry, the link so they know where to send help.
It’s a TestFlight beta on iPhone now, by invite; it isn’t in the App Store yet, and Android comes later. Plus is free during the beta. See the plans for what’s in each tier.