- December 26, 2024
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After the O’Keefe family started boating in 2009, they found a love for the pastime, and let down an anchor in the boating community.
Yet while the six boats the Lakewood Ranch family owned increased in size, so did the maintenance needs.
John O’Keefe decided to bring his background in software to the issue, leading the creation of the app called YachtWave, which made its debut at the Suncoast Boat Show held April 21-23. The app is available for iOS and Android or online.
“I can’t think of a better place (than Sarasota) to have built and launched an app,” he said. “Maybe Fort Lauderdale would be its rival, but Sarasota, which is a major hub for boating on the west coast of Florida, was the perfect place. It’s like the stars coming into alignment that I’m able to launch it here.”
While he said the online version of the app is complete, the next major step is the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show from Oct. 26-30, which will showcase a full-featured release of the mobile app.
Originally, O'Keefe used a spreadsheet to record his boat's maintenance, inventory and identification information.
Mega-yachts, which are boats over 90 feet in size with a crew and a captain, use software to track their maintenance, he said, but that software costs thousands of dollars per year.
But smaller boats have the same needs as larger ones, he said.
“When people ask us about the boating lifestyle, my wife (Debbie) and I tell people, you have to love it. It’s not only the cost of it; the amount of work that it takes to manage it is tremendous, and if you’re not loving it, then it’s not worth it.”
As O’Keefe searched the apps available, he found them to be fragmented. He was looking for a service that was professional and definitive, something that would bring together the features the average boater would need in one place.
Since the launch of YachtWave, he said, the feedback has been promising.
“We’ve had a really, really good response, both from individual boaters, as well as businesses in the boating industry," he said.
Unlike similar apps, the app is currently free to download.
“What I want for this app is adoption,” he said. “What I want is to get people to use it, provide good feedback, and make it the best boating app out there."
YachtWave is far from O’Keefe’s first venture in the realm of software.
Having earned a degree in engineering, in the early days of the internet he started a software company, Fine Point Technologies, which provided support automation for dial-up internet service providers, to help users connect to the internet and solve issues.
In 2005, he started a technology company called ITelagen, which provided IT services to the health care industry; he ran it for the past 15 years.
As he moved upwards in his career, he found that software development began to be performed by employees who worked under him. In his semi-retirement, he was glad to merge his passion for software with his boating industry knowledge.
His boating qualifications are significant, as he boasts a 100-Ton Master Captain's License from the U.S. Coast Guard, which certifies him to operate as a charter boat captain, although he does not use the license professionally.
O'Keefe said the app brings together maintenance, inventory and more, with additional features planned for the future to fully meet the needs of boaters.
Maintenance required on boats include two engines and a generator which all have individual maintenance schedules.
Also, users must stay on top of components' maintenance before they break.
In the family’s boat recently, he said, an exhaust fan broke, which would have caused a lack of air flow to the engine. Once on the way back from the Florida Keys, a fuel filter became clogged, but the family kept the boat moving by using a spare on board.
Stored in the O'Keefes' boat are thousands upon thousands of dollars of spare parts — propellers, impellers, filters and more.
The app helps users keep track of how many parts they need, and currently have, which John O'Keefe said is important in times of supply shortages, when inventories are slow to be replenished.
There are also receipts to be tracked, another need the app will address.
“If you don’t have that information and proof of maintenance, it becomes very, very difficult to sell the boat later,” he said.
He also has some more ambitious ideas planned for implementation prior to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show taking place from October 26-30.
Since the Suncoast Boat Show, the app has acquired just over 1,000 signups, he said. When that number reaches 6,000 or 7,000, he said, the app can incorporate additional features, including some currently available online.
The mobile app will gain a feature of the online app, which is the ability to fill out a logbook automatically using the start and end points of a journey. This capability, he said, incorporates data on weather, including conditions and temperature, and will prevent users from having to go through the “mundane” and “arcane” process of filling out the data manually.
O'Keefe plans to add tracking capabilities, which can display the boat's location.
He also believes artificial intelligence can be an asset to the app, after seeing its ability to automate the creation of 100 characters of code at a time during the app's creation.
“I strongly believe there's applications for AI in every industry, and I'm convinced there's going to be good applications for it to help boat owners,” he said. “When you buy a boat, you could spend seven figures on it, and there’s really no tech support line to call for it.”
Even though the app may already be released, he's still looking forward to this definitive version.
“I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s getting back to something I enjoy doing, in a leisure industry that I really enjoy as part of my personal life."
In the meantime, the O'Keefe family including John O'Keefe's wife Debbie O’Keefe, his 7-year-old daughter Kylie O'Keefe, his 13-year-old son Jack O'Keefe, and their cat their cat, Tymon, will be enjoying trips to locations like the Florida Keys, in the 50-foot flybridge boat they keep moored at Marina Jack.
