Let the boat log itself — automations
Have the track start when you step aboard, the leg close when you reach the marina, and the morning status read itself — with nothing said and nothing tapped.
The best logging is logging nobody had to remember to do. Apple's Shortcuts app can run any of theONE's actions on a trigger — a Bluetooth connection, arriving at a place, a time of day — and most of theONE's actions are built to run that way, silently, without opening the app.
The ones that run in the background: Start Track Recording, Stop Track Recording, Start the Leg, End the Leg, End the Trip, Log an Issue, Log an Observation, Log Run Hours, Log Fuel, Log a Jot, Log Watch Change, Read Vessel Fuel, Read Vessel Status, Where Am I, and Log Man Overboard (the silent pin). Two open the app on purpose, because the moment calls for a screen: Man Overboard — Emergency and Log Incident. Shortcuts also lists nine Open actions — Open Issue, Open Observation, Open Maintenance Item, Open Trip, Open Engine or System, Open Crew Card, Open Document, Open Jot and Open Vessel. They are how a record you find in Home Screen search opens in theONE, so each of them opens the app, and they write nothing. None of these actions need a signal; the ones that write, write to the boat's record on the phone.
The automations most captains set up first:
- Bluetooth connects to the boat (the stereo, the NMEA bridge, the helm speaker) → Start Tracking. Stepping aboard starts the record.
- Bluetooth disconnects → Stop Tracking. Stepping off closes it.
- Arrive at your marina → End Leg. The leg closes on arrival, not from memory two days later.
- Leave your home dock → Start Leg.
- 8:00 AM → Vessel Status. The morning brief, read aloud.
- Low Power Mode on → Stop Tracking. Battery honesty.
These are yours to set; theONE does not create automations on your behalf and cannot see the ones you make.
Steps
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Open Shortcuts → Automation
On the iPhone, open the Shortcuts app and tap Automation at the bottom, then the + (New Automation).
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Pick the trigger
Bluetooth → choose the boat's device and Is Connected. Or Arrive → pick the marina on the map. Or Time of Day. Choose “Run Immediately” so it does not ask each time.
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Pick theONE's action
Tap New Blank Automation → Add Action → search “theONE”. Every action is listed. Start Track Recording, End the Leg and the others that log run in the background without opening the app; the Open actions open it.
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Pair the leaving with the arriving
Make two: one for connect → Start Tracking, one for disconnect → Stop Tracking. A track that starts and never stops is a track you will not trust.
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If it says it could not save
An automation that runs while theONE is mid-recovery gets the same honest refusal as a spoken command: the entry is not stored. Shortcuts shows the message in its notification. Open theONE and enter it there.