Free stuff map

I have added wave breaker as a place where you can anchor your boat safely free of charge. That was my intensions, I didn't want to call it "Boat Parking" or anything so specific, because a wave breaker might have more uses... e.g. a place for fishing, I don't know. At this point I'm a total newbie regarding yachting stuff, that's why I've asked for more yachting related categories here. In fact I know just what I can read on the internet. I'm coming from a country that's far away from the closest sea. I've never even been on a boat on a sea. But I'm planning to get to it, soon hopefully. :) So your advice is more than welcome.

Regarding longevity of this app, I don't know. Until people live only in virtual reality, this app should have a purpose. If you are asking about myself... The server costs me just a tiny money and I use it for many other purposes as well, there's no big reason to shut it down. I'm quite experienced in running online services and communities in fact. Perhaps as an example I can give you another app of mine (you can see my other apps in google play when you open this one - at the bottom). It's a public transport search app that's been running and growing for 4 years now. It's got more than 10K users monthly average.

It's unfortunate that your fella's site doesn't work anymore. Is there any chance we could reach him? Maybe he wouldn't mind handing over your hardly gathered data. We could perhaps import the data to my app (and set you as the author of course).
 
I'm not sure it will sell well. What businesses will want to attract a load of tight-wads who will expect everything for free?
 
There are no plans on selling the information that users will add to this app. There's a few ads that should keep the app alive pretty well and nothing more should be necessary. :-)
 
I have added wave breaker as a place where you can anchor your boat safely free of charge. That was my intensions, I didn't want to call it "Boat Parking" or anything so specific, because a wave breaker might have more uses... e.g. a place for fishing, I don't know.

what about penning a new term which more accurately describes what you mean.?

i thought it was something to do with surfing for cool guys with scruffy blonde hair.

how about "free anchorage"? a bit out there i admit but probably better suited to curmudgeonly old gits cautious about change.
 
what about penning a new term which more accurately describes what you mean.?

i thought it was something to do with surfing for cool guys with scruffy blonde hair.

how about "free anchorage"? a bit out there i admit but probably better suited to curmudgeonly old gits cautious about change.

I agree.

Wave break is not a term that would be recognised by any yachtsman or seaman except in the context of somewhere waves were breaking. And that's not where you want to anchor!

Anchorage is the usual term. The trouble is you have to add comments about whether its sheltered from all quarters, what the holding (the term for how well your anchor is likely to dig in and stay there) and what access is like. Can you enter and leave by day or night? Are there any facilities nearby? Can you land by dinghy? Is there some sort of landing stage or slip way nearby? The list goes on and on and is why pilot books that describe the coast and anchorages and ports are written.

However a list of possible anchorages is always going to be popular as there are so many of them.
 
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I agree.

Wave break is not a term that would be recognised by any yachtsman or seaman except in the context of somewhere waves were breaking. And that's not where you want to anchor!

Anchorage is the usual term. The trouble is you have to add comments about whether its sheltered from all quarters, what the holding (the term for how well your anchor is likely to dig in and stay there) and what access is like. Can you enter and leave by day or night? Are there any facilities nearby? Can you land by dinghy? Is there some sort of landing stage or slip way nearby? The list goes on and on and is why pilot books that describe the coast and anchorages and ports are written.

However a list of possible anchorages is always going to be popular as there are so many of them.

Maybe a photo could answer many of these questions and the rest could be mentioned in the description?
 
Maybe a photo could answer many of these questions and the rest could be mentioned in the description?
Not really. Holding is a function of the bottom material and how much weed there is. (Thick glutinous mud = good, thin sand with weeds over rock = bad. ). But like so many thinks in sailing, it's not that simple.

Photos are helpful to get an idea of a place to anchor, but you need to annotate what direction you are looking in the photos. Even then I don't find them that helpful but perhaps others do. Minor anchorages are often only used in certain weather conditions.
 
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Okay. I can most likely figure out how to get something in the app technically. But perhaps it is up to you guys to figure out how to get it there theoretically as I don't seem to have enough knowledge about this yet. :-)
 
The app has been updated and besides a bugfix it now shows a little notification saying how many new places have been added recently at the bottom of the map. You can tap/click the notification for a detailed list.
 
Hi, Only quickly skimmed through this thread. Immediately reminded me of CamperMate (Android) we used extensively whilst touring NZ, it is now being extended to Australia. Seem to remember trying to flag something in UK but failing, perhaps they won't authorise other countries? It may provide ideas?

Cheers
 
Hi, Only quickly skimmed through this thread. Immediately reminded me of CamperMate (Android) we used extensively whilst touring NZ, it is now being extended to Australia. Seem to remember trying to flag something in UK but failing, perhaps they won't authorise other countries? It may provide ideas?

Cheers

Hi Matthew, thanks. FreeStuffMap's got no limits regarding area, if you mean that. You can add/flag places anywhere in the world. :)
 
Updated the app again with a minor visual fix.

And I'm actually looking for the first "explorer" to join me in adding places. Anyone? :)
 
An update guys, I've just run Free Stuff Map through Facebook a bit during the past week and it's harvested a massive interest engaging almost 5000 people in a week.

Feel free to come to the Facebook page too and if you want to help this project, you can like it and/or share it (which will help to spread the word even more).

https://www.facebook.com/freestuffmap/
 
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