
As we spend more time cruising, it’s increasingly clear that Victron installations are becoming a standard feature on modern boats. Whether it’s upgrading to lithium-ion batteries, installing solar panels, or optimizing electrical systems, these projects frequently include multiple Victron devices. In fact, it’s rare to find a boat with a serious solar setup that doesn’t include a Victron MPPT controller. While many of these boats also feature a Victron GX device, full integration with the rest of the boat’s electronics remains surprisingly uncommon—even though this integration can significantly enhance the boating experience out of the box.
In this post, I’ll explore some of the key enhancements that a Victron GX device brings to your boating experience. I’ve categorized these improvements into three distinct tiers:
- Out-of-the-box enhancements: Gain immediate access to essential features, such as integrating your power systems with your chartplotter by connecting a Victron GX device to your boat’s NMEA 2000 network.
- Marine extensions with Venus OS Large: Unlock more powerful features, such as sharing instrument data with navigation apps, by upgrading to the Venus OS Large image, with a simple software update and the flip of a switch.
- Advanced integration with Signal K: Enable next-level capabilities powered by Signal K, such as automated tracking, advanced NMEA 2000 monitoring, or anchor alarm. This builds on Venus OS Large but also requires additional customizations.
Each category adds layers of functionality, enabling you to tailor your marine electronics to suit your needs and preferences. Let’s dive into them in more detail.
Out-of-the-box enhancements
By simply connecting a Victron GX device to your boat’s NMEA 2000 network, several powerful features are immediately unlocked:
- Chartplotter Integration: Your power system data, such as battery status and energy flow, becomes instantly available on your chartplotters and navigation instruments. This seamless integration provides a centralized overview of your boat’s electrical systems.
- Tank Level Monitoring: NMEA 2000-compatible tank sensors¹ on your boat will automatically display their readings on the GX device. This makes it easy to monitor fuel, water, or waste tank levels from a single interface.
- GPS Integration: The Victron GX device can receive GPS data from your NMEA 2000 network, supplying location and speed information to services like the Victron VRM Portal for enhanced monitoring and logging.
These features work right out of the box, providing a solid foundation for monitoring and managing your boat’s power, navigation, and environmental systems and sensors in an integrated manner. Victron’s Marine Integration Guide covers these in detail.
Marine extensions with Venus OS Large
More advanced marine capabilities become available by upgrading the Victron GX firmware to a Venus OS Large Image and toggling on a simple setting. This upgrade enables marine extensions for Victron GX, unlocking the potential of a powerful platform called Signal K, enabling a range of new functionalities.
By simply enabling marine extensions, you can share data from your instruments with popular navigation software, including Navionics, AquaMap, TimeZero, Coastal Explorer, or OpenCPN, providing seamless integration and enhanced usability for your navigation and marine data.
For those seeking a specialized and highly configurable nav station, Wilhelm SK provides an intuitive and feature-rich interface for accessing your boat’s data in real time.
You can learn more about marine extensions in this blog post and video tutorial.
Advanced Integration with Signal K
Signal K, enabled by Venus OS Large Image, is an incredibly powerful platform. It offers a range of useful features right out of the box, but you can unlock even greater functionality by adding plugins or extensions with just a few simple steps. These customizable enhancements include:
- Anchor Alarm: Set a reliable and customizable anchor alarm to ensure peace of mind while at anchor.
- Automated Trip Logging: Automatically record and store trip data without manual input for detailed voyage tracking.
- Track Sharing: Share your boat’s live track and location with friends and family, including rich text updates and photos, for enhanced safety and connectivity.
- Starlink Integration: Leverage Starlink’s GPS to enhance your boat’s location tracking and navigation accuracy.
- Weather Stations: Transform your boat into a fully functional weather station to monitor and share real-time conditions.
- Additional Plugins: Expand your system’s functionality with a variety of Signal K plugins tailored to your specific needs.
Since each of these extensions needs to be enabled individually, you may need to follow a few additional steps to activate them or fully utilize their capabilities. These steps allow you to customize the features to suit your specific needs and maximize the potential of these powerful tools.
I am also one of the active developers of these extensions and the founder of Saillogger, a service designed for simplicity and automation with a modern, user-friendly interface. Saillogger offers effortless automated logging, track sharing, advanced NMEA 2000 monitoring, and the ability to preserve your boating memories forever. It leverages the powerful capabilities of Signal K while seamlessly integrating with your boat’s systems, using the Victron GX as the central hub.

SV Atlas capturing memories of their around-the-world sail using Saillogger on a Cerbo GX
For more information about these powerful capabilities, check out the video tutorials we publish regularly. While we don’t cover every add-on, these guides can help you get started with some of the most popular features.
Conclusion
Integrating a Victron GX device with your boat’s systems unlocks a world of possibilities: boaters can choose from out-of-the-box NMEA 2000 integration, marine extensions with Venus OS Large, or advanced integration with Signal K.
Whether you’re monitoring power systems, integrating instrument data with your navigation apps, using Saillogger to provide real-time tracks to friends and family, or automating trip logs, these technologies transform your boating experience into a seamless blend of connectivity, convenience, and storytelling, making every journey more engaging and memorable.
While some features require additional steps or customization, the benefits far outweigh the effort, making your time on the water safer, more efficient, and infinitely more enjoyable.
References
- Victron Marine Integration Guide
- Venus OS Large Image
- Signal K Server
- Victron Cerbo GX on Stereoids
- Video Tutorials on Signal K and Saillogger
¹ Not all NMEA 2000 sensors are supported. For a list of compatible sensors, please visit this link. Sensors that are not natively supported by Victron can be integrated using an advanced Signal K and Node-RED setup.