Deadreckon A marine speedometer and trip recorder for your Garmin watch.
One instrument face for the water. Speed, heading, distance, and time, all read at arm’s length in sun and spray. Press start as you cast off and the day still exists when you tie up.
One afternoon on the canals of North Holland, four hours on the water, gone without a trace. I toured, I dropped anchor, I carried on. When I got home and closed the app I had been using, the day was simply gone. No route, no distance, no record that any of it happened.
I wanted something simpler and more honest. Show me speed, time of day, distance run, and time underway. Enough to keep a rough count on fuel. And a trip that still exists when the day is done. Nothing found that, so I built it.
Deadreckon is a marine speedometer for your Garmin watch. One instrument face, read in a glance, then eyes back on the water.
Everything you need to read at a glance, and nothing you do not.
Speed, front and center.
Your speed sits on a 180 degree gauge with big, bright digits you can read at arm’s length in sun and spray.
Heading you can trust.
Degrees with cardinal letters, like 138 SE, over a compass ribbon.
Always in view.
Time of day, distance traveled, and trip time, on screen the whole time.
Two speeds that matter.
TOP and AVG for the trip. The average only counts time on the move, so an hour at anchor does not water it down.
One mark on the whole face.
A single red flag on the gauge for your peak speed. Nothing else competes for your eye.
One press at the dock, one press when you tie up, and the day is yours to keep.
Cast off.
Press START as you leave. A green ring confirms you are recording, then fades away so it does not crowd the face.
Live your day.
Drop anchor, have lunch, carry on. The trip rides along the whole time.
Tie up and save.
It syncs to Garmin Connect as a Boating activity: route on the map, distance, speed in knots or kmh or mph, and time. The day exists afterward, every time.
Set it for your boat, then forget it.
- Units
- knots (nm), kmh (km), or mph (mi). Your call.
- Scale that fits your boat
- per unit presets from a slow canal cruiser to a fast hull, so the gauge reads right for what you run.
- Change it anywhere
- set units and dial max on the watch (hold MENU) or in the Connect IQ phone app.
- Any way you move
- motor, sail, or paddle a kayak, it works the same. The name says the rest. Dead reckoning is navigating by speed, heading, and time, which is exactly what this face shows.
- Wide watch support
-
runs on a broad range of modern Garmin watches, including fenix, epix, Forerunner,
Instinct, Venu, vivoactive, tactix, MARQ, quatix, Descent, Enduro, and D2, and more.
See the full supported device list (62 entries)
- D2™ Mach 1 Pro
- Descent™ MK3 - 43mm, Descent™ MK3i - 43mm
- Descent™ MK3i - 51mm
- Enduro™
- Enduro™ 2
- Enduro™ 3
- epix™ (Gen 2), quatix® 7 – Sapphire Edition
- epix™ Pro (42mm)
- epix™ Pro (47mm), quatix® 7 Pro
- epix™ Pro (51mm)
- fēnix® 6
- fēnix® 6 Dual Power
- fēnix® 6 Pro, fēnix® 6 Sapphire
- fēnix® 6 Pro Dual Power
- fēnix® 6 Pro Solar
- fēnix® 6 Solar
- fēnix® 6S
- fēnix® 6S Dual Power
- fēnix® 6S Pro, fēnix® 6S Sapphire
- fēnix® 6S Pro Dual Power
- fēnix® 6S Pro Solar
- fēnix® 6S Solar
- fēnix® 6X Pro, fēnix® 6X Sapphire, fēnix® 6X Pro Solar, tactix® Delta Sapphire, quatix® 6X Solar, tactix® Delta Solar, tactix® Delta Solar Ballistics
- fēnix® 7, quatix® 7, fēnix® 7– Sapphire Dual Power Edition
- fēnix® 7X, fēnix® 7X - Solar Edition, fēnix® 7X– Sapphire Solar Edition, quatix® 7X – Solar Edition
- fēnix® 8 AMOLED (43mm)
- fēnix® 8 AMOLED (47mm/51mm), quatix® 8 AMOLED (47mm/51mm)
- fēnix® 8 Pro, fēnix® 8 Pro – 47 mm AMOLED, fēnix® 8 Pro – 51 mm AMOLED, fēnix® 8 Pro – 51 mm MicroLED, quatix® 8 Pro - 47mm AMOLED, quatix® 8 Pro - 51mm AMOLED
- fēnix® E
- Forerunner® 165
- Forerunner® 165 Music
- Forerunner® 265
- Forerunner® 265S
- Forerunner® 570 - 42mm
- Forerunner® 570 - 47mm
- Forerunner® 955 Dual Power
- Forerunner® 965
- Forerunner® 970
- Instinct® 3 – 45 mm, AMOLED
- Instinct® 3 – 50 mm, AMOLED, Instinct® 3 – 50 mm, AMOLED, Tactical
- MARQ® (Gen 2), MARQ® Carbon Collection, MARQ® Adventurer (Gen 2) - Damascus Steel Edition
- MARQ® Commander (Gen 2) – Carbon Edition
- MARQ™ Aviator (Gen 2)
- MARQ™ Captain, MARQ™ Captain: American Magic Edition
- Mercedes-Benz Venu® 2
- Mercedes-Benz Venu® 2S
- quatix® 6
- quatix® 6X, quatix® 6X Solar, quatix® 6X Dual Power
- tactix® 7, tactix® 7 – Pro Ballistics Edition, tactix® 7 – Pro Edition
- tactix® 7 – AMOLED Edition
- tactix® 8 – 47 mm, AMOLED, tactix® 8 – 51 mm, AMOLED
- Venu® 2
- Venu® 2 Plus
- Venu® 2S
- Venu® 3
- Venu® 3S
- Venu® Sq.
- Venu® Sq. 2
- Venu® Sq. 2 Music
- Venu® Sq. Music
- vívoactive® 5
- vívoactive® 6
Deadreckon is a speedometer and a trip recorder you can read at a glance. It is not a chartplotter, not a navigation suite, and it will not route you home. It shows speed, heading, distance, and time, records the trip, and saves it to Garmin Connect. If that is what you want on your wrist, it fits. If you need charts and waypoints, reach for a dedicated plotter and let this handle the read.
Before you install.
Do I need my phone on the water?
No. It records on the watch on its own. Syncing to Garmin Connect happens later, when your watch and phone are back together.
Which units can I use?
Knots, kmh, or mph. Switch on the watch by holding MENU, or in the Connect IQ phone app.
How is the average speed calculated?
It only counts time you are actually moving. Sit at anchor for an hour and your average holds steady instead of sinking.
Will it work if I sail or paddle instead of motor?
Yes. Motor, sail, or kayak, it reads the same. It measures speed, heading, and time, not what is pushing you.
Where does my trip end up?
Saved to Garmin Connect as a Boating activity, with the route on the map, distance, speed, and time. The day is there whenever you want to look back.
How do I set the gauge for my boat?
Pick a per unit preset that matches your speed range, from a slow canal cruiser to a fast hull, so the dial reads right for what you run.