# Got ideas for a boater's app?



## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

your company is making you work on your time off? 

Personally... I can't think of an "app" I would need or want when it comes to rafting. 
I guess if you're doing this because you have a butt head for a boss who won't give you your time off unless you do some little project for him during your time off.. you could just make up something crazy like your idea to compare coolers and see if the pelican gets warm faster than the yeti. or whatever.


----------



## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

As much as the perfect ap for the grand is no ap at all, I'd suggest a "where's the bacon ap." You'd log which coolers have which ingredients, where various group gear is in the boats and then have a handy guide with which to find the second pack of bacon on day 7.


----------



## jgrebe (Jan 16, 2010)

How about an app that monitors stream flow data and sends out a text when conditions are prime? Think you will find most boaters don't want to use an app on the river but off the river sure


----------



## almortal (Jun 22, 2014)

How about an app that updates your river log. Dates and times and flows of what runs, how long, how many times etc.


----------



## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

River log, Stream flow data, local search, rescue and emergency services information, local river supply stores.

In my experience, its very hit or miss on whether you'll have cell signal at all anywhere near most rivers, not mention a workable data plan so anything you make should be able to work without a cell signal IMHO.

Honestly not sure if any kind of river app is gonna be a huge money making hit, but its worth a try.

I agree that trying to code an app at the bottom of GC is kind of an uncool move on your employers part and I'm the guy that brings a bunch of gadgets. I was thinking about bringing a simple bluetooth keyboard to do a daily diary on my tablet since I'm horrible at both hand writing and touchscreen typing long format stuff. Might just do a video diary, though I'm not a big talker either.


----------



## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

I'll 3rd the river log idea. I know it could be done on paper or, blog, or vlog. But I think would be sweet to keep track of what sections of water I've been on, what the flow was, dates, maybe the temps(water/air), ability to add photos, ability to share. Then 5 years from now when I can't remember what any of it looked like I can bring it back to the frontal brain. Or maybe even share the info on here when a nube comes asking for specs.

Riverbrain kinda does that, but not exactly.


----------



## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Just don't give me a free app that does this tiny portion of the features, and then try to charge for the premium with all the features. No matter how cool it is, I will most likely not buy.


----------



## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

How about an app that will do my shuttle, empty my groover and doesn't drink my beer!?

On a more productive note I think this would be cool... An app that had a food 'shopping list' that could be sorted by each meal and would have an option to record where it was placed in what cooler/dry box. You could then produce an itemized list for each meal sorted by each cooler/dry box. Ultimately you would know by meal what you are looking for in each cooler/dry box, and would allow the shopping process to occur quickly and keep the cold in the coolers!

This although could lead to organizational dysfunction!?  I'm also not big fan of 'technology' on the river but if allows for more time to enjoy other activities (and promotes cooler management!) then maybe it's a good thing!


----------



## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

I think an app the gave sun and shade times is different camps could be usefull. Take a look at the boatman's almanac in the file section of the Grand Canyon Private Boaters group on the yahoo groups platform.

I also realy like the idea of a meal planning/ shop/ ingreedant app. It would be most helpfull if it would export to a speadsheet so you could print it and/or work with it on your computer as well.


----------



## trobie (Sep 5, 2008)

*Gauge Finder / Monitor*

I agree w' JGrebe. I've thought about doing a pet project for a long time where you can search and save USGS stream gauges to a favorites list, and enter your personal min / max range. App will send alerts when in the range.. or better yet monitor stream rise and fall to give you early warning that the range will be met. To get really fancy it could set up correlation gauges that watch a group of gauges that can indicate if other streams w/o gauges are running.

I do front end development and some nodejs backend. Let me know if you want to partner up. Not a small project I know.

Travis
travis at travisrobie dot me


----------



## co_bjread (Oct 26, 2004)

How about a boating modification to Google maps, that shows when rivers segments are congested or being lightly used. May not work the best for places without cell towers, but may be more useful for the play parks?

I would second some sort of river log app, but if I had to pay for it, I would just keep using my spreadsheet, it's free.


----------



## DoStep (Jun 26, 2012)

I'd say that an employer who gives a valued employee leeway to take such a trip is a good employer. I'd also say an employee that is going to think about his career while he's on that trip with good graces is a good employee and this sounds like a good arrangement. 

That said, I'm not sure how much need I have for an on river app. I rely on a good map, A 3-ring trip binder with pencil and paper, and a digital camera that is more versatile than a phone. Perhaps I'm just old school, but I find that electronic devices (the digi-cam excepted) do not enhance my trips. 

But there are many civil engineering type aspects that go into those trips like potable and wastewater treatment, food supply and storage, timing and transportation logistics (GPS), human health and safety, water quality and quantity, and local traffic, among others. There are certainly plenty of options that the stare-at-my-phone generation will glom onto. So go for it.

Just make sure you report back to the thread with whatever you come up with!


----------



## st2eelpot (Apr 15, 2008)

*Streamflow*

I agree with the stream flow app ideas.

How about a database that will help you figure out which streamflow gauge corresponds with which run? Perhaps a GPS feature that will help one figure out what stream gauge is closest to where one is physically located?

I also second the idea of figuring out which runs are going based on asymptotic streamflow measurements. Probably more of a, "pie in the sky," sort of idea, though would be very helpful if it worked!

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## robemega (Feb 24, 2013)

*Microplastics Initiative*

You could take samples for the Microplastics Intiative while you're out there. This is what the website says:"If your next adventure takes you to an alpine lake, a remote river, or glacier-fed stream we need your outdoor skills and water samples!"
<www.adventurescience.org/microplastics.html>



Marbeeny said:


> Hi,
> I'm about to set off on a 30 day Grand Canyon rafting trip! I work for a software dev company and part of the deal for the time off was to create an app while I was away. I have a few ideas on a conservation minded project like taking water samples and mapping them to where the run off is originating.
> On the other hand I'd like to do something to help out my fellow boaters like read outs on which coolers are gaining heat the fastest.
> I'd like any input or ideas for a simple application, a data point that you've wished you had on past trips, or something that might help conserve the waterways that make life worth living. Thanks for the help!


----------



## PoppyOscar (Jul 8, 2012)

How about a mountain buzz app that has classifieds and integrates CW river flows.


----------



## Montana Ranches (Feb 2, 2017)

Maybe a shuttle app that allows you to get in contact with other boater or rafter to see if you could all share a shuttle? It could save time and money and the headache fo dropping off a bunch of shuttle cars. Definitely, implement the river logs portion into it. Maybe even have a part that will track which route you took, the distance, speed, fast and slow parts, etc. I'll keep trying to brainstorm some other ideas, but that's what I could think of for now.


----------



## tjligon25 (Mar 19, 2015)

I am not sure what company you work for, or what development capabilities you have... but I agree with most here...during a float no one is going to open your app...so create one that they might open while fueling a truck towing a huge trailer beforehand, headed off to some lifetime permit they scored... that being said I think geotagging safety and access alerts (similar to a segment here on buzz) could be extremely useful. For example if an individual is off to be out of cell phone/ modern world contact for a while it could be useful to have an app that has popular stretches highlighted on a map (for example google maps terrain feature map) and trip reports associated with that stretch searchable by geographical area instead of keyword, as most are now. For example some one would have the ability to select (on a map) deso/grey and pull up current updates/info on main campsites/rapids, these camps and rapids could have updates for current flow year like: Be careful at camp cottonwood...this year has a big poison ivy patch where the groover has the best views...or as I read often on here, rapid updates... as people come through rapids ahead of you on the season they can update flashes/changes....changes in classes, sieves/how to run and other dangers that will be useful. This could be applied to any popular stretch, highlighting things that people would wanna know. GIS components added into this showing river cfs via size or maybe color changes based on flow vs. recommended flows would only be an added bonus.. for example if a rapid/stretch has a max/min recommendation flow of 500 cfs and its flowing at 1000cfs make it red/really wide so that when the map is opened individuals know its reallllly high. 
You could go wild. I think most people enjoy the uncertainty of running rivers but that being said there certainly is information for each stretch we all love that simply will allow us to make better decisions as boaters. Enjoy the grand, and please do not work hard down there...that's not why its there....


----------

