— From the helm
Marine intelligence, boating tips, and d3kOS updates from Skipper Don.
●Master hardware setup in 8 Minutes” I’ve been building things at sea for longer than most people have owned boats. And I’ll tell you something I’ve learned: the moment you think something is too complicated, you’ve already lost half the battle. People come to me nervous about assembling d3kOS. Their hands shake a little when […]
From the Neutral Zone to the Neutral Waters: Building a Mesh-Based Collision Avoidance System for Small Boats If you’re of a certain generation, you remember the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Redemption II.” Commander Data — the Enterprise’s android officer — is given his first starship command, the USS Sutherland. His mission: anchor a […]
If you’ve ever wanted a DIY marine computer, a Raspberry Pi chartplotter, or a full NMEA 2000 helm system without paying thousands for proprietary hardware, the D3‑N1 open‑source marine computer is the project you’ve been waiting for. This guide walks through every detail of building a marine‑grade navigation computer using d3kOS, OpenPlotter, and the PiCAN‑M […]
Building your own marine computer is easier than you might think. In this guide, Skipper Don and his buddy D3kOS walk you through installing the d3kOS image from your computer onto a 128GB SD card — the foundation of your open-source marine system. What You’ll Need Before you start, gather two 128GB SD cards: one […]
Understanding how d3kOS works is part of how it builds your confidence. Because when you understand the system — not just how to push the buttons, but how the pieces connect — you’re in control. Not dependent on it. In control of it. Here’s the architecture that makes that possible. Signal K — the foundation […]
d3kOS is an open‑source AI marine operating system that runs across the helm, web, and mobile. It replaces aging gauges, unifies navigation and safety systems, digitizes manuals, and delivers real‑time intelligence, diagnostics, and self‑healing capabilities. The entire platform is built on affordable DIY hardware using Raspberry Pi and PiCAN‑M components. The project began with a […]
There are days when you set out to fix one tiny thing — a typo, a menu link, a rogue pixel — and somehow end up releasing a full marine operating system into the world. This was one of those days. What began as a harmless “let me just update this page on AtMyBoat.com” spiraled […]
I need to start with a confession: this blog was never supposed to turn into whatever it is now. Truly. Honestly. I envisioned atmyboat.com as a fun, breezy chronicle of me learning to sail Our Time, my charmingly stubborn 1994 Monterey. I imagined writing about sunsets, minor upgrades, and the occasional “oops, I forgot to untie the stern […]
The Marine AI Intelligence Platform I’ve been building — and why I think it changes everything
