Can I use Starlink on my boat?
- Lyall Burgess
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
We've had Starlink for over a year now as we live off grid in Hawaii and hands down it has been the best service yet. It's not our first time using satellite internet as back around 2014-15 we had a 6ft diameter dish on our cabin roof pointing exactly due East! This thing was heavy & huge and data was very slow & expensive too.
Starlink works great living off grid in Hawaii
We have tried hot spots from our phone and an internet box from AT&T but we live in a rural area of Big Island, Hawaii and there's only one cell phone tower close-by that everyone uses so when it got to 6-7pm internet would slow waaay down! With more people moving to the island service got worse, especially if your phone carrier was piggy backing off the cell tower provider!
Now with Starlink we have also been able to load it up into our carry-on bags and take with us sailing in the Bahamas and it has worked great. But it's pretty heavy and it's quite power hungry - almost like running another fridge!
So recently we also got a Starlink mini to use when we are sailing which is going to be a lot easier to carry and uses a lot less power. Here's a screengrab showing the Starlink mini only using 24Watts of power, awesome!
It's much lighter and easier to pack with less components to it and it can be powered by DC instead of AC. We bought a cable for $34.00 from Amazan that we use to plug straight into the USB slot and boom Starlink mini is powered up and you can stow away the 110V wall socket so no need to use the inverter - bonus.
Standard Starlink (actuated) v. Starlink Mini
Starlink - standard | Starlink - mini | |
Length | 23.4" | 11.75" |
Width | 15.07" | 10.2" |
Height | 1.5" | 1.45" |
Weight | ~7lb | ~2.5lb |
Power | AC | AC or DC |
Power usage | 75-100 Watts | 20-40 Watts |
Cost | $349.00 | $499.00 |
Click the button above to sign up for Starlink and you will receive one month of free service, applied 30 days after activation.
We had a Starlink Roam Unlimited subscription which worked great in the Bahamas and between the islands. However, we got a little surprise when sailing between Bimini and St. Augustine, FL and lost service! As we were more than 12 miles offshore we didn't get access to Starlink, fortunately we had a good weather window, it was a relatively short passage and it wasn't too long before we had access again.
Can I use Starlink on the ocean?
Being a little more prepared here's how to get access to Starlink 12NM+ offshore, you have two options:
1- For occasional use. Subscribe to Starlink Roam Unlimited which covers you on land and up to 12NM coastal sailing. In your settings you toggle the opt-in switch in the Starlink app for 'Global Priority Data'. You are then covered when you stray beyond 12NM and is billed every 2GB. But please note this is limited to 5 consecutive days and 60 days total per year.
2- For frequent use. Subscribe to the Global Priority service plan plus data in 50GB 'chunks' and has no limitations so likely better for longer offshore passages.
Have any questions about having Starlink aboard don't hesitate to get in touch by phone or email us info@sunpoweredyachts.com
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