GOST Twenty Years of Keeping Boats Where You Left Them

GOST, shares 20 years of protecting boats from theft, sinking and power loss, plus satellite tracking that finds your boat almost anywhere on Earth.

Twenty Years of Keeping Boats Where You Left Them: Brian Kane of GOST on The Next Boat Journey

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If you've ever lain awake wondering whether your boat is still floating, still plugged in, or still in its slip, this episode of The Next Boat Journey is for you. Brian Kane of GOST (Global Ocean Security Technologies) joined Dock Side Live Radio to talk about two decades of protecting boats, and what every new owner should do before something goes bump in the night.

Born on the docks of Fort Lauderdale

GOST started in 2005, when Brian was working for a yacht management company. A customer had a prototype security system on his boat, and by the end of that day the team had sold five more. Brian went to work integrating and hardening the system, and GOST has been building maritime security out of Fort Lauderdale ever since, selling to boat owners around the world.

Even the name has a story. GOST was once the acronym for a Soviet technical standard, which kept the company from getting the gost.com web address for years. When that standard went away, the domain was released, and GOST finally claimed it.

More than a burglar alarm

GOST's systems watch for four things: someone breaking in, the boat taking on water, the boat losing power, and the boat going missing. Wireless door contacts, motion beams and deck sensors fire off sirens and strobes when someone steps aboard who shouldn't be there. Wireless high-water alarms, smoke detectors and low-battery sensors cover the threats that sink far more boats than thieves do. Brian pointed out that most sinkings happen right at the dock, by his count around 80 percent.

Going wireless was a big step forward. "It made installation a heck of a lot easier than running two-conductor wires all over the place on a boat," he said.

Find it anywhere on the planet

GOST's global satellite tracking can locate a boat anywhere except the extreme poles. Over 20 years, Brian estimates GOST systems have helped save well over 60 or 70 boats, and that number is probably low. "A lot of the times we don't even know about it," he said. A tender's tow line snaps, the boat drifts beyond AIS range, and the owner simply pulls up its location and goes to get it.

GOST isn't a central monitoring station. Alerts go straight to the owner, captain or family, and they decide how to respond. On the Argus Evolution system and GOST trackers, alerts go out four ways at once: global satellite, cellular SIM, Wi-Fi (including Starlink), and hardwired onboard routers such as Cradlepoint or Peplink. "It's a failover. It's always gonna find some method to tell you what's going on."

AI that knows who belongs aboard

For larger yachts, GOST adds video surveillance and Spectre AI, an overlay running on an NVIDIA chipset that combines facial recognition, Bluetooth and phone geolocation. It's built for crew management: you set the approved people for the boat, and the system tells you who's coming and going, including, as Brian put it, "that first mate you fired last week."

Built for every size boat

GOST's core market is boats from about 30 to 130 feet, but the lineup goes well beyond that. Entry-level, solar-powered global trackers start at around $800, ideal for smaller boats and RIBs without a constant charge. Boats on shore power or a trickle charge step up to powered trackers with two-way control and push and text notifications. Trackers are hidden in covert spots on board, and GOST sells through professional NMEA-certified marine electronics dealers so every system is installed right.

Brian's advice for new owners

Asked what he'd tell a new owner of a 50-footer, Brian didn't hesitate. "The world's not getting any safer, and people need to have security on their boats." Most boats still have none, and everyone knows the keys are in the second drawer down in the cockpit.

His advice: put security on board that protects the boat both while you're away and while you're sleeping on it at anchor. A siren and strobes scare intruders off before anything happens. "It's much easier to clean dirty boot prints off your boat than it is to recover it from a third-world authority."

And once it's installed, call your insurance company. Many insurers want security on board, some require it, and many offer discounts for it.

Learn more at gost.com, where you can explore GOST's product lines and get help choosing the right setup for your boat.

Thank you to our sponsors: Big Bumper Company, Dockmate, SOS Boatscreens, Sirius Signal, Ocean Vault, Lets Go Boating TV and Florida Mariner.

The Next Boat Journey is a Dock Side Live Radio series about the people and companies shaping life on the water. Where the music meets the water...