Bridging the Gap on My Boat, Twice

Back in 2013, I bought a modern steel cruiser, fully equipped with Garmin EmpirBus and NMEA 2000 throughout. Touch switches, digital dimmers, intelligent distribution, everything wired into EmpirBus. It felt advanced back then, but like many of us, I started wondering: How do I bring this smart boat into my smart home?

Discovering Signal K

In 2018, I stumbled across Signal K while researching how to connect my EmpirBus system with Apple HomeKit. That’s when I met Scott Bender, and we started collaborating. The result was the signalk-empirbus-plugin, the bridge between Signal K and EmpirBus.

To complete the integration, I built a Homebridge plugin, bringing my EmpirBus switches and dimmers via Homebridge into HomeKit. Dimming, navigation lights, tank levels are all available via phone, Siri or automation scenes. Signal K made my boat part of my digital life.

2025: A New Challenge

This year I upgraded my boat to LiFePO₄ batteries and with that added a full Victron Energy setup: Cerbo GX, MPPT, Orion DC/DC charger, all connected via VE.Direct, and my legacy MultiPlus connected via VE.Bus.

Just my old Victron BMV-602 battery monitor is still wired to NMEA 2000. That meant: Not visible on the GX Touch or Remote Console (VRM), no DVCC, no charging automation.

Once More, Signal K to the Rescue

I got back in touch with Scott, and again Signal K provided the solution: Inspired by our conversations, I wrote a new plugin signalk-to-venus. It injects non-Victron devices into Venus OS, emulating native D-Bus services. My NMEA 2000 battery monitor now shows up like a real Victron device in GX Touch and VRM.

And not just that: My freshwater, blackwater, and fuel tanks, plus water temperature sensors, are now all available in the Victron ecosystem.

Most of the code was written with the help of AI pair programming. ChatGPT and Claude Sonnet did 99% of the heavy lifting. But the idea, and the glue between all the systems, was Signal K.

I Want to Communicate

Again, Signal K bridged the gap between the systems on my boat, doing exactly what it was made for: “I want to communicate.” That’s what Signal K stands for. And it keeps delivering.