When a Nav-Tracker 2.0 transmitter is mounted discreetly on a boat, a wireless ‘fence' with a 500-meter range is created. If a boat is moved outside of this fence, Nav-Tracker 2.0 uses Inmarsat based GPS satellite technology to monitor a boat's location and notify up to four people by email and/or text message every 15 minutes with the latitude/longitude, speed, heading and distance to the closest city.

As many as 27,000 boats are stolen annually and the odds of recovery are only about 1 in 10, according to the International Association of Marine Investigators. "Alarms and other deterrents are not enough. However, with a Nav-Tracker on board, if your boat is stolen, you'll have a much better chance of getting it back," said Jay Keenan, Paradox Marine Vice President of Marketing.

The message transmitted from Nav-Tracker 2.0 on board the Contender when it was stolen would have been similar to this:

Message From Nav-Tracker 2.0
User: Paradox Marine
Asset: M/Y Island Time
Fleet: ETI
Date/Time: 2006-07-25 15:06:28 (EDT)
Event: Geo-fence breached;
Location: 26.05767,-80.1303.3 (0.75 mi NE of Hollywood, FL 33019)
Speed/heading: 9.2 Knots, 144 deg
Google Earth Map: [KML]

Some insurance companies now require GPS tracking devices to be installed on certain types of boats, including high performance boats and boats with triple high-horsepower outboards.