As a safety resource, SEAKEY was my first pick in 2005 when I purchased my Silverton. Although it did not come with SEAKEY installed, it was wired for it. I purchased the unit and had it installed by a reputable marine electronic company.
After a couple years, the display would cycle through shutdown then attempt to power up over and over. I called SEAKEY and after some discussion, agreed to purchase a newer unit which now had cellular service in it.
Everything was fine until last summer when the display problem re-occurred. The only remedy for me was to crawl down under the cockpit storage and unplug then plug-in the unit.
I don't want to suspect the reliability of this device but I have to wonder, with the lack of information, reports or press releases since 2008, is this technology worth keeping? Are new boat OEMs still installing this as a sea going "on-star"?
I haven't heard from SeaKey, or seen them at a boat show, for quite a while. But their Web site seems alive and when I tried their phone number I got a voice mail system that seemed functional. If I were in your shoes I'd call tech support and see if they can help. But if a fix involves more cost, I'd question them closely about the service's future. Yacht security has always been a tough market, though I think that recent products from Spot and Ghost may make it.
I too have this device on my '09 formula and have had the same issues with intermittent display function. Still not clear about problem. Just today I received a notice in the mail to all customers that SeaKey LLC has sold it's telematic business to Premiere Customer Solutions(PCS). They have actually been suplying the monitoring "for over 5 years" per this letter. Things will remain un-changed they say. Checked the web site and no mention of event. Time will tell about the future of this product but renewal of monitoring services will be off the table if the device does not function most of the time!
I sent in my SatCom unit to the Sea Key repair center at the beginning of June 2012 for a software update. Like you I have had the SeaKey unit in my boat since 2007 and it had started to work intermittently. It is now the middle of August 2012 and I have been calling them and sending emails daily for a few weeks and they refuse to tell me the status of my unit and now do not return my calls. They have my unit which I now consider theft. I believe they are going bankrupt. The owner, Kim, refuses to return my calls and I am at a loss as to why they cannot tell me what is going on. My advice to anyone listening is ....STAY AWAY!!!!! This has become a BAD COMPANY!
Now I see the pattern, looks like they on the way out. Like you, my seakey unit is in their hands and I want it back. Kim could avoid this be updating us. Also no reply to email or phone for July and August 2012. They could at least send. Back the unit. Make sure your credit card company stops payment to seakey!
Premiere Customer Solutions (PCS website expired August 8! We are screwed.
Last update- called 1 866 Seakey for the twenty-first time, got the answering service who finally gave me the "office number" 512-327-6145. Of course no one answered, not even the Russian guy who says "Hello my name Betty". Left a message for Kim Rife. The good news is the last time I was billed the monthly charge was May 2012.
Reverse look-up returned a "Techno-Global" company that seems to sell import export stuff.
Ben, sure would like to see an investigative report on what happened. Seems like there a lot of subscribers holding an empty bag that may not know it.
have you found out anything else? we are in the same shoes, sent our box in about 2 months ago.
I am in the same boat. I have talked with Bill (divorced husband of Kim). Bill is trying to acquire the company from Kim and start it back up. As of about 2 weeks ago, Kim just shut everything down. No notice, no nothing and she will not respond to emails or calls. But Bill has always returned my calls, even late at night and really tries to help. I will give him a couple of weeks to see if he can start the company back up before I abandon the company due to the cost I have in the equipment and when it works, it is still a good product. Maybe a 10% chance SeaKey will live.
I still have the SatCom unit in my boat, but cannot use it since I can't log on to their website for tracking. They're not answering my calls or e-mails either. So whether your unit is there or in your boat, we all may be screwed...
This also is not encouraging...
http://www.dolanmedia.com/view.cfm?recID=667052
I have not been able to get either SEAKEY or PCS to respond. Since a VA company, I have asked the Attorney General of VA to get involved and find outcome on the firm. They have stopped billing on my credit card as of October. Have protested charges to the CC company. Contacted the PCS Attorney serving as Agent for the firm (Mr. William Hamner in Richmond, VA) but would not answer questions on status of the company. Agree, looks like we are all screwed! I am hoping that the Attorney General will have more success with catching up with SEAKEY and PCS.
the official website is:seakey.com ?
As an update to my previous comments, I have received notice from the Attorney General's (AGO)Office (VA) that the SEAKEY company did not reply to their requests for contact nor did the PCS Attorney provide any information on the company status. As a result, the AGO concluded that they are no longer in business and that consumers should take legal actions via their small claims courts or other courts of jurisdiction. Bottom line, don't bother attempting to contact SEAKEY as no one is home!
Thank you for information. I've been trying to get a hold of them for over a year.
Great Replacement for SeaKey System
I had SeaKey installed on my Regal 52 SC when it was built in 2009. I leave my boat in. Miami for several months each winter and liked the security of having a system monitoring my boat. Unfortunately I found out that SeaKey went out of business shortly after renewing my annual monitoring subscription.
I have been looking for a replacement system every year at the Miami boat show since I still have the need to monitor my boat from a distance. My criterion was cost, ease of installation and most importantly the features as relates to the first two criteria.
Many systems out there to evaluate. I decided on a system by a company headquartered in Miami. The system is the Lookout Ambush S400. It offers a wide variety of monitoring options, had a base price less than $2000 and was installed in about 2 hours.
My system monitors the following:
Position and Theft
Intrusion into the cockpit
Shore power
Battery condition
High water alarm
The system interface is via their web site or by Smart Phone. I arm it and disarm it by text message to their server and I am notified of any alarm condition by text to my phone. It doesn't depend upon any new cell phone service as the communications between the unit and their servers is via the iridium satellite system so it works no matter where your boat is located.
I have had it installed over 6 months now and it has worked well for my purposes. I sleep better when away from my boat that is for sure.
I came across another great replacement for SeaKey at the Miami show this year. It's called Boat Command. I just had it installed on my Catana 52 a few weeks ago and I'm already benefiting from it. It monitors GPS, battery voltage, bilge pump activity, shore power, and temperature. But the nice things is, I can turn on and off stuff on my boat, including air conditioning. Which is nice when my boat is in Florida. I also hooked up a motion sensor and door switch to the system for security. I hate coming back to my boat and noticing things moved or missing.
Boat Command a very comprehensive system and only costs $300 for the system and $8.99 a month for the service. It also has a great app for Android and iPhone which is nice while on the road. It's hard to imagine a boat without technology now.
www.boatcommand.com
I recently purchased a 2008 Robalo R305 which has a Sea Key unit installed. The dealer I purchased the boat from wasn't familiar with Sea Key and mentioned I would need to reach out to Sea Key to activate the system. After reading the posts above, It appears that's a lost cause.
Is there any use for a Sea Key unit, or would I be best to remove entirely from the boat and evaluate alternative devices for it's intended use?
Great forum posts above, thank you to all involved as this was extremely informative and helpful.
I ended up getting BoatCommand too, and wrote up a bit about my initial install and a mini-review of features at http://wp.me/pfsc0-41