Other tools
RowingBeacon does not suit every club. It runs on a club computer, on Windows or Linux, and focuses on the logbook. If your club needs something else, such as macOS, booking boats from home or membership management, one of these tools may suit it better.
Each description is based on the tool’s official website, consulted in October 2026.
The inspiration for RowingBeacon
efa2
Windows, Linux and macOS · Available in German and French · Free, GPL licence
efa, short for “elektronisches Fahrtenbuch” (electronic logbook), is the electronic logbook that inspired RowingBeacon. Nicolas Michael has developed it since 2001. It has become the reference in German-speaking clubs, and its website claims more than 500 clubs in 13 countries. It is used for rowing as well as for canoeing and kayaking.
It is a very complete tool: boat reservations, damage reports, per-boat permissions, standard crews, detailed statistics, several administrators with separate rights. Written in Java, it also runs on macOS. With efaCloud, the logbook can also be reached from a browser or a phone.
RowingBeacon imports the data of an efa2 project and can hand it back. The guide Migrate from efa2 to RowingBeacon explains how to move from one to the other, in both directions.
Another logbook
rowLog
Browser · German, English, French, Spanish, Italian
rowLog is an online logbook, launched in 2004. It runs in a browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install. The data is hosted on servers in Germany.
It covers outings, with distance calculated on a map, boat reservations, damage reports with photos, statistics and rankings. A basic plan is free.
Booking boats, organising the club
MY-FLEET
The Netherlands · Browser · Website in Dutch
MY-FLEET is an online reservation and fleet management system for rowing clubs. Members book a boat, and the club keeps control of the permissions and the availability of each boat. It also handles damage reports and repairs, maintenance, members and usage statistics.
iCrew
United States · Browser, iPhone and Android · In English
iCrew is club management software designed by rowers, based in the United States and used in nine countries. It brings together training attendance, crew line-ups for training and regattas, messaging, equipment inventory and damage reports. Its fullest plan includes a logbook.
Boathouse Connect
Browser · In English
Boathouse Connect is a management platform designed for rowing clubs by rowers and coaches. It brings together dues and donations, equipment tracking (boats, oars, ergometers) with reservations, maintenance and damage reports, crew preparation ahead of training, and messages by e-mail or text.
ROWter
United Kingdom · Browser · In English
ROWter was dreamed up by the chairman of Swanage Sea Rowing Club, an English sea rowing club. Members give their availability, sign up for the planned boats and receive notifications. The club manages its groups, its fleet and its messages, and can show its schedule on its own website.
Tracking your training
Rowsandall
Browser · In English
Rowsandall is an online training diary for rowers, indoors and on the water. It analyses sessions, compares results from one session to the next and between teammates, follows a training plan and organises virtual regattas. It syncs with the Concept2 logbook, Strava and TrainingPeaks. Data analysis there is free.
CrewNerd
iPhone, Android and Apple Watch
CrewNerd turns a phone into an on-board stroke-rate meter: using GPS and the accelerometer, it shows stroke rate, distance and speed during the outing. The coach can follow the boat live, and sessions export to Strava, the Concept2 logbook, Rowsandall or Apple Health. The app has existed since 2009 and can be tried for free.
Oxun Rowing
iPhone and Apple Watch
Oxun Rowing records sessions on an ergometer connected by Bluetooth (WaterRower, Technogym SkillRow and other compatible rowing machines) and on-water outings with the iPhone’s GPS. It brings both together in one diary, with heart rate from the Apple Watch, and saves them to Apple Health. It can be downloaded for free.
And the paper logbook
It needs no computer and no electricity, and everyone knows how to use it from day one. If your club does not need more, it does the job very well.
Do you know a tool that should be listed here, or has something changed? Write to me.