Questions?

Who should use this application?

Kayak Flow is built for kayak, canoe, and SUP paddlers who get out on coastal waters. If tides, currents, and wind matter to your day on the water, this app is for you.

The at-a-glance tide chart shows good times to get on the water across all your conditions at once. Gold star hours tell you when everything lines up. With a 10-day forecast, you can plan outings with friends or block out time in your week to make paddling a regular part of your routine.

Kayak Flow was developed in the Pacific Northwest and works best where NOAA tide and current stations are plentiful — particularly in Puget Sound. Tide and weather data are available along any US coastline; current data may be limited in some areas.

Can I plan paddling trips with this app?

Yes, for day trips and local planning. Quick access to wind, tide, and current data makes it easier to pick good crossing times, ride the tide in the right direction, or find a mellow window in a channel.

The Blake Island crossing from Seattle? Kayak Flow is great for that. A multi-day trip through the San Juans? You'll want more comprehensive planning tools alongside it. The app is a planning aid, not a replacement for detailed current charts on longer journeys.

I choose the closest Current Station but the results don't make sense.

Not all current stations report data the same way. Kayak Flow works correctly with stations that return 24 hourly predictions of current direction and speed per day. We'll be adding support for other reporting formats over time.

A few other things to check:

Some stations are geographically close to your launch site but report currents for a nearby channel, bay mouth, or deep water that isn't relevant to where you're paddling.
If no current stations near you return useful data, you can skip selecting one entirely — tide and weather data will still be fully available for your launch site.

Why don't I see any gold stars?

A few common reasons:

Your preference thresholds may be set conservatively. If your wind limit is low or your temperature range is narrow, fewer hours will qualify. Try relaxing one setting at a time to see what opens up.
Your current station may not be compatible. If the selected station doesn't return hourly predictions, current speed will show as unavailable, which can block gold stars. Try deselecting the current station and see if stars appear.
The forecast window genuinely doesn't have good conditions. It happens, especially in winter. The app will let you know via notification when better days are ahead.

What do you do with my data?

Nothing. No account or login is required, and no personal data ever leaves your phone.

The app asks for permission to read your location to make it easier to set up a launch site. When it fetches tide, current, and weather data, those requests go to NOAA and Apple WeatherKit using public APIs that don't require any of your personal information.

Your launch sites, comfort thresholds, and settings are stored only on your device.

How much does the app cost?

Kayak Flow is free to download and use.

Will you support Android?

Kayak Flow is iOS only right now.