Get Started on Apple Watch

Installing the Watch App

The Watch app should install automatically on your Apple Watch, or here's how to install the Watch app manually:

Open the Watch app on your iPhone
Scroll down to the 'Available Apps' list and tap on 'Install' next to Paddle Logger

If you have any trouble installing the Watch app, check out our troubleshooting tips.

Getting Started

Once Paddle Logger is installed on your Apple Watch, there's a couple of steps needed to get set up.

Paddle Logger needs access to your location and some health permissions to be able to record your trips. When you first open the Watch app, you'll be prompted to enable these permissions.

We recommend keeping 'Precise' toggled on for best results when allowing location access.

The minimum health permissions that Paddle Logger needs to work is the ability to write to Workout Routes and Workouts, but to track heart rate and calories and add them to your workout we need read permissions for heart rate and energy. To update your Health rings we need write permission for heart rate.

Settings

You can set your preferences from the main Watch app screen, scrolling down a bit and tapping on 'Settings'. From here you can choose the distance unit, and enable automatic Waterlock and pace.

PaddleLIVE

PaddleLIVE needs to be set up on the iPhone with an emergency contact. Check out our help documentation on PaddleLIVE here.

To turn on PaddleLIVE on your Apple Watch for a paddle, tap on PaddleLIVE on the main screen.

To fire a flare while paddling, swipe to the right to get to the paddling screen and tap on the Help icon. If you stay out paddling beyond your designated time, you'll receive alerts to check you're OK and a prompt to extend the session if you wish.

Recording a Trip

Once you're all set up, it's time to paddle!

To start a trip, just open the app and hit GO. If you've enabled it, Paddle Logger will engage Apple's WaterLock automatically. To turn it off, turn the Watch's digital crown.

You'll see your time, distance and heart rate on the paddling screen during your paddle.

To pause or end the trip, just swipe to the right from the paddling screen. You can also pause by pressing both the Crown and the Side Button together - this is particularly useful when you have wet fingers!

Once you have finished your trip on the Apple Watch you will see a short trip summary on the Watch screen. Once you have viewed this it will shortly after appear on your iPhone in the Digital Logbook.

Improving GPS Accuracy & Battery Life

While your Apple Watch will be able to record your geo-location with out your iPhone, we recommend that you take your iPhone with you at all times stowed in a dry bag. There are a few reasons for this:

When in the vicinity of your iPhone your Apple Watch will intelligently use the GNSS chip in your iPhone.
The chip in your iPhone is a little more accurate than the one in the Apple Watch so your data will be more accurate.
You will also vastly improve the battery life of your devices.

As well as the above technical reasons, we would always recommend taking your iPhone for safety reasons should you get into difficulty. Whether you think you will need it or not, being on the water carries inherent risk, so it is always worth carrying some form of communication.

Sync Trips from Watch to iPhone

Occasionally, sometimes after an iOS update, your trips may stop automatically syncing from your Watch App to your Logbook in your iPhone App. This happens when your permissions need granting again. To reset your permissions, you can go to your iPhone Settings, scroll down to Health, tap Data Access & Devices, tap Paddle Logger and ensure the toggles are all On. If they are already on, you may need to turn them Off and On again to trigger the permission access.

Import Previous Trips

There are two methods you can use to import trips into your logbook. These may be trips that you have recorded using another device, or trips that have not synced to your Logbook if you had not yet granted permissions.

Go to your Account tab, tap Help & Support, tap Sync Trips from Other Apps.

Go to your Logbook tab, tap the circle with three dots in the top right of the screen, tap Health if you have previously recorded trips in Apple Health or Apple Fitness. Alternatively, select Import if you want to upload a GPX from your files.