Steve Mitchell writes about marine electronics, power systems, and onboard connectivity for serious cruisers. He is a marine technology consultant with 30 years of experience in high-tech systems and network administration, served as a judge at IBEX 2025, and contributes a column to 48 North (Tech Talk with SeaBits) and Nautical Northwest (Connected Cruiser). He is a full-time live-aboard actively cruising the Salish Sea and BC coast aboard M/V Aruna, which serves as his primary test platform.
For a full list of published work, see the portfolio.
The SeaBits Audience
SeaBits readers are serious boaters. Long-distance cruisers and experienced sailors making real purchasing decisions about expensive gear. The newsletter has 2,000+ subscribers.
This is not a lifestyle audience. These are people who want to understand how something works, what the limitations are, and whether it's worth the money. They trust SeaBits because every review comes from real-world use aboard a working boat, with a real opinion at the end of it.
The primary context is trawlers and passagemaking powerboats, with meaningful reach into the sailboat community. My operating area is the Pacific Northwest and Salish Sea, but my audience is worldwide.
What I Cover
- Power systems (LiFePO4 batteries, alternators, inverter/chargers, solar, shore power)
- Marine electronics (chartplotters, AIS, radar, autopilots, instrumentation)
- Onboard connectivity (cellular routers, Starlink, signal boosting, network infrastructure)
- Monitoring and automation (boat monitoring systems, Home Assistant, NMEA 2000 integrations)
What You Can Expect
Your gear goes aboard Aruna and gets used the way a real customer would, under real conditions. I interact with your support team as a normal customer, not as a press contact.
My approach is methodical. Before I touch anything, I establish a baseline. I make one change at a time, document every step, and don't surface a problem until I've eliminated my own setup as a possible cause. When I report an issue, I can prove it with logs, screenshots, and reproduction steps.
The practical result is that I regularly find firmware bugs and integration problems that vendors hadn't seen internally.
If I find significant issues during testing, I'll contact you before the review goes live to give you a chance to respond or clarify.
Every article discloses how equipment was obtained and whether affiliate links are present.
What I Don't Do
- Guaranteed reviews. I test what I can, when I can. Some products reach a published review and some don't.
- Paid coverage. No vendor pays to appear on SeaBits or to stay off it.
Gear Arrangements
Equipment I review comes from one of three sources, and the source is disclosed in every article.
- Purchased: I bought it myself, before or during the review
- Loaned: provided by the vendor and returned when testing is done
- Donated: kept after the review because permanent installation makes return impractical
For most products a loan is fine. For gear that requires significant wiring, through-hull work, or other permanent installation, I ask for it to be donated.
Affiliate Programs
If you run an affiliate program, I'm interested. Affiliate links are disclosed in every article where they appear and have no influence on my conclusions. An affiliate relationship doesn't guarantee coverage or favorable coverage.
Get In Touch
Tell me what the product is, why you think it's relevant to the SeaBits audience, and what kind of arrangement you have in mind.