Private AI assistant for marine engineers, on your own server
What it does: you load your manuals, drawings, circulars and notes into your own library. Then you ask a question in Telegram, in your own language. The answer comes back as steps, with the file name and the page, and the assistant can send you the original PDF in the chat.
Price: $450 once for installation and $30 a month for updates and support. You also pay two providers directly: a rented server (a computer in a data centre that stays on day and night, in your name) and an AI subscription (the paid plan of Claude or ChatGPT that reads your documents and writes the answer).
Tested on 21 October 2026: on a library of 37,746 files we asked "how do I start the fuel oil separator according to the manual, and send me the original". The answer came in 50 seconds through Claude and in 46 seconds through ChatGPT's Codex. Both gave the steps with page numbers. Claude also pointed out that the manual covers two versions of the automation and that it could not tell which one is fitted.
What it can do, checked on our test server
| What | How we checked it |
|---|---|
| One-command installation | A fresh copy installed from the signed package and passed its own full test |
| Your documents stay yours | A second assistant on the same server was refused access to the first one's files |
| Upload from your computer | Files sent by SFTP, a standard way to copy files to a server, on port 22 and on port 443 for networks where 22 is closed (ships, hotels) |
| New files join the library on their own | Picked up within 10 minutes; a file uploaded twice is stored once |
| Answer with the source | File name and page for each step; the original document sent on request |
| Two AI providers | The same question answered through Claude, through Codex and by plain search; your conversation history stays on your server |
| No silent bot | Before you sign in to a subscription, the bot still answers with the matching passages found by search |
| Night backup | A copy every night, plus an encrypted copy kept elsewhere |
| Updates | Delivered by us, with a self-check and an automatic rollback if the check fails |
Checked earlier in October 2026 on the same software: scans and photos turned into searchable text (16,000 images in 3 hours 10 minutes), audio and video turned into text with the minute of each passage, Google Drive links fetched from the chat, and a drag-and-drop upload button for Windows 11 that resumes after a dropped connection.
How it compares with uploading a PDF to ChatGPT or Claude
| Upload a PDF into a chat | This assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Your AI subscription only (Claude Pro is $20 a month) | $450 once, $30 a month, a server, and the same subscription |
| How much it can search | The few files you attach to that chat | Your whole library; tested on 37,746 files |
| Scanned pages and photos | Depends on the file | Turned into searchable text on the server |
| Where the documents live | Uploaded into the provider's chat | On your server; the model sees only the passages it reads to answer |
| Answer with file and page | For the attached file | Across the library, with the original sent on request |
| Without internet | Does not work | Does not work |
If you need one or two manuals now and then, the chat is cheaper and good enough. The assistant pays off when the library is large, scanned or spread across years of folders.
What you need
- A server. A rented cloud server in your name. We tested on 6 cores and 12 GB of memory. A smaller server with 4 cores and 8 GB has not been tested on a real install yet.
- An AI subscription. Claude Pro ($20 a month with monthly billing) or ChatGPT Plus, in your name. Without it, the bot falls back to plain search, which finds the wrong passages when you ask in Russian about English manuals.
- Telegram on your phone, and a connection on board that lets Telegram through.
How the installation goes
- Request. Send the form below. We reply to the contact you give.
- Your three steps. You rent the server, create your bot in Telegram with our instructions, and add our support key (a login you can remove at any time) to the server. Each step needs your own name or password, so we do not do it for you.
- We install. Over the support key, we install the assistant, connect your bot and check it end to end.
- You sign in to your AI subscription once, on the server, following our note.
- You upload your library from your computer and start asking.
Limits, said plainly
- No connection, no answer. The assistant is on a server ashore.
- It is a reading aid, not an authority. It finds and quotes your documents. It does not replace the maker's manual, your company's procedures or your own judgment. Open the page it cites before you act on it.
- No liability. We are not responsible for decisions made on the assistant's answers.
- Not yet timed on a clean server. Our installs so far ran on a server where the shared parts were already in place. The first installs on a clean server will be timed, and we will tell you the real time.
- Copying the software to other servers or people is allowed only with the developer's consent.
When this is not for you
- Your company forbids copying manuals off the ship. Use the ship's own systems.
- You only need to ask about one or two PDFs now and then. Upload them straight into ChatGPT or Claude; you do not need a server for that.
- Your vessel has no usable internet for days at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work without internet on board? No. The assistant lives on a server ashore and you reach it through Telegram, so it needs whatever connection the ship gives you. If Telegram works for you on board, the assistant works.
Is it allowed to copy the ship's manuals to my own server? That is your company's decision, not ours. Many companies treat maker manuals and the SMS as controlled documents. Ask before you upload anything that is not yours, and keep to your own notes, courses and public documents if the answer is no.
Which AI subscription do I need? Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus, in your own name. We tested both on 21 October 2026. We do not promise cheaper plans such as ChatGPT Go, because we have not been able to test them.
Can my company or other users see my documents? No. Each assistant runs under its own system user. In our test, a second assistant on the same server was refused access to the first one's files.
What do I have to do myself? Three things that need your own name or password: rent the server, create your Telegram bot, and sign in to your AI subscription. We do the installation, the setup and the updates.
Does it work for deck officers? Probably, but it is not tested yet. The assistant's role was written for the engine room, with its abbreviations and its way of organising manuals. A deck officer would be one of our first users on deck documents, and we would adjust the role with you.