A small, independent software workshop

Careful tools for planning, one at a time.

Makefield Works is the parent brand behind a small family of local-first tools. Each product solves a real planning problem, keeps its own identity, and stays focused on the job instead of the account system around it.

See the products Why this exists

01 / Products

Independent products, shared design DNA.

Each tool keeps its own name, audience, and domain. Makefield Works stays in the background as the quiet parent brand.

Public beta

FERSCalc

Federal retirement planning

A local-first calculator for federal employees comparing retirement dates, income scenarios, and stressors.

Production

Visual Passage Planner 2

Offshore sailing and route planning

Desktop passage-planning software built around long-range climatology, routing judgment, and real ocean use.

Open source

Manifest

Project snapshots for developers

A structured way to capture project state, decisions, and working context without pushing everything into a hosted service.

Planned

The Grunting Gardener

Home garden planning

A practical tool for mapping beds, keeping seasonal notes, and planning what to plant next without turning gardening into admin work.

02 / Principles

One workshop, three constants.

The products are different. The posture stays the same: build from use, keep the scope honest, and respect the user’s own data.

Local-first

Your data stays with you.

Planning tools should not require an account before they can be useful. Salary numbers, route ideas, project notes, and garden plans belong to the person doing the planning.

Built from use

Each product started as a real need.

These tools were not invented from a keyword list. They came from actual retirement decisions, real sailing passages, and the day-to-day friction of keeping complicated work organized.

Quiet by design

No dashboard theater.

The goal is a clearer picture, not a louder interface. If a feature does not help a decision, it does not earn a place in the product.

03 / Story

From one long-lived side business to a broader family of tools.

Digital Wave began more than thirty years ago as the home of Visual Passage Planner. After retirement from full-time work, the scope widened: retirement planning for federal employees, configuration and operations tooling, and a future garden planner.

Makefield Works is the umbrella for that expansion. It keeps the products distinct, keeps the original VPP history intact, and gives the newer projects a shared home without forcing them into one generic brand.

Software should help people see a decision more clearly, then get out of the way.

Working principle