log books

[Calif. Ted]

Nope,
Had to keep detailed logs in Dickensian green canvas "Ledger" books thru-out my working life. Just no interest in continuing the practice, I can track anything concerning the boat just by checking the corresponding entry in Quicken, however.
If you need to know when you did something to a boat you can almost always just "follow the money".

 

[Stu Jackson]

We're not always able to connect to the the internet on our trips, so i simply print out track logs for interesting sails and keep them in the on-board logbook.

 

[ggrizzard]

As to the kind of log book, it matters. As others have stated, if you use one it becomes a legal document and that's good if you keep it up to date. It can prove who, what, where, when and why if necessary. However, you should use a bound book like a ledger found at Staples or any good office supply. They are lined, but don't have any specific entry or space limitations, which gives you freedom to set up your own system of entries. The page size also allows you to affix pics (If anyone still gets pics). You can also make it personal by getting it embossed with the vessel's name!

My daughter and I enjoy re-reading about our travels.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Negative.

I might get jumped on for this, no matter. I do not keep a log at all. Never will. This is NOT to say that anyone should not, I don't care at all. It looks like fun, and some fond memories in it, and that is absolutely fantastic. For others.
And yes, I do keep a deck log of every hour travelling. It's merely a paper backup for an electronic failure, that has never happened. Yet.
The issue for me is, is it IS a legal document. For a lot of my life, disinformation and subterfuge was a key element, and a recording of my past whereabouts is physically ingrained in me to erase. The tracks on the plotter? Erased every time. Call logs, cookies, mail, phone records, I even lie when asked my name at a fast-food joint to keep up with my order. I know these records lie around in some electronic world not in my control, but it's not like I didn't try and eliminate it. So to keep a record of my events is out. I see no reason in the world to "document" by location, or destination, or where I've been. I can hold a straight face and deny it under interrogation, but it's hard to dispute that record..
And my memory is such that I could tell you every bolt that I've looked at, and about where on an hour meter that it happened. Lord, if I start getting so daffy that I can't remember an oil change, I'm in the wrong business..

 

[Caribbeanknight1]

I'm guessing Chris Patterson isn't your real name.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Shoot, that's a GREAT name.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Hey, Daffy, oops, I mean Chris. I got a call from the Coast Guard one April a few years ago, asking if, the PRIOR November, whether I had been in the way of a moving freighter. If I had, they were gonna come take my boat!

I nicely told the lieutenant that I'd check my log book and call him back. I looked it up and noted that I'd entered: "Freighter weighing anchor snuck up on me after I'd sailed by about a half hour earlier. No horn from the ship. Wind had just died, so started engine and got out of his way."

I called the lieutenant back, and read that to him, asked him if he'd like me to copy it and fax it to him. I did. I asked, "What's the next step?" He said, "My CO will review it and if we find you're at fault, you're up for BIG fines and possible boat confiscation!"

I waited a taut month, but in this case, no news WAS good news.

Besides, the reason I always write things down is I claim that I can't remember what I did yesterday anymore. Once you get to my stage, you'll either start a log or just keep doing what you're doing now.

Ain't boating fun? So many OPTIONS.

 

[Chris Patterson]

My Lord! I gotta give ya that Stu. Man, talking about taking your boat, wow. They evidently was pretty hot, huh?
Truthfully, I know I should do better. It would take a very concerted effort I think to begin such an endeavor. I've got a log book, maybe I'll try to write something in it.
Of course, had it been me, the C.G. would have called back and said, "Upon further inspection of our photographs of your boat, we've decided we do not want it at all".

 

[Stu Jackson]

Of course, had it been me, the C.G. would have called back and said, "Upon further inspection of our photographs of your boat, we've decided we do not want it at all".

If I hadn't cleaned the bloody boat up so much, they never would have been able to read the CF numbers!

Heck, I gotta let it go more. :Liar:

Glad they had "good taste" back then. Now they wouldn't know the difference between the AC72s and me! :dance:

 

[higgs]

I have been cruising the Great Lakes for 40 years and, except for engine maintenance, don't keep a log. I see no reason.

 

[Stu Jackson]

A little background music, please...

I have been cruising the Great Lakes for 40 years and, except for engine maintenance, don't keep a log. I see no reason.

For those of you who may not know this, higgs wrote a tremendous article that was published in Cruising World in August of 1995. I admired it so much I typed it out by hand and have kept a copy in our on-deck log book.

So, if he's not keeping a log book, that's cool, since I've kept his great story with us on our voyages.

Enjoy. And thanks again for it.

********************
********************

ONE MAN'S OPINION
Cruising World August 1995


I can no longer remain silent. At first I thought it
was just a few eccentrics, but I am now afraid that
I am beginning to see a pattern. I think that the
final straw was the recent article I read on sailing
in fog that said that if I didn't have a radar on my
boat, perhaps I had misappropriated my boating
budget. I must confess: I have no radar. Not only
do I not have a radar, but I have no intentions of
buying one. My new gear priorities list does not
even contain this item.

I must go on: I do not have a GPS. Can you
imagine that I actually sail - even cruise - without
one?

There's more. I do not have roller furling. Yes,
that's right. I actually have more than one jib and
what is more, I have to hank it on - one hank at a
time - every time I go sailing. Wait! When the
wind is up and the seas build I actually go forward,
on the top of the deck and - now get this - change
to a different jib. Can you believe that anyone can
be so primitive?

More. My only electronics are a Loran (recently
purchased), a speed/log, a depthsounder and a
cheap VHF. Yes, I will admit it. My VHF is a low
priced model! Furthermore, my electronics are not
interlinked or whatever fancy jargon aficionados
use to indicate that their electronics talk to each
other. No, I do not have an anemometer. At times
I can be caught standing on deck estimating the
wind speed. I even go so far as to make sail
changes based on the boat's sailing
characteristics. I have never told anyone this, but
I am ready to bare all: I don't have an apparent
wind indicator. I am not lying. We use a piece of -
I am so embarrassed - a piece of cassette tape
tied to the shroud. I do believe it was from
"Smurfs Do the Whitbread" or something like that.

At any rate, we survive and make port without
calling for assistance. We enjoy wonderful meals
cooked on the Weber that hangs off the stern
pulpit and corn on the cob cooked on, of all things,
an alcohol stove.

I could go on and on. By now you must have
figured out that my boat is OLD (1973). Heaven
forbid!
It's hard to imagine that I could enjoy sailing under
these abominable conditions, but the truth is that
I am as addicted as the guy who has all the
equipment. I am proud to say that my boat is not
a marina queen - she lives on a mooring - from
which it is easier to sail her. Her name is Trav'ler
and I make sure she lives up to her name.

We have lost sight of what this sport is all about.
We have lost sight of nature, of ourselves, and our
God, unless your God is powered by 12 volts.
Mine is not. Once - and I remember this - an RDF
was considered a luxury. I remember a trip in fog
so thick (you know the cliché) and we made it
home with nothing more than a compass, a
depthsounder, a sumlog and a VHF. Once we
even did a fog run without the sumlog, as it had
broken. We just estimated our speed. I know my
boat so well that I could estimate her speed within
a fraction of a knot. What tremendous satisfaction
there is in reaching your port using the true skills of
a seaman.

We often hear the lament of how nonsailors
perceive our sport to be one that is reserved for
the wealthy. Is it any wonder when we read
articles about how we all should have radar, or
how our latest mast project only cost $1,200?
These are elitist statements made by people who
know nothing about the lives most of us live.
Sailing can be done safely and enjoyably on a
budget and I feel it is about time that those of us
who sail on a budget speak up.


Higgs
Crystal Lake, Illinois

 

[Richard19068]

For those of you who may not know this, higgs wrote a tremendous article that was published in Cruising World in August of 1995. I admired it so much I typed it out by hand and have kept a copy in our on-deck log book.

Thanks for posting that. I love it and agree.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Stu- thanks for posting that. Sounds an awful lot like my boat, except since Loran is dead, I use a hand held GPS.

Oh,, and I don't carry a speed log. I DO have a lead line aboard though

 

[rgranger]

For those of you who may not know this, higgs wrote a tremendous article that was published in Cruising World in August of 1995. I admired it so much I typed it out by hand and have kept a copy in our on-deck log book.

Higgs and Stu

Thanks!

I think Higgs is right about the elitist nature of Sailing. I used to subscribe to SAIL but I got tired of each edition focusing on mega yachts that I'll never afford ... or even consider buying if I could afford them. I just recently traded up boats and now sail a Balboa 26. I is my first boat (I've owned 7) with roller furler. I'm not sure I like the way it sails with the genoa partially rolled up.

 

[Oblivionboyj]

I have three logs, and they all serve different purposes.
I keep an experience log showing what I sailed, how long I was out, the date, and if I dropped anchor.
I keep a skipper's log in my boat noting detailed information about trips such as destination, weather, crew and passengers, happenings on the trip, and notes I think I might want to refer back to.
My third log is a maintenance log.

I work in aviation. I've long known the advantages of keeping log books. I use inexpensive composition books for the skipper and maintenance logs. My experience log is electronic (spreadsheet).

 

[JonnyQuest]

Higgs and Stu

Thanks!

I think Higgs is right about the elitist nature of Sailing. I used to subscribe to SAIL but I got tired of each edition focusing on mega yachts that I'll never afford ... or even consider buying if I could afford them. I just recently traded up boats and now sail a Balboa 26. I is my first boat (I've owned 7) with roller furler. I'm not sure I like the way it sails with the genoa partially rolled up.

Some neat stuff in Sail Magazine...doubt I'll ever afford any of it.

Anyone read Good Old Boat magazine? I have had a subscription for about a year now and love it. More appropriate for the DIY sailor.

 

[JonnyQuest]

I have three logs, and they all serve different purposes.
I keep an experience log showing what I sailed, how long I was out, the date, and if I dropped anchor.
I keep a skipper's log in my boat noting detailed information about trips such as destination, weather, crew and passengers, happenings on the trip, and notes I think I might want to refer back to.
My third log is a maintenance log.

I work in aviation. I've long known the advantages of keeping log books. I use inexpensive composition books for the skipper and maintenance logs. My experience log is electronic (spreadsheet).

OK, Oblivionboy. Your post helped point out the utility of an experience log in addition to my general catch-all log. I'm going to make an electronic one too and referred to Professor Google to come up with ideas; here's a screenshot that has some useful experience log info on it. Look good? Anything missing that should be aded to it?

(Note: This is not my creation, its a screenshot of a Bento app template I found on the internet)

 

[Cool Beans]

I kept up with a maintenance log for the first, oh. . .4-5 months of owning my boat? Got to be a pain, I was doing to much to keep up with it and finally stopped. I take pictures of everything I do now, much easier and they are already dated

I've thought about a sailing log, but I hate writing and so far I've only been on afternoon day-sails in nice weather. . .I guess if I did any traveling I'd try keeping one . ..

Stu, what were they going to confiscate your boat for?

 

[kloudie1]

Johnny Quest.. Ya might consider putting in a slot for engine hour meter start and stop readings.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Stu, what were they going to confiscate your boat for?

Impeding the passage of a tanker. This was quite a few years ago, only a few after 911, they were a tad touchier back then. They didn't cite chapter & verse, but it was chilling enough, glad it didn't get that far.