How to Post a Spreadsheet?

Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
In the thread Brands there was talk about different Brands of Sailboats for a new sailor. I posted that it would be nice to have a database for new sailors to reference. Then I realized that such a thing exists over at Sailboatdata.com. I did a search there for boats from 18' to 25' and got 70 pages of results - many of which are boats most of us don't know. So I culled through that search and came up with approximately 100 "Brands" that I feel either someone on SBO owns or has been posted about. I filled in data for boats I have direct knowledge of (Either owned or sailed on). Eventually I would like to post the spreadsheet on SBO for members to add data to for the boats they either have owned, sailed or have other reason to know about. Or even add other Brands that I missed.
So, I've created an Excel Spreadsheet that is a bare bones version of that. My first question is would it be better to post as an Excel spreadsheet, PDF, or some other format. My second question is how can I make sure it is editable by anyone logged in on whatever forum or other area in which it is posted. I'm thinking maybe instead of a forum, a place on menu bar about boat data. But I would need moderator help with that.
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
We don't permit spreadsheets because they can have macros embedded, which can be dangerous. Save it as a pdf file and you're good to go.
 
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
you could save it onto an OneDrive for Google drive account and make it sharable via a link. Word of caution, editable enables people to mess it up the moment it is posted making the data potentially wrong. Spreadsheets are easily altered mistakenly due to their cell nature.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
That's not a bad idea. In fact it's a very good one. I have a Google Drive Account (I think). I'll look into OneDrive.
I wanted it to be editable because I'd like to have people with personal experience with a boat put the data in. I could copy most of it from SD.com. But with a brand like Hunter there are so many versions of a boat, I don't necessarily know which might be best for a new boat owner, which would even be available, which were dogs etc. That's why I want the spreadsheet to represent more breath in knowledge than I possess. I'd love to find a way to include reviews. Maybe a link?
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
@shemandr

I appreciate what your trying to do but it would be very challenging to keep the “database” intact. Multiple forum participants posting “changes” would prove daunting.

Brainstorming here but:

Maybe post your results in a PDF but also post the header line for CSV “additions-edits” for your spreadsheet. Forum participants could post updates in that format, you could copy and paste into your “master” file and post periodic updates of the PDF. Pretty clunky and a lot of work to maintain :(
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
Just a thought about linking to another source... there are tons of dead photo links in old posts because the user eventually moved their images, sold their boat, or just walked away from it all. Also, I should point out that this site has a couple thousand owner reviews and basic specs on Hunters. Perhaps there's way we can expand what we're doing to dovetail with your project.
 
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
Look into MS OneNote. It’s a digital TrapperKeeper that you can make available. It would accommodate different brands, models and years. It allows typing, cut and paste and hyperlinks. I use it allot to keep work data straight and it’s accessible across all means as long as you have the free app on it.
 

Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
I've never heard anyone refer to the "brand" of sailboat they own. Is this me being trivial, or does anyone agree that using "brand" to describe their make of boat sounds awkward or misleading.
I always think of various sailboats in terms of manufacturers (factory, builder) and then design... (class, style, purpose) When I hear "brand" I think of medicine and other consumer products that can also have generic named alternatives. Does that conflict with the intent of your proposed charts and tables?
Perhaps there's a better name to describe the list of boats. Or maybe not.... just wondering.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I sorta agree. But since the title of the thread was Brand I stuck with it. I haven't found the best alternative since some boats are designated by the builder, others by the design, some by a number and still others by class. "Make" might be better but it sounds like something from the auto industry.
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
I've never heard anyone refer to the "brand" of sailboat they own. Is this me being trivial, or does anyone agree that using "brand" to describe their make of boat sounds awkward or misleading.
I always think of various sailboats in terms of manufacturers (factory, builder) and then design... (class, style, purpose) When I hear "brand" I think of medicine and other consumer products that can also have generic named alternatives.
We use the term brand all the time. For example, International Marine built the West Wight Potter 15 and 19. They also built the Sanibel and Voyager. Potter, Sanibel, and Voyager are different brands made by a single builder, much the same way Chevy, Oldsmobile, and Buick were all made by General Motors. Each line has its own characteristics and was probably designed for a different buyer. In that context I think brand is a good description. You could also describe it as make/model, I guess.

To me, the word class doesn't seem quite right. But it would be boring if we all saw everything the same way, right?
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
For sure!
Phil, I just tried the owner reviews for the Hunter 212 (For Example). I never knew this feature existed! I think it would be very good for my spreadsheet. I tried to copy/paste from URL of Reviews page into a cell of the spreadsheet. Tested it and it took me right there - where there are 17 reviews. Pretty powerful feature. Numbers are useful but owner reviews are better and where I wanted to go in the first place.
 
Apr 16, 2017
841
Federation NCC-1701 Riverside
Ive sailed boat x's for a while and have a dream to sail around the world..

Your IT technique is not...bluewater, and you probably need to hire a "skipper" go off of a close network.

JSON data is the way to go, but hard for people to edit without an interface.

How does this data differ from sailboatdata.com? Could you use that as a model?
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I'm analog so I'm not surprised that my IT technique is "Bluewater." Hiring a skipper is a non-started for a project that will be free to use. I don' know what JSON is and if it's hard for anyone to edit that could be a problem. I don't know what interface means.
The data will largely be from Sailboatdata.com and attributed. But that search yielded 70 pages of results. So I wanted to reduce it to a few pages and make it accessible for sailboat shoppers.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
...I've never heard anyone refer to the "brand" of sailboat they own. Is this me being trivial, or does anyone agree that using "brand" to describe their make of boat sounds awkward or misleading...
Out on the water, I've always wondered why boats are not better I.D.'d by the manufacturer. You never see a car on the street without some way to know who made it either in writing or insignia.. Stripes and such just don't get it. In Annapolis just the other day, a catamaran came in with no way to know who built it. It did look nice, and I want one :banghead:
 
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