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Logbook

mike cunningham

mike cunningham

Freedom 30 "Jacqueline"
What do people use for a logbook aboard? I like writing on paper and currently have a nice leather bound log book. Its getting kinda full and they are sort of expensive so I was wondering what others use. Not interested in anything electrical.
 
I use a write-in-the-rain notebook for hourly log postings, which is probably a bit of overkill because most of the time, it stays inside the cabin. Someone on one of the forums sent me the attached document that has a TON of useful info and the requisite forms. I've yet to print it out because I bought something similar to what Lee is referring to, but I will one of these days.

View attachment Vessel Logbook - Generic.pdf
 
$1 (one dollar) at Office Depot, and pretty, too!
 

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I don't keep a local log, but I do when I'm outside the Gate. I have the traditional black and white version of Jackies flowery, girly logbook. However, my log is intended for reading, later and I write all kinds of junk in there...course, speed (at regular and random intervals), whether I saw dolphins, poetry, what song is running through my head at the time, and so on.

When I had the Santana 3030, I logged hours, cumulatively, on the diesel.
 
mike cunningham said:
I like writing on paper . . . . Not interested in anything electrical.
Click to expand...

I'd be curious if anyone has something electronic for log keeping. I would consider keeping a log as a standard MS Word document, if there was a way insert date/time/position into the document easily at the outset of each discrete entry. By 'easily' I mean with a key stroke or two, not manually typing it in each time. The lap top runs Airmail, the email client software for SailMail. That program can automatically include a footer in each outgoing email with date/time/position captured from the GPS feed that would otherwise be going to OpenCPN. It seems to me that there ought to be a way for Word to capture that same data, but I have no idea how to go about that. Perhaps someone has written (or could write) an add on for Word that could do that. Thoughts?
 
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I used the Evergreen log book, briefly, years ago when I was doing a real cruise. And I tried again using this Yacht Log, a classier version of the Evergreen that I picked up somewhere along the line, when I first got my Tuna in 2011. But after a few entries it became clear just how bad my handwriting is no matter how hard I try, and how much I loathe it. Typing, on the other hand, no prob.
So I've been editing the same Google Doc for the last few years with intentions to move it to a website. And another Google doc covering projects and maintenance. I write whatever I can remember at the end of the weekend, usually more bloggish than loggish: what went right or wrong, what I grilled, how much smoke was in the air, the fish I didn't catch, where I need to be for the best Blue Angels view next year, etc. I do find that all the prose is fun to read in retrospect and memories come flooding back more so than if I just wrote a terse "Angel Island. Sunny. 10-12kts. 1000-1730", which is probably what I would do more often than not. Not much of navigational interest worth archiving when you're just doing laps around the Bay.

But after seeing your logs and reading Sled's reminder that real logs must be in ink, I'm going to try it again. I forget stuff after any cruise longer than an overnight, and plus I'd like to track my fuel usage more closely. Ditto alcohol for the stove. Seem to go through more of it than I'd expect.
Paper, pen, patience.
 
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I keep what I call a Story Log. I use a little notebook of regular paper. When it is full I start another one. I write a few observations about who sailed in the boat, where we went, what we did. I encourage guests to write the day's entry. I especially encourage children to write or draw. My Story Log is not intended as a legal document, it is a method to help remember the joy of sailing. SDK
 
skatzman said:
I keep what I call a Story Log. I use a little notebook of regular paper. When it is full I start another one. I write a few observations about who sailed in the boat, where we went, what we did. I encourage guests to write the day's entry. I especially encourage children to write or draw. My Story Log is not intended as a legal document, it is a method to help remember the joy of sailing. SDK
Click to expand...

Mine is called "the diary" hence the need for the second notebook with "just the facts." I love it when guests write whatever they want about our sail. Great memories that the dry, but legal, facts miss :)
 
Moleskin. Small format for carry-around lists and notes, large format for logbook. Worth the extra money because we keep these invaluable personal records for a lifetime.
 
Christian said:
Moleskin. Small format for carry-around lists and notes, large format for logbook. Worth the extra money because we keep these invaluable personal records for a lifetime.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with that. I am inclined to go with a nice log which will last. I keep a daily journal outside sailing and try to keep up both the log and the journal when I am aboard the boat. There is a lot of overlap though because I find it difficult to stick with "just the facts" in the log book.
 
skatzman said:
I keep what I call a Story Log. I use a little notebook of regular paper. When it is full I start another one. I write a few observations about who sailed in the boat, where we went, what we did. I encourage guests to write the day's entry. I especially encourage children to write or draw. My Story Log is not intended as a legal document, it is a method to help remember the joy of sailing. SDK
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. I have a motorboat and have guests and kids do the log entries. It is a great way to gather the story. Only a few rules about recording distance and places and engine hours, other than that, open season. On the sailboat I am almost always alone so me writing the log is sort of a done deal.

By the way, it is interesting to observe how much trouble some folks have documenting a day in the life. It's like writers block...weird. Kids always have something to say or draw.
 
Yea, the Husband/Wife team that make these bespoke journals are really helpful too. For 20 quid extra they will do a custom cover with boat name and an SSS logo. I may be tempted come next summer.
 
Ok ... So I looked up all the references here and none came with waterproof paper. Anyone has one with waterproof paper they like?
Would anyone be interested in sharing the cost of printing a custom log book on waterproof paper?
 
jamottep said:
Ok ... So I looked up all the references here and none came with waterproof paper. Anyone has one with waterproof paper they like?
Would anyone be interested in sharing the cost of printing a custom log book on waterproof paper?
Click to expand...

or you could save a ton of money and buy a small waterproof bag for your log. But I do understand your dilemma, when your not sIling your O 30 you can enjoy the lush rainforest inside.
 
Ok ... so I have used a write in the rain small log before. It got wet quickly in the Olson 30. Even on the Clipper boats where the nav table is well aft and protected from the elements the log book gets wet (because when you write in the log book ... you're dripping water be it sweat, spray, rain or spill).

I like the idea of logging in a neat somehow formal document. It may make more accountable ... go figure.

I think for solo sailors the logbook should have parts for the sailing, the boat and the skipper. Forget guest entries, unless you're thinking boobies :-)
 
jamottep said:
Ok ... so I have used a write in the rain small log before. It got wet quickly in the Olson 30. Even on the Clipper boats where the nav table is well aft and protected from the elements the log book gets wet (because when you write in the log book ... you're dripping water be it sweat, spray, rain or spill).

I like the idea of logging in a neat somehow formal document. It may make more accountable ... go figure.

I think for solo sailors the logbook should have parts for the sailing, the boat and the skipper. Forget guest entries, unless you're thinking boobies :-)
Click to expand...

You could go simple, punch holes in this unlined weatherproof copy paper and load into a binder.

https://www.amazon.com/Rite-Rain-Al...&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=waterproof+paper&psc=1

This is kind of an intriguing product. Not cheap tho.

Edit, just saw Sled's idea. That looks better.
 
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