# Log Books



## JohnnyReb (Mar 9, 2008)

Do most sailors not use log books anymore?
Reason I ask this question is the apparent lack of selection.
I had some log books from many years ago that I used on my last 2 boats and I am looking for same for my new purchase.

Watch Log: people could sign in/out...record heading, weather, speed, etc. Also was a good device for a checklist (barometer reading, fuel level, radio check,etc.) when coming on duty.

Captain's Log: obvious purpose

Ship's Log: maintenance schedule, recording of new installations, boat history.

Sometimes combined the Captain's Log and Ship's Log but like to keep the Cap'ns Log for memories while transferred Ship's Log at time of sale.

Anyone have suggestions... sources? (Chapman's is not my favorite; WEEMS and PLATH is generally not big enough for a daily log on a 3 month cruise).

Am I just too old fashioned?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I doubt your old fashioned. I use one for a maintenance record and to track fuel use. Also record trips and recordable stuff. All the young sprites use a computer, I'm sure.


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## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

I use a hard bound, lined 'journal' from Staples. Cost ~ $12 -- they're cheaper than the 'pre-printed' types and you can decide what information you want to record and in what order. True, you have to get out the ruler and line out the columns every day, but it only takes a minute or so. Someone gave us one of the pre-printed logs once -- tried it and found it was structured to burn lots of pages with very little info / page. 

IMHO, DIY logs are the best.


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I prefer and Excel Spreadsheet made for the purpose. It links into another spreadsheet that I use for maintenance. On the same laptop is Office 2007 software(full suite, Word, Powerpoint, OneNote etc..) so my guests can upload pictures, write things and such.


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## jlmarra (Oct 30, 2001)

My wife and I keep a log for the days events. We let guests write their thoughts and experiences in the log. We note start and end point, weather conditions, sea state, and engine hours (begin and end). We keep a separate log for maintenance items.

John & Joan
S/V Sailor Dance
1990 Caliber 33
Long Island Sound


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## JohnnyReb (Mar 9, 2008)

CR, I had thought about a 'puter log; however, on this voyage I want my kids to understand and appreciate "the old" ways and maybe show them that life exists outside a computer screen.(not that I am saying you have that problem... it is just part of growing up today).

They are going to sign on/off duty and have a set of chores and responsibilities while on watch. I may become less rigid in the routine later in the trip. 
Looks like a DIY log may be the way to go but think it is a shame no company seems to make an item that was such an important part of maritime custom and tradition.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

the hard bound Record book from Staples or Office Depot is excellent for your boat's log keeping. Then have one for Maintenance or sectionalized the record book for the Maintenance. But have one or several for daily observations by your guests. (They may want to take it home with them for memory keeping along with photos).

For the Official log: 
Starts at 0001 (midnight) Who is on watch, position at that time, course, speed and weather. During the watch record course & speed changes, weather changes. At end of watch distance traveled and any other data that could be pertinent to your vessel. Errors are single lined out and initialed, no obileration, white out or tear out of pages. Each End of watch entry signed by off going senior watch stander.
You could use the left-hand pages for daily maintenance if you care to. I.E. Engine fluid checks, batteries check, fuel on board and so on. Along with Engine hours and generator hours from last oil & filter change.


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## catamount (Sep 8, 2002)

Field Books used by surveyors, geologists, foresters, environmental scientists, engineers and others come in a variety of page styles (e.g. lined paper on one side, graph paper on the other, etc...) and are typically made out of high-quality water-resistant paper. The standard size bound book is usually about 4 3/4" x 7 1/2" with around 160 pages. One good source is Forestry Suppliers


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

I try but it can be difficult.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Ships Log used on Restless*

You might check out:
The International Marine Log Book, C. Dale Nouse
I believe that for a log to have legal standing, it must be bound so that pages cannot be removed and pages must be sequentially numbered.
The Nouse log fills the bill there.
You can browse several example pages on Amazon.com
We keep another guest log for visitors to share their comments etc. and another listing of boats, people, marinas, etc along the way.
Hope this helps.


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

I use a plain school copy book ( black & white cover ) as a log for maintenance items. Gives me lots of space to record what I did.




Does anyone have a favorite type of pen to use, when making entrees ?


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Found these Nautical and Capt's Log's.
Not too bad in my opinion.
Nautical Log/Ship Log/Captain's Log Book


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

Just wanted to add: Keep your Navigator's work book separate from you Boat Log. They are two different animals.
Your boat Log can be used as your medical log, nicer to have a separate one.
Also you need a Radio Log _(which by the way is the worst kept log on most vessels)_ A commercial one could be used here.
And speaking of logs. A garbage/trash log is necessary on commercial vessels now. Talk about bureaucracy....


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

I feeling really guilty, but feel compelled to expose myself to the wrath of the Sailnet community. Also, the sloths of the sailing community haven't had the fortitude to chime in.. here goes...

I don't keep an underway log for daysails or short trips, I'd rather sail than write. For longer trips or overnight transits, I keep a position log via GPSNavX and write a short summary at the end of the day (mostly chatty stuff, not very nautical).

By way of explanation, I maintain a spreadsheet of major jobs/ upgrades/ purchases to help determine if something is due for replacement. As to overall cost, I keep a detailed record under Quicken as part of household finances. As to the maintenance schedule, I have a set routine for servicing the engine (mid season) and do monthly visual checks. I do all my own maintenance, so I'm ALWAYS looking at the boat critically (anally, says my wife)

So I guess that you could say that the log is a compilation of the GPSNavX track history, Quicken, a Word doc, and a spreadsheet. Works for me.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Logs*

When we first purchased our Morgan 321 I looked at a number of different commercial logbooks but none seemed to fit. I did buy one that came closest to meeting my needs. Using my computer's word processor I reformatted those pages on my computer and developed a template I could then use. Three or four revisions later I now have a format that suits my needs and is easily used.

While sailing I have a small notebook and pen I carry in a small pouch where I note conditions, course and so forth. When time permits I enter the information and additional notes on my pda which has a portable, collapsable and very compact keyboard. Upon returning home I transfer the log with notes to my PC. Also I insert any digital photos I may have taken to illustrate the good times we've had.

This season I hope to eliminate one or two steps since we purchased a laptop that can be taken right along with us on _The_ Big Lake.

I also took time to write our own 'logs' for other purposes. There's one for Emergency and Safety, another for Maintenance, and another just for Coast Guard and state Documention and ship's systems. The biggest benefit in that project was learning so much more about the boat and procedures to use in various situations.

I'm a long, long way from being a young sprite computer geek.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Logbook Heirloom*

I had a friend who's great-great grandfather made brooms for a living. Her family still had some of his business journals and they considered them a treasure. I would strongly encourage anyone to write their non-maintenance type logs down by hand instead of using a computer. You have no idea how valuable they will be to your decendants.

"A life worth living is a life worth recording."-Tony Robbins


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## carib14 (Dec 29, 2000)

Beyond the recording of memories and maintenance stuff, the log book becomes a legal document... which becomes your defense should it be required... or your support in warranty claims.


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## petegingras (Mar 29, 2007)

Sabreman,



> I don't keep an underway log for daysails or short trips, I'd rather sail than write.


I am by no means the type A sailor, but one misadventure has impressed upon me to denote time, tide, wind, direction, SOG, LAT, LONG. In a $.99 drug store memo book, West Marine has them for $7.00.

Overnight and mutiple days, yes three different logs.

you're right sailing not logging.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Plenty of Log Book Options Here...*

I puchased my Log Books at Blue Water Books & Charts in Newport Rhode Island. They have plenty of options to choose from. I live in Rhode Island so It's a natural choise for me. It's a real luxury having Newport and all of it's sailing resources right next door.

I tried, but I cant post a link yet, you can look it up on the web.


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## SSTampa (Jan 18, 2008)

petegingras said:


> Sabreman,
> 
> ...but one misadventure has impressed upon me to denote time, tide, wind, direction, SOG, LAT, LONG....


Mind sharing what happened that impressed you to keep a detailed log like that?


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

We use this one, The Boater's Log Book and Journal pictured in the link. Hardcover bound, about 1/2 in thick, and sells for $15.

Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6

It has a fuel log, radio log, maintenance log, equipment listing and I think 88 pages for passages. It's an informal format, with entry lines for start/destination, engine hours/rpm, distance traveled, weather observations/forecast and a half page section for comments etc. There is also some basic first aid/safety info as well.

We routinely log all trips, keeping track of days out, overnights out, and each book lasts about a year. In fact we even log it down if we checked the boat and ran the engine for a time over the winter season.

The active one is aboard, the others kept at home for a historical record and occasional review


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Keep it Simple*

I spent 10 years from 1972 to 1982 sailing the world. I used spiral college lined notebooks for everything. I still have the one I used for my last trip. They are cheap, they last as long as they are kept in the nav area. Every watch had to record all the particulars of their watch and every morning we had a ceremony to update the the LOP on the chart. I am planning my next journey and their will be a spiral notebook on the nav table to be sure.


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

> I am planning my next journey and their will be a spiral notebook on the nav table to be sure.


I still think the old black & white copy books are better, because they are bound.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I like Laboratory notebooks for logs. They're hard cover, good paper, and hard-bound, which makes them excellent for legal purposes. The better ones are acid-free paper, printed on water-resistant paper with permanent inks and will lie flat on the table top. They're not exactly cheap, being about $37 per book, which has 150 pages.


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## dave72205 (Apr 10, 2002)

*Log Books are great!*

You're not old fashioned, you're just smart. 
I was given a log book as a welcome present when I bought my 1964 alberg almost 10 years ago, and am still using it. I don't fill out every outing but many esp if they are memorable, high winds, or neat places. I keep this log on the boat. we use it to recall great trips as well as a reference source for where to go, where the sandbars are, etc.

I keep a separate maintenance log for the boat and engine in a folder with all the maintenance details such as which fuel/water filter, fuel filter etc.


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## Shubin.EbbTide (Mar 5, 2006)

I use a simple spiral bound book from Staples. I take a picture of the crew on a daysail or a cruise with my cheapo Polaroid camera. Been sailing since 1967 and am glad I can remember the faces of people who have been on the boat via the pics.

A separate book is for all the other "stuff". . .

Jim on a 1975 Pearson 36


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

3 ring binder with separate sections for:
fuel, maintenance, inventory and ship's log along with sections for clearing customs and other reference material that I'm always looking up.

It's a great reference when returning to an anchorage ten years later to look up notes, to see how long it took us to make a particular run in the past as well as memorializing great memories.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Erps-

A three-ring binder isn't a legally useful document if you get into a problem, since the pages can be added and removed with no way to detect the alteration.  Makes sense for the Maintenance and inventory sections, but not for the Ship's Log.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

I'm sort of like Chuckles on logs. All my maintenance and equipment records are kept on a spreadsheet saved on a memory stick. And I record every cent and every event no matter how apparently insignificant. It's surprising how often this has helped with warranty issues.

I use an Adlard Coles logbook for trip info but only record details on a trip of some importance. Sailing around my local waters doesn't get recorded even if it's overnight or two or three days. I have thus used the same log book for 8 years and on three different boats. I also record my sailing details on other boats if it's significant because that keeps an on-going record of my sea miles and adds to the "data base" of experiences.

I only check engine hours when I fuel up so that I can log the fuel consumption. I service on 100 hours so I keep half an eye on that but I find no value in recording the engine hours on every sail.

We have a visitors book for genuine visitors (not friends coming down for a day-sail) to record their impressions of their time on board.

Andre


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

sailingdog said:


> Erps-
> 
> A three-ring binder isn't a legally useful document if you get into a problem, since the pages can be added and removed with no way to detect the alteration.  Makes sense for the Maintenance and inventory sections, but not for the Ship's Log.


I doubt that ship logs for a non-commercial vessel have any bearing in a lawsuit other than it is a documented evidence. A dairy doesn't have to be a bound book, a three ring binder is still a binded document....A binded notebook / log book doesn't have to have page numbers on it, in the end it is what happened and what was recalled - which is why for a recreational sailor it doesn't matter if the log is electronic or on separate 9X5 index cards...or pages in a 3 ring Binder..the mere fact that events can be recalled - the writing down is a bonus and allows one to state this is what I recorded at such and such a time (notebook, napkin, written on your forearm...etc)

Commercially and on military ships - it is different (they have SOPs)... and maybe in a court of law - if one was to get there... it would be recommended but not a judiciary requirement... evidence and recollection in whatever documented form is usually acceptable...besides if a ship goes under - and the log books with... seems a minor point when all said and done...


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Whats wrong with you guys...

Our trips are so long and extensive that we have to have a dozen or so of these..Here is a picture of our navigator/page...filling in today's entry...She only gets 3 hours sleep per day and is writing full time trying to keep up with everything going on...I cant see how you Guys get by with so few pages..must be sailing slow with Chuckles sleeping under fake palm trees...mesmerized by big disco ball..saying arnt the stars lovely to night honey..wanta dance?


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## sander06 (Sep 18, 2003)

carib14 said:


> Beyond the recording of memories and maintenance stuff, the log book becomes a legal document... which becomes your defense should it be required... or your support in warranty claims.


+1! In a world where "Sue" is not just a girl's name anymore, the ship's log is, indeed, a legal document for defense of actions.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> A three-ring binder isn't a legally useful document if you get into a problem, since the pages can be added and removed with no way to detect the alteration. Makes sense for the Maintenance and inventory sections, but not for the Ship's Log.


Yeah, I remember reading somewhere about the ship's log being a legal document if certain parameters were met (every page signed was one I think). On the other hand, I've introduced more than a few documents into different courts and being in a spiral binder wasn't one of the requirements to be admitted. A ship's log used in a court setting would most likely be used as notes to refresh a witness's testimony anyhooo.


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## marlinbree (Jan 2, 2003)

*My own Boat Log & Record -- and how it go that way*

After years of messing around with various pieces of paper and tablets, I finally developed my own Boat Log & Record. This is a single source of information about a boat and voyages that I have used it in all of my singlehanded voyages on Lake Superior. ( See my book, Wake of the Green Storm.). The BL&R is where I keep nearly everything I need to know about my boat, ranging from essential insurance information, names & addresses of key people, maintenance and troubleshooting data, onboard equipment, and specifications, to name a few. It also has a different sort of log, but one I have found to be ideally suited to a pleasure boater and intended to be used with navigational charts and GPS. I have a place for GPS waypoints to save, so I can look up my waypoints in the BL&R, in case the GPS goes out (it's been known to happen!) In other words, what I have tried to do is put evetyhing a pleasure boater in a small boat would want to collect and have handy in the way of information and resources about a boat and its voyages in a single volume. I use this book and many others do, too. I have no use for a formal naval log-type book and most sailors I know don't either. There's a fuller description of the Boat Log & Record on my website.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes, but pages in a three-ring binder can easily be substituted and there is no way to easily prove that there was no substitution.. so many lawyers would probably argue that the written statement of a three-ring-binder type log wasn't really necessarily accurate or even the original from the time of an accident or incident. If the log is hard-bound, then page substitution isn't an issue. Forgery or erasure is generally far easier to detect, and the log is much more likely to be authentic.

For instance, say your best friend has a USCG Captain's License, and was on watch when he hits a small fishing skiff, which he didn't see. The log indicates he was on watch at the time, and he could lose his USCG license. You, being his good friend, but only a recreational boater, decide that you're going to cover for him, so you rip out the page that says he was on watch, and replace it with one saying you were on watch... now, you've conspired to cover it up... and his USCG ticket is safe, unless you're caught in covering it up. With a three-ring binder log book... there's no way to prove you didn't do this. With a hard-bound log book, it is pretty easy to prove what was written in the log at the time is what is still in the log book now. Altering a document untraceably is much more difficult if you can't remove and add pages.



artbyjody said:


> I doubt that ship logs for a non-commercial vessel have any bearing in a lawsuit other than it is a documented evidence. A dairy doesn't have to be a bound book, a three ring binder is still a binded document....A binded notebook / log book doesn't have to have page numbers on it, in the end it is what happened and what was recalled - which is why for a recreational sailor it doesn't matter if the log is electronic or on separate 9X5 index cards...or pages in a 3 ring Binder..the mere fact that events can be recalled - the writing down is a bonus and allows one to state this is what I recorded at such and such a time (notebook, napkin, written on your forearm...etc)
> 
> Commercially and on military ships - it is different (they have SOPs)... and maybe in a court of law - if one was to get there... it would be recommended but not a judiciary requirement... evidence and recollection in whatever documented form is usually acceptable...besides if a ship goes under - and the log books with... seems a minor point when all said and done...


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

Oh sailingdog. You could have video of the accident in your example and some lawyer is going to challenge the video's authenticity. I think this is a non-issue for recreational boaters but if you're convinced that a hardbound log is somehow more credible let me point out that some long haul truckers kept two log books to keep out of trouble for putting too many hours on the road. Any evidence being introduced needs to meet certain standards, usually just testimony of the person submitting it that it is what it is and it's unaltered.


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## knothead (Apr 9, 2003)

JohnnyReb said:


> Do most sailors not use log books anymore?
> 
> I have often wondered the same thing.
> Most of the captains that I have crewed for on deliveries did not keep a log unless specifically instructed to by the owner. Not a prudent practice in my opinion.
> ...


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## petegingras (Mar 29, 2007)

> Mind sharing what happened that impressed you to keep a detailed log like that?


SSTampa,

Well not reading from the log itself&#8230; but the story goes that I became too caviler about arriving and anchoring in a harbor that I had become all too familiar with as a port, Cuttyhunk, MA (township of Goznald).

After midnight, following a cold front's passage, on my way, single handing from Newport to Vineyard Haven, MA I though it best to make port and rest before morning.

Now the harbor has a crowded inner harbor that has a tight mooring field with both floating mooring balls and fixed polls, and minimal anchorage inside the harbor. But I was very familiar with this limited anchorage and was confident I would obtain safe holding inside. I did not, after 45 minutes of setting, failed holdings, and two attempts to reset. That sent me outside the harbor, and two likely anchorages, one I was familiar with a one the other not, I generally note other anchorages and my visuals on other boats experiences. The wind was out of the dead South and negated the spot I was familiar with.

Well taking the unfamiliar option, I end up on Piece Ledge just after 2:15 am with the tide ebbing.

Morale I thought I would have at least two anchoring options, because I had safely anchored in two out of the three options I had available, and these were noted in my lg book from 4 seasons of sailing into Cuttyhunk. Come to find out, three years later, I was unfamiliar with 3 others, and my choice landed me on a rock.

Better to be on a boat, with a drink on the rocks, than in the drink with your boat on the rocks. Now all 5 anchorages are noted in my log book and my drinks are on the rocks in Cuttyhunk.


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

What I learned in courses I took through U.S. Power Squadron is that a log book is indeed a legal document - but that to be accepted it has to be _consistent_.

For instance, you get run into at night while at anchor and the other boat claims you had no anchor light on. You claim that you did and show it in the log book exactly when it was turned on. If that is the only instance it ever appeared in your log book, its submission in court is going to be suspect. However, if you can go back for months and years and show that_ everytime_ you anchored you wrote in when the anchor light was turned on, and when it was turned off in the morning and each page is signed by the Captain - it is more likely to be believed.

We note everything - Saltwater Suzi is very, very adamant about it - and I sign each page. We keep track of everything notable, including the weather, ships seen at night, our location at changes of course, new headings, etc. It has never come to litigation, but if it were to, I'll bet that our log could be substantiated 'beyond a reasonable doubt.'

We've done this for the entire time we have owned the boat (11 years).


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

> We note everything - Saltwater Suzi is very, very adamant about it - and I sign each page.


Which log do you use and is it a bound book?

Thanks


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

Freesail asked:


> Which log do you use and is it a bound book?


We made our own - I'll post a copy if anyone is interested - we don't use a bound book - it's a loose leaf notebook - but each page is dated down the left column - it would be difficult to go back and insert a page and make it look authentic - I suppose some lawyer could contest it, but I think _anything_ could be fabricated, given enough time. It just has to be believable to judge and/or jury, I would think. It probably doesn't constitute proof like DNA or fingerprints - but if you've ever served on a jury you know that a lot of what is testified to is not substantiated at all - so I think a signed log book would, at the very least, help lend credence to testimony.


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

*Garbage Plan*

Here's something else that may not quite follow the thread but is a 'legal' thing, too, for boats over 39.4 feet. You need to have a "Garbage Plan." We found this out when boarded by the Coast Guard a few years back. It basically has to say, in writing, and signed by the Captain what you plan to do with your garbage. Which is to say, we 'Don't through it overboard. We place it in a container, and put it in a dumpster next time we're ashore."

You really have to have that. Who thinks up this stuff?

So I got sarcastic - or satirical - and this is my Garbage Plan - as appears in the back of my Log Book:

*To All Crew and Guests of S/V Kanau:<o></o>*
<o></o>*No garbage is to be thrown overboard. All garbage will be placed in appropriate containers. These containers will be periodically emptied into garbage bags or other appropriate (and government approved) containers and carried ashore to be placed into suitable, approved containers. The contents of these shoreside garbage containers will, of course, be collected by the appropriate governmentally approved garbage collection authorities, placed aboard governmentally approved barges and subsequently will be dumped into the governmentally approved*<o></o> *sea.*
Larry MacDonald<o></o>​ Captain, S/V Kanau<o></o>​


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

> We made our own - I'll post a copy if anyone is interested - we don't use a bound book


I be very interested in seeing what you've done.
Thanks,
Paul


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

Freesail: For what it's worth, here it is: I tried to add it as an attachement - but it didn't show up in the preview - I just copied it over but had to spend time ridding it of all of the smiley faces that show up - Anybody know why that happens and if there's anything I can do to avoid it?​*Deck Log* ​From:________________ To:_________________
  *Time<o></o>*​  *Position<o></o>*​  *Latitude<o></o>*​  *Longitude<o></o>*​  *TC<o></o>*​  *V<o></o>*​  *D*​  *CC<o></o>*​  *Speed<o></o>*​  *Remarks<o></o>*​ 





















































































































































 
 <o></o>
Signature:
 
 <o> </o>


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks for posting


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## catamount (Sep 8, 2002)

LarryandSusanMacDonald said:


> *To All Crew and Guests of S/V Kanau:<o></o>*
> <o></o>*No garbage is to be thrown overboard. All garbage will be placed in appropriate containers. These containers will be periodically emptied into garbage bags or other appropriate (and government approved) containers and carried ashore to be placed into suitable, approved containers. The contents of these shoreside garbage containers will, of course, be collected by the appropriate governmentally approved garbage collection authorities, placed aboard governmentally approved barges and subsequently will be dumped into the governmentally approved*<o></o> *sea.*


to further hi-jack the thread -- This is all well and good, but per Annex V of MARPOL 73/78, Prevention of Pollution at Sea, to which most nations in the world are signatories, the discharge of plastic wastes, or mixed wastes containing plastics, at sea anywhere in the world is illegal.... This applies to those "governmentally approved" barges, too.

Back on the subject of logbooks and legalities, an alternative argument that I've heard expressed is that your logbook can more easily be used against you in court than it can come to your defense, thus (so the argument goes) it is better not to keep a logbook at all.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

You should keep a log book. But you should also be careful of what you put in it. Definitely you do not want to log the jettisoning of said in-laws over the side.
But the log can be used to document you time underway.
To document your engine hours, boat maintenance and the guests carried on board. Also the weather for that day, and the gunk-holes that you visited.

But you don't need to enter every little and very minor detail in that log. Especially about your in-laws or cantankerous spouse.


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

Catamount said:


> This is all well and good, but per Annex V of MARPOL 73/78, Prevention of Pollution at Sea, to which most nations in the world are signatories, the discharge of plastic wastes, or mixed wastes containing plastics, at sea anywhere in the world is illegal....


I'm curious - is the U.S. one of those signatory nations - or did our govt. decide it would not be in our economic interest to sign on - as with the Kyoto accord?


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> I'm curious - is the U.S. one of those signatory nations - or did our govt. decide it would not be in our economic interest to sign on - as with the Kyoto accord?


Oh man! Some of the fellas would love to have you over on the global warming thread. It's far from settled yet over there.


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

> Oh man! Some of the fellas would love to have you over on the global warming thread. It's far from settled yet over there.


Not to worry. Be patient. In 50 years Washington DC will be under water.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> However, if you can go back for months and years and show that everytime you anchored you wrote in when the anchor light was turned on, and when it was turned off in the morning and each page is signed by the Captain - it is more likely to be believed.


I think we're still too hung up on the legal document aspect. A properly signed, notarized, sealed in evidence bags type log book isn't worth a darn to a skipper if it doesn't have the type of information the skipper may need to look up some time in the future.

Heck, I have drawings of different anchorages I've been to in my logbook and it's probably on an unsigned page. Does anyone really think that matters on a dark stormy night when you're ducking into that anchorage again? I'm not saying don't sign the pages if you want to, just that it really doesn't add any value to the information.


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## catamount (Sep 8, 2002)

LarryandSusanMacDonald said:


> I'm curious - is the U.S. one of those signatory nations


Yes.

The "Garbage Disposal" and "Oil Discharge Prohibited" placards that we are all required to have (and if longer than 12 meters, the written "Waste Management Plan") are one result.


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

Why not design your own? That's what I did. I used MS Word to design a table with the headings and columns I wanted, then had my local print shop print it off. They gave me two 200 page logs, 8-1/2 by 14 landscape formate, coil bound, for less than $50.


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