It didn't take long to figure out that some sort of forms would be helpful to keep thorough and accurate logs. In the past I just made notes on my intended course on one sheet of paper and then took somewhat random notes on my progress as I went along. When entering this information as log entries, it was clear that sometimes the information recorded was less complete than other times.
Initially I wrote a single log sheet to record all of the data to be collected. Four logging requirements are written on the top of the log sheet and are the following.
The disadvantage of the single log sheet with everything on it was that each sheet of paper only got 4 entries on it. Some things such as weather need only be recorded once an hour. When tacking a lot, a lot of course changes occur. When keeping track of a danger bearing, or when nearing a hazard or an important buoy, quite a few bearing would be taken, even if no course changes were made. For these reasons, the original log sheet was split into three separate log sheets. The top of each form has a place for the date, destination, crew list, and the name of the person recording the information.
| Original Log Sheet | |||
| Log Sheet Name | Formats | Comments | |
| General Log Sheet | Postscript PDF (Adobe) |
Everything is on one form. There are only four entries per page so lots of tacks or bearings would require pages and pages of these forms. | |
| Alternate Three Separate Log Sheets | |||
| Log Sheet Name | Formats | Comments | Course Log Sheet | Postscript PDF (Adobe) |
This log sheet records course changes. It has the course steered, GPS observed course, speed, apparent wind (since many tacks are for wind changes), depth, observations, and of course time. There are 12 entries per log sheet. | Position Log Sheet | Postscript PDF (Adobe) |
This log sheet is to record bearings and fixes. Each entry can have up to 3 bearings and has space for a fix. The fix consist of a type (GPS, 3 bearing, running, etc) and a lattitude and longitude. The entry also has true wind, observed current, observations and time. The current would be recorded if progress was being plotted and set and drift determined. There are 7 entries per log sheet. | Weather Log Sheet | Postscript PDF (Adobe) |
The weatherlog would normally contain one entry per hour unless something unusual happenned like a squal or it just started to snow. There is space for time, observation (cloud cover, precipitation, waves), temperature or air and water, relative humidity, barometer reading and rate of change, and true wind direction and speed. There are 10 entries per log sheet. |
At the time of writing, I have not yet used these log sheets. Time will tell how useful they prove. These would only be used on a fairly long passage where I wanted to or needed to keep a log.
One more useful form is the laser printer plotting sheet. This file is in postscript format. This is easier to draw on than a full chart. It is useful for figuring things out like current set and drift and true wind direction and speed. You can also plot relative bearings of another moving vessel to determine their course and speed so you can determine how close you will pass and take appropriate action if it is too close (handy when you and a large commercial vessel are on a near collision course).