Who keeps impeccable maintenance records?

I wish I kept great records, but I don't. I do all the stuff I should (and then some) but just don't write it all down. I write the hours on the filters, and it's plain to see the upgrades and such, but not much is written down.

A common refrain on this forum is, when considering a purchase, to ask for maintenance records and be suspicious of a boat with gaps. I dont plan to sell and I don't really care what a buyer thinks as I believe the boat would speak for itself, but curious what say the TF Bigger Brain?

How may of you don't keep great records?

Curious minds want to know....

Peter

I am great at working on the boat but crappy at documenting it. I try and do it for a month or two and then it just drifts by the wayside.

I'm pretty bad about it as well, although I have an oddly good memory for it. On the boat if you ask about something I can probably give an approximate date for it. With the cars at home there's one I've been disciplined about records for, but generally I do the work without thinking to document it.

In general, when buying I like to be able to talk to someone who's owned it for a while. You can often get a good sense of maintenance even without records and knowing exactly what's been done when.

I keep a log book with the date, location, and engine hours. I also put in the date and whatever maintenance that I've done. Whoever gets the boat after me will know where it's been and what's been done to it.

I made a deliberate decision to not do it, mainly because in my day job, as a GP, I was forced to document everything for medico-legal reasons, and for good management.

Over time I realised that was perhaps going a bit too far, and some documentation would have been good, especially when it came to re-sale. So maybe there's a happy medium..?

I keep a reasonable track of everything done on Google docs

Each major component (Genset, engine, gearbox, pumps, hull) has it's own doc, hours and dates as things are done and notes on issues
All available across all devices.

Vessel had zero records when we got her.

I guess I'm lazy. I keep a simple filing case with all manuals, systems etc. Also yearly receipt files. When the time comes to sell I can create a spreadsheet or not.

I keep a pretty good log of everything I do on the boat. It's just running notes, like a journal, and I do it so I can remember what I did, what I tried, what worked and what didn't work while fixing and improving things. It's super useful to search back on topics, and helps my eroding memory. As part of that, I have a simple table of routine maintenance task, with dates and hours for when each was done. Each time I do something, I add an entry for when it's due next. That makes it easy to scan and see what's coming due when.

Hi,

I make entries in the boat log for all maintenance, repairs, refueling. The same book has daily trips (time and distance), machine hours, and more.

NBs

Good to see I have some company in the lax-records space.

Going forward as I finalize my refit and get Weebles moving, I really need to do a better job. Twistsd Tree makes several good points about correlation and trending of data, though his boat is infinitely more complex and would tax anyone's memory. My sense is there's a complexity quotient that can be derived with sumproduct of pistons, impellors, and displays raised to the power of the sum of IP Addresses floating around the boat. A Nordhavn like TTs can get pretty complex. There's a natural and self imposed limit on my 50+ year old Willard.

When I was delivering I typically made detailed notes for the owner. Many of my deliveries added over 100 engine hours to the boat, sometimes up to 500 hours. I created a breadcrumb log in my nav software which I felt would be helpful in the event of an insurance or warranty claim. Because many were new, I did the first oil change, sometimes at sea. All sorts of observations about any quirks or conditions of the boat. Anything I thought the owner might possibly find interesting, mostly so he'd be a strong reference.

But I don't do it for myself. I've tried and probably bought 3-4 logbooks over the years. I guess it's a case of the shoemakers children going shoeless. Simi60 idea with Google Docs might have merit for me.

Peter

I keep a spreadsheet maintenance log. Not happy with the organization of it, but at least I have something...

I wish I was better at keeping a log. What works for me is a label maker. Change the raw water impeller, it gets a label:

IMPELLER
03.20.22

Oil analysis is kept as a PDF file on a thumb drive. Blackstone shows the most recent 6 tests. I do this for the engine, transmission and generator.

On some things (like the water heater) I'll just right the replacement date with a sharpie in plain view. On items that aren't hour based or annual based maintenance, it's faster for me to look at the previous maintenance label. As an example, when looking at the vacuum pumps on my Vacuflush heads, I know I'm going to be changing the valves, but the tag reminds me it's been 5 years since I did the bellows.

Ted

I also keep the Blackstone reports readily available and plan to SOMEDAY reconstruct and document the other routine maintenance and upgrades. My (weak) excuse for not doing so is that I stay too busy performing them. For trip logs, we use NEBO, which gives us most of the relevant data and a map with the day’s run automatically.

Finally got more anal about this. In the past had small cardboard sheets I kept inside a plastic envelope which was attached to what ever device. Upon a oil/filter change would write date/engine or run hours then what was done. If filters changed would detach thin cardboard lid and write date/hours on it then put in envelope.
Still do above but finally bought Boating Suite for a few bucks. Now enter the same information but also cost, place and vendor for everything. So get total cost of ownership as well as detailed service records. Lastly keep my receipts . Periodically scan them into the IPad. Think having iPads or similar makes it so easy to update records immediately upon completing any task I have much less excuses for not doing it.

I do pretty good but not organized the way I want it. I developed a complete list of information and all the components / equipment with serial numbers and service part numbers etc. Then I just update that item when I serviced it. I usually just save the bills and update the file during a winter day that I can't get to the boat. I keep a printed copy on board as well as at home, the electronic version is very handy when I'm at the parts counter.

The admiral insisted I establish a file so when the time comes to sell she can share. I think she just wants to verify that when I'm say I'm down working on the boat I'm just out shooting the bull!

Funny thing though, I have done this on every boat I owned and shared a written copy to the new owners. They still call me for information about their boat, not sure they really ever looked at the sheet. I think their more interested in looking at the condition of the boat!

I keep a maintenance log, but it’s kind of a mess. Not very professional looking.

Does most everyone here do routine oil reports on every oil change with Blackstone or whoever? I’ve done a few but not on every oil change.

I have kept a fairly rigorous Excel log since acquiring Stella. Inputs are similar to a database and take advantage of Excel’s filter functions so I can retrieve entries by date, engine hours, system, component, who performed task and notes about what was found, and materials used for repair. Fairly useful and helpful for insurance and, hopefully, future sale.

I don't keep a separate maintenance book. Everything goes in the logbook as it is done.

Every time the engine is started the date, time, engine hours, fuel level (gallons used to date), weather and starting location is noted. The same data including notes on the trip is entered upon reaching the destination.

If we run the generator the date, time of day and hours are noted at the beginning and end of the cycle.

Having said that, I don't note things like washing and waxing, inspecting hoses and battery/electrical connections. Also don't keep track of propane for the stove but a tank (fiberglass 17#?) lasts more than a season.

The buyer of our NP 39 and surveyor both seemed happy with that level of documentation.

Rob

The more I think about it, what I keep is a detailed Journal, not really a log. What would really qualify as my maintenance log is sorest sparse. Just date, hours, and task like “main oil & filter”. And my ships log is equally terse, with entries like 08:00 departed xxx for YYY, the 17:00 Anchored, YYY. The journal is supplemental to the logs, and contains my own train of thought in things, rants, etc. But it really covered everything done to the boat in a lot of detail. The last boats journal was well over 100 pages, single spaced in a word doc. Before passing it to the next owner I had to sanitize it since I had bitched out various people and products along the way.

I also keep a spreadsheet with all the spares and supplies on board. When my maintenance log shows service due, I can check to see what I have in stock, and what I need to get to replenish. One key element in the spreadsheet is where the item is stashed. It’s easy to forget things that are infrequently used.

Last, I have built up another document that is a pretty comprehensive list of the boats details and equipment. This is particularly important to me since I’m not on the boat full time. So if I need to get a part for some piece of onboard equipment, I have the make, model, and serial number on hand, can check my parts list to see if I already have the part, and order it if needed, all while away from the boat.

There are infinite ways to do all this with lots of “right” answers. This happens to work for me.

I downloaded MV Dirona’s spreadsheet he has on this blog about 4 years ago and modified it for our vessels systems. In addition to that, I have a “Ships Manual” so to speak that I am constantly adding notes on everything from systems, projects, and wins and losses.

Until this boat I did not keep a log for others to see at a latter date. logged oil changes and fixed things when they broke.

With insurance and survey getting more concerning I am getting more detailed in case down the road I am quizzed for an insurance renewal. I quickly enter date of actions and then go back and provide more detail.

I have a pre trip, post trip list but I have not yet logged the results.
Impeccable it is not.

I keep an Excel spreadsheet with (if I don't forget to enter it) every maintenance job, with date and engine hours columns. Not fancy, but searchable. Had one for 18 years on previous boat - new owner loved it.

Have another spreadsheet for Spares.

I keep a Daily log, a Maintenance log, an Expense log, a Radio log, and Vessel Details (everything from LOA and MMSI to paint colors) all in a single 3-ring binder. That sounds really anal, but most things end up in the Daily log unless they are "important," like a big expense, a radio contact I want to remember, or a distress call on the radio. The Daily log has date, crew, engine hours, oil level, etc. and enough space to write trip info. If we don't leave the marina, I usually just detail any shore-side maintenance in the space left from the last entry in the daily trip log. That means that sometimes I have to glance through the Daily logs to find something (which is always enjoyable).

Many maintenance items (hoses, impellers, filters, etc.) are simply written on with a paint pen. The Maintenance log does have hourly change intervals noted, but it is usually more of a general guideline. I've found that too much requested detail in a log leads to having no entry at all. Too much detail in the Expense log generates questions from my wife. I needed a system that I was comfortable with and could not find a commercial log book that fit the bill. Mine is still not perfect, but works for me.

Since I print out the log pages from an Excell file, I'm able to choose the paper stock. Regular printer paper gets tattered over time from usage and moisture. Heavier paper, more like card stock, can put up with years of use.

I keep impeccable maintenance records, all receipts on items purchased for the boat, and record every gallon of fuel used. When we purchased our boat, 22 years ago, we filled the tanks with diesel at @1.20 a gallon.

I kept a detailed, but simple maintenance log. It was just a notebook separated into various sections for each system; eg. Engine, Generator, Electrical, Hull, Windlass, etc. etc. Could use a 3 ring binder and add pages when and where you need them. Then, as I did any work, I immediately wrote it down (therefore in time order of the work) in the appropriate section noting, date, hours, work done, by whom, and cost. For those of you who say it takes too much time??? I don't understand that excuse. Each entry took me less than 2 minutes, pretty easy (with the rare exception when a longer entry was needed for larger projects) and was entered as soon as the work was complete (so no memory needed).

Without these entries, I don't know how I could keep track of what was done when, and when the next maintenance for that item was due! A routine check of the maintenance log would show what was due or coming up. I also started using the MV Dirona spreadsheet, which is good, but for me, not a replacement for the maintenance book (only a supplement). When I sold, the buyer was happy with these records, knowing that the records matched what he was able to "see", and therefore gave him a very good "place to start" for his time as owner.
As a prospective buyer, I would prefer to have a maintenance history for the boat, if for no other reason as to know where to start and not have to do "unnecessary" maintenance because I just didn't know.
Just my thoughts, and I know, we are all different.

I find it very quick and easy to keep an Excel spreadsheet of all maintenance. I also record engine and genny hours, but not for every entry. I have a 3-ring binder to keep all receipts and every so often I print out the spreadsheet which becomes the first page in the binder. In most of my life, I'm not generally so organized, but I find this is a very simple process that takes almost no time and I'm hoping the next buyer will appreciate someday, but it also gives me a record to refer to if needed. I pay for a lot of my maintenance, so I also record the cost of most items, even if DIY. I guess that can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. A potential buyer might be impressed, or scared off, by the dollar amount spent maintaining the boat.

The problem with putting labels on filters and such is that you have to sight each one, log it into your brain, and compare the date to today's date - not so simple for us long-time retired types who do not care what day or date it is.

Being Navy-trained as well as having a mind like a sieve, I realized right after I bought my GB in 1986 that I was going to need to keep track of all the maintenance and parts.

Being a computer neophyte at the time but with some very talented computer types working for me, I was soon using dBase III to simply enter date, equipment code (P for port main, S for stbd, G for you guessed it), what was done, and cost into the fields. I could then print this out - not too useful, but at least it was a record. Time wore on, and I eventually was forced to become proficient in Excel into which I imported my original dBase stuff.

Nowadays, I have a number of different pages in my Excel file which are easily searched when I am just looking for some particular item, but the chronological page and the summary of routine maintenance pages are the most used.

With the current boat, I just adapted the Excel file format a bit and started anew with the few maintenance invoices the PO gave me after I read every manual of every piece of equipment on board noting the recommended maintenance items and intervals. This information was entered into the summary page starting with the main engine and running on down seventy items to things like replacing batteries in the SOS strobe and when to grease the SIXTEEN zerks on the boat lift. To quickly see what I need to be doing, I enter only the date and engine hours for main and genny at the top of the page and a yellow background appears in the cell to the right of each maintenance action with the word DUE printed. I print that one page if needed, and it's off to the boat.

I find it gratifying at the end of a busy maintenance day to sit down with this laptop and fill out the few bits of data that all those labors add up to.

What I have never been able to force myself to do is inventory the boat to a micro scale and make up a database of where to find every stored item. That sort of minutia is beyond my patience - I mean what am I to do when I move or use something, remember it for logging???

I am sort of anal about keeping track of some things but not all. Maint items are important to me as I lije to expand my spreadsheets of part #s and easy to add a note when an item was serviced / changed. I find I'm not very diligent during the season but find myself catching up during the off season. I sometimes need to look back at orders, shipping notices,betc to peg a reasonable date but SWAGs better than no record.

The spreadsheet maintenance log I mentioned in a post above is actually one of MANY tabs in my Excel workbook, which has all things related to the boat. Ship's log, project plans, wish lists, performance data, etc., etc.

I find that one of the sheets in this workbook I spend the most time with and get the most benefit from (other than the ship's log) is my very, very customized spring launch check list. In this list, I keep track of everything I need to do prior to launch and even prior to departure on the first cruise of the season. Each item has a column with the estimated amount of effort (i.e. hours).

With this, I can do some rather accurate planning for situations like this year. We know we have to arrive at our boat in France a fair amount of time ahead of when we want to cruise in order to do spring-launch work and system testing. But how soon? With this check list, I can see that I have ~102 man hours of work to be done before cruising away. But, I only want to arrive a week ahead of time. I can go through the list and find items that can be deferred to be done during the first few days of the cruise...and maybe a few items where I can hire local help (waxing and polishing, for example). While the list serves to help me remember things, I find it to be a very useful planning tool.

Fletcher500 said:

I downloaded MV Dirona’s spreadsheet he has on this blog about 4 years ago and modified it for our vessels systems. In addition to that, I have a “Ships Manual” so to speak that I am constantly adding notes on everything from systems, projects, and wins and losses.

Click to expand...

This is what I did. I took what they created and expanded it with multiple tabs to document maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to various areas (mains/generators/interior/exterior/electronics etc), and yearly expenses.

-tozz