I’ve been keeping a log almost as long as I’ve had my Offshore 8M
Karima. The first entry was on 27 July 2005, heading out with Philip, my generally non-sailing spouse, for afternoon tea in Vementry. The log records ‘Excellent expedition’.
There’s a serious purpose to record keeping, of course. Every time we leave the berth (that’s
Karima and I, not necessarily Philip too, or it would be a very slim volume) I note hours out, distance and engine hours; I log refuelling, so that at any time I can check exactly how many hours fuel I have – conveniently Karima uses a litre an hour. The back of the log has handy pages to list repairs and replacements, which is how I know that the standing rigging really needs to be done in the next couple of years, and I add what’s been done by way of antifouling during lift-out time. The engine was well used last summer, 27 hours, which brings it towards its 150 hour service.