The starting point: why replace paper
Before Ekynavy, I kept a classic paper logbook: a hardback A5 notebook with pre-printed columns for time, position, heading, speed, wind, sea and free observation. The practice had obvious strengths: no battery to watch, instantly legible, no menu to learn, handed across a table to the next person on watch.
It also had limits that grew clearer over time. Positions are written by hand every hour, so they are imprecise and not continuous. The GPS track cannot be reviewed afterwards. The entries are sometimes illegible the next morning in the calm (handwriting + rain + salt + fatigue). And after three seasons you have six notebooks to dig out of a drawer if you want to compare the conditions in an anchorage between 2023 and 2025.
Digital promises to solve those three points, and to unlock others: aggregated statistics, history shared between crew, integrated weather, export.
What really changes
Automatic GPS tracking
This is probably the clearest gain. On paper, you note a position every hour, two if you are diligent. On an app with automatic tracking, it is a position every 10 to 30 seconds, with a base map, instantaneous and average speed, exact distance run. At the end of the passage you have a fine track that describes the trip objectively. No more doubt about the log's consistency, no more paragraph nobody remembers writing.
Aggregating statistics
On paper, knowing how many miles you have sailed in three years is an accountant's job. On digital, it is one screen. Total miles run, hours under way, engine hours, longest passage, average speed over the year. Useful in itself, and essential for anyone planning something bigger: an Atlantic circuit, an ocean crossing, a staged race.
Crew sharing
On paper, the logbook is physically on board. If the co-skipper wants to review the previous passage from home, it is not possible. On digital, the history is shared between crew accounts: everyone sees the same passages, in the same state, up to date. A complete change for boats with several co-skippers, where the log becomes a real collaborative tool.
Integrated weather
On paper, weather is taken alongside: national forecasts, NavTex, web sites, VHF calls. You note conditions and forecasts, knowing you lose track of what was forecast versus observed. On digital, the marine warnings and GRIB integrate directly into the log. You can compare afterwards what was announced versus what you got: invaluable for calibrating your weather judgement over time.
What stays the same (or almost)
Three things do not change:
The discipline of the watch
Keeping a log is, above all, a discipline. Paper or digital, if the skipper does not make the gesture of noting, nothing is noted. Digital makes the gesture easier (a tap instead of a written paragraph) but does not create the discipline. Crews that did not fill in their paper log do not fill in their digital one any better.
The quality of the observation
A good observation fits in one clear sentence: "Wind veering from the north-west, cross sea building, second reef at 16:20." The app does not write for you. It structures the format and offers quick entries, but it is always you who phrases the useful observation. A poor observation stays poor on any medium.
The need for redundancy
At sea, anything can fail: a dead battery, a cracked screen, water in the case, a software crash. The paper log does not crash (except if it takes water, and even then a pencil holds up well). That does not disqualify digital, but it does require redundancy: a second phone, a minimal paper chart, a pencil in a watertight drawer. Digital does not abolish the seamanlike culture of redundancy.
The real pitfalls of digital at sea
The screen in the sun
A consumer tablet screen in direct sun, sailing close-hauled, is unreadable. Solution: a dedicated high-brightness tablet (1000+ nits), or a phone protected in a waterproof case. But that is a budget and a piece of kit to plan for.
Battery offshore
A tablet tracking continuously with the screen on uses 5 to 10% of battery per hour. On an ocean crossing or a 36-hour passage, without solar or wind power on board, you run flat. Solution: a wired 12 V supply (permanently powered USB-C) and automatic dimming at night. A good app also lets you switch off the screen while keeping GPS tracking in the background, which saves a great deal.
The ill-timed software update
A phone that decides to update its OS at the start of a passage means 30 minutes without access to the data. Solution: disable automatic updates before departure, or use a dedicated navigation device you control.
Cloud dependence
Some apps require a permanent network connection to work (map downloaded on demand, uncached weather, real-time synced data). At sea, out of coverage, that is a problem. The absolute rule: choose an offline-first app, where everything works locally and the network only enriches.
When to keep paper anyway
Three cases where paper keeps its usefulness:
- The backup watch log for crews in training. Writing by hand helps you learn. On a training course, the student learns better filling in the columns themselves than on an app where everything is pre-filled.
- The backup paper chart. A minimal official chart of the area, in the nav drawer. If both digital devices are lost, you fall back on dead-reckoning navigation on a paper chart. This is not a luxury option, it is common sense.
- The keepsake and family memory. A bound notebook of all the passages, with a real binding and real handwriting, is an object. A digital file is not, at least not in the same way. For boats handed down in the family, many keep a written record alongside, just for that memory.
The verdict after 3 years
After three years keeping paper AND digital in parallel on the same boat, the verdict is clear: the digital log has replaced paper on every operational aspect, and paper now serves only in two precise cases (backup chart + family keepsake). The time saved is real. The data quality is better. The ability to cross-check forecast versus observed weather is invaluable. And crew sharing has become essential for a boat used by several co-skippers.
It is not all black and white: paper has qualities of object and simplicity no app will ever match. But in practice, on the water, for sailors who want a useful, faithful, usable log, digital has won. That logic guided the design of Ekynavy: replace the paper log without losing what made it good, while adding what it could not do.