Logbook: Best Practices

Complete guide for navigators

Why Keep a Logbook?

A Safety Tool

Record your courses, speeds, weather and sea state. If you encounter a problem, this information helps rescuers or allows you to retrace your steps.

An Aid to Anticipation

By reviewing your old logs, you notice weather patterns, currents and difficult areas. Very useful for preparing future passages.

A Record of Your Adventures

Years later, it's always nice to reread the anecdotes, encounters and conditions you went through. A true maritime logbook.

A Legal Obligation?

For offshore or commercial navigation, yes, it's mandatory. For coastal pleasure boating, it's often not required, but highly recommended.

What Information to Record?

Position and Navigation

  • Time (local or UTC)
  • GPS coordinates (lat/long)
  • Course followed (compass or GPS)
  • Speed over ground and speed through water
  • Distance covered since last entry

💡 💡 With Ekynavy, this data is automatically recorded via GPS

Weather

  • Wind direction and strength
  • General conditions (sunny, overcast, rain...)
  • Sea state (swell, chop...)
  • Atmospheric pressure (if you have a barometer)

💡 💡 Automatic weather integration with Ekynavy

Sails

  • Sails in use (mainsail, genoa, spinnaker...)
  • Sail reduction (reefs taken, sail changed)
  • Sail changes
  • Important maneuvers (gybe, tack...)

💡 💡 Useful to know which setting works in which conditions

Engine

  • Start / stop
  • Engine hours
  • Fuel consumption

Anchoring

  • Anchoring time
  • Depth
  • Chain length deployed
  • Bottom type (sand, mud, rock...)
  • Anchor holding check

Life Aboard

It's also the place to note:

  • Minor incidents or breakdowns
  • Important route decisions
  • Watches and rotations
  • Observations (dolphins, boats crossed, lights spotted...)
  • Notable photos of the day

How to Structure a Navigation?

A well-structured navigation in your logbook includes:

  • 📅 Departure date and time
  • 🚢 Departure port/point
  • 👥 Crew aboard (names and roles)
  • 🌤️ Weather conditions at departure
  • 📍 Notable waypoints
  • ⚠️ Important events during navigation
  • 🏁 Arrival: time, port, observations
  • 📝 Summary: total distance, duration, general impressions

💡 💡 By reviewing, you can spot your progress and improve your navigation

Best Recording Practices

Record in Real Time

Don't put it off. Fresh information is more accurate (especially weather and positions).

Set a Rhythm

Every hour, or at each course/sail/weather change. The important thing is regularity.

Stay Factual

Prefer '15 knots of wind, rough sea' to 'it was windy'. Numerical data is more exploitable.

Add Photos

They greatly enrich your log and remind you of the moment's atmosphere.

Keep the Log Accessible

In the cockpit, on a tablet or your phone. Not stored in the back of the cabin.

Paper vs Digital: The Comparison

📒 Paper Notebook

✅ Works without battery
✅ Fast and tactile writing
✅ Less distraction
❌ No automatic backup
❌ Risk of loss or damage (water, wear)
❌ Difficult to retrieve data
❌ No easy sharing with crew

📱 Digital Application (Ekynavy)

✅ Automatic GPS and weather
✅ Secure cloud backup
✅ Real-time crew sharing
✅ Easy search and statistics
✅ Integrated and geolocated photos
✅ Works offline (offline mode)
❌ Requires a charged device
❌ Learning curve (interface to discover)

With Multiple Crew: Who Records What?

When sailing with multiple people, logbook keeping can be collaborative.

Each crew member can:

  • ✅ Add entries to the log
  • ✅ Take photos
  • ✅ Note important events
  • ✅ Update observed weather
  • ✅ Record an anchoring

With Ekynavy, everything is automatically synchronized between crew members. Everyone can consult and enrich the log in real time.

This lightens the skipper's load and involves everyone in the safety and memory of the navigation.

How Ekynavy Helps You Daily

Ekynavy was designed to simplify your logbook keeping while respecting best practices:

  • 📍 Automatic GPS recording of your position, speed and course
  • 🌤️ Real-time weather integration (wind, pressure, sea)
  • 👥 Collaborative crew management
  • 📸 Geolocated and timestamped photos
  • 💾 Secure cloud backup (never lose data)
  • 📴 Complete offline mode (automatic sync once connected)

Your logbook thus becomes a true navigation tool, without additional effort. You focus on the sea, Ekynavy takes care of the rest.