It's in the log; it must be true

I have been reading lately about the utility of  a vessel's log book as a legal document. While the U.S. Coast Guard apparently has no regulation requiring pleasure boaters to keep such records, many writers believe that keeping a "proper deck log" can offer some legal protection.

The issue arose recently in a discussion on a trawler Internet list that I follow. Someone was asking advice about using a deck log to prove his vessel's whereabouts. (He was trying to dodge a tax bill from a jurisdiction in which he had lingered only briefly). The thread eventually devolved into a exchange about what constituted the "right way" to keep a log.  One writer cited an insurance rule issued by Lloyd's in the 1980s that says a "proper" deck long consists of:

Materially factually related events and conditions recorded as occurring in a hard bound log or notebook that would be on its face hard to alter after the  fact.

Another recalled requirements from his career as a commercial vessel operator that included:

Use a journal with numbered pages. Never tear out a page. Use a pen, not a pencil. Initial entries. Sign daily. If something is written incorrectly, cross out with a single line, so still legible, correct and initial.

The same writer noted that, as a pleasure boat operator, his deck log is "slightly less anal" than his commercial record keeping. He went on then to write that his trawler log reflected:

...safety drills, who was present, when underway and when anchor lights are turned on and off....When horn and fog signals are tested....When underway offshore I record position speed and bearing every 20 minutes, at which time I also make sure all gauges are checked, bilges are checked (and)...carefully scan the horizon by binoculars and radar.

He also wrote that at the same 20 minute intervals, he performs a count of persons and dogs aboard... He concluded with the observation that "Consistent, logged practices speak a wealth of information if ever involved in legal proceedings."

All this seriously contrasts with my own practices. I have reviewed Ms. Bettencourt's log books going back to 2004. Here's what I found:

• Consistent records of dates, destinations, departure times and arrival times
• Faithful accounts of persons and dogs aboard
• Engine and running gear maintenance notes with engine hour meter readings
• Mostly correct fuel consumption calculations
• Locations and dates of holding tank pump outs 
• One man overboard drill in anticipation of a Bahamas excursion that was aborted due to weather
• One soft grounding requiring Towboat US assistance
• One grounding beyond the tidal reach of a towboat (freed by returning tide)
• One late-night anchor dragging, discovered by a sleepless crewman
• One engine overheat episode, remedied at anchor
• A single report of an anchor and rode nearly lost due to failure to secure the bitter end
• Numerous rants about wakes and ski boats
• Significant numbers of illegible entries, written in a familiar hand (mine).

It seems to me  this audit shows Ms. Bettencourt's deck log practices serve her needs, though we fail to meet Lloyd's higher standards.

LESSONS LEARNED from this review: Write more legibly. Don't run aground. Always secure the bitter end.