I remember back when we started cruising, we constantly forgot critical stuff. Things like securely stowing everything on the galley counter before going for a sail, only to hear a “crash” as the first gust hit. It wasn’t that I didn’t know to do it. I’d just always forget something.
Checklists, cheatsheets and reminders are now a way of life for us. A few examples:
- Our Before Moving Boat checklist is absolutely critical for us. Even after cruising 14 years, there is usually something I would have forgotten if I didn’t look at it. Get a FREE editable copy here along with four other helpful documents.
- We put notes on pieces of tape and post them where we look “all the time.” For example, the date that we changed a filter next to the on/off switch for the equipment. Gallons of fuel remaining and engine hours next to the engine key. We keep a maintenance log as well, but these are good quick reminders.
- While out cruising – and away from stores, like when we are in the Bahamas – we keep a running list of supplies and parts that we’ve used, so that we’ll buy them all when we can. We also keep a list of projects that need to be done when we have better access to parts.
Two of The Boat Galley’s Amazon products started out as simple cheatsheets: the Handy VHF Guide (Amazon) began as a list of channels to use/not use and grew from there as I’d scribble more and more info in the margins; the Outboard Troubleshooting Guide (Amazon) started as some notes I made for a friend who didn’t want to drive the dinghy solo because she didn’t know what to do if wouldn’t start and grew each time I passed it on to another friend.
What checklists or cheatsheets do you use? Leave a comment below and let me know!
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Wanita says
Hi Carolyn,
Looking at Boat Details PDF, I’ve been trying to do the same – thanks for sharing, you’ve got a lot more then I had thought of!
Under the Engine and fuel, you have capacity but not average fuel consumption (something you talked about in this weeks new letter). This may have to be updated periodically.
We don’t have easy access to the tank to check for levels but have a tank pressure gage. We would try and use it to fill the tank but every spring we’d have the fuel spill out of the vent hose. After some experiments, we found that the tank was full at ’27’ but storing the boat we’d leave it at ’25’. These #s I have recorded.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Those are good numbers to keep and a reason that everyone’s document will be a little different in what it contains!