/42
42 passage spreads
From / to, start and arrival times, distance, wind and sea, headings, crew and roles, sails, engine, notes. One passage — one spread.
Project · printable book · Open source · MIT + CC BY-NC-SA
SAIL logbook: A5 sailing log, print-ready
144 pages, 42 spreads for passage records, a sailor's reference and an emergency card. Bilingual RU/EN field labels, monochrome printing, ring-binder punch. The finished PDF is free; the layout is described in Python code.
Download · PDF · Free
Grab the finished PDF
Three files in each release: the main A5, a bleed + crop-marks version for shops that cut stacks, and a 1:1 punch template to verify your ring cover. Nothing to build unless you want to change the layout.
# From release — just the PDFs
sail-logbook-A5-final.pdf
sail-logbook-A5-final-bleed3mm-cropmarks.pdf
punch-template-A5.pdf
# Or build it yourself
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
./build.sh # output in dist/- Start with
punch-template-A5.pdf: print at 100%, disable "fit to page", and hold it against your ring cover — ring positions vary - Layout is text-editable: parameters at the top of
src/logbook.py, the reference section is one function per page
01 — WHY IT EXISTS
Could not find one — made one
Outside of work I sail — licensed skipper. A paper log in the shape I wanted was not on the market: half were pretty little diaries without a reference, half were heavy official watch logs whose field labels were smaller than a pen tip, and none of them fit a ring binder cleanly.
So I built one for myself and my crew. Anyone who asked got a print or a file. Putting it in the open at some point was less work than answering emails.
Same logic as the dive log: paper does not run out of battery on a passage, the reference opens on a briefing in two seconds, a passage plan gets sketched by pencil across a spread and handed to the watch. Plotters and apps do not replace this — they complement it.
About the author
- Licensed skipper — the log was built around my own passages
- Companion project — DIVE logbook for the other discipline: same code-as-layout, different reference material
- Distributed the same way: free PDF, code under MIT, content under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
02 — WHAT IS INSIDE
A spread per passage, and a reference you open on a briefing
Per spread: route, times, headings, wind, crew and roles, sails, engine, notes. Reference: short single-topic pages, so you find them by hand rather than by TOC.
/ref
Reference and emergency card
Onboard safety, briefing, points of sail, MOB, radio and MAYDAY, emergency contacts, safety gear, lifelines and tethering, knots, speed and distance, COLREGS, lights and shapes, sound signals, day shapes, mooring, fenders, charter handover, checklists, passage plan, arrival plan, engine, weather, Beaufort, navigation and tides, IALA buoys.
/A5
Format and printing
A5 148 × 210 mm, ring-binder punch, single-colour monochrome — cheap at any print shop or on an office printer. Field labels in Russian and English, convenient in charter offices.
03 — HOW TO PRINT
Start with the punch template, not the cover
The most common mistake is to order the run first and get rings that miss the block. Order: template, then cover, then run.
THREE FILES IN THE RELEASE
sail-logbook-A5-final.pdf— main, sheet exactly 148 × 210 mm. Print this if your shop does not stack-cut.sail-logbook-A5-final-bleed3mm-cropmarks.pdf— 154 × 216 mm with 3 mm bleed and crop marks. Hand this to a shop that stack-cuts.punch-template-A5.pdf— one sheet, 1:1, to check punch alignment.
ORDER
- Print
punch-template-A5.pdfat 100%, disable "fit to page". - Hold it against your ring cover. If it aligns — print the block. If not — edit the punch parameters at the top of
src/logbook.py. - After the edit — one command (
./build.sh) and re-check the template.
04 — BUILD IT YOURSELF
The layout is code, not a binary artboard
Python 3.10+ and reportlab. One command builds the book. Edits are text, not InDesign.
The format was chosen on purpose: a binary artboard can no longer be opened a year later, let alone five. Code opens with git clone, edits go through diffs, history lives in commits.
Practical bit: parameters are at the top of src/logbook.py — number of passage spreads, note pages, the version string that ends up in the file name and PDF metadata. Reference pages and figures are separate modules, one function per page.
git clone https://github.com/yknnv/sail-logbook.git
cd sail-logbook
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
./build.sh
# Main edit points
src/logbook.py # geometry, cover, cards, assembly
src/reference.py # reference, one function per page
src/figures.py # vector figures
src/check_margins.py # margin and overlap checks05 — LICENCES
Two licences: code reusable, content not for a stranger's print run
Code · MIT
Layout scripts, figure generator, checks — take them, fork them, reuse in your projects. Attribution is welcome but nobody is forced.
Content · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Reference text, diagrams and figures — print for yourself, for friends, for the crew, publish derivatives under the same licence. What you may not do: sell printed copies as a commercial product (that is what the NC bit blocks). Large organisations — get in touch, we can arrange something separately.
06 — FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why a paper watch log when there is a plotter and a phone?
The plotter runs out of battery and takes spray. A separate paper record has already outlived several generations of electronics and will outlive the next. On a briefing before departure and a debrief after, flipping paper beats swapping tabs.
How do I print it?
A5, single-colour monochrome, any print shop. The release ships three files: the main 148 × 210 mm; a 154 × 216 mm bleed-3mm version with crop marks for shops that guillotine stacks; and a 1:1 punch template — start with that so the ring holes line up with your cover. Print the template at 100%, without "fit to page".
Can I adapt it?
Yes. Code is MIT, content (text, diagrams, figures) is CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Adapt for yourself and share derivatives under the same licence. Selling printed copies as a commercial product is not allowed — the NC bit closes that.
What do I need to build it myself?
Python 3.10+,
pip install -r requirements.txt, ./build.sh. The PDFs land in dist/. They are not committed to the repo — they are built per release.Is there something similar for diving?
Yes — DIVE logbook. Same shape (A5, layout as code, monochrome, reference), different data set: BWRAF, lost buddy, DCS, gas planning, nitrox.