An online tool for boat project planning

[Geoff W.]

I've been lurking for a few weeks now but hope to be an "official" member here soon. The survey on my boat-to-be was this weekend and went well. I signed final acceptance today. Now we're in final paperwork phase, fingers crossed.

All that said, I haven't had much to do but plan and obsess about various projects. One friend had to remind me, "You could also go sailing when you get it, you know." I've found myself trawling the archives here daily in addition to myriad google searches, vendor lookups, technical research, and so on. I keep losing great resources as quickly as I find them, so I decided to use a tool I use at work called Trello.

Below is the board I made to track boat projects, tasks, maintenance items, and so on:

Trello board here: https://trello.com/b/WqCgrJzO/s-v-d

Each card is a project, and within the card I can drop links, resources, notes to myself, and anything else to try and make a mess. Also to visually intimidate myself with just what a bucket load of work looks like when you start tasking it out. Hopefully this helps me keep track of what work is left to do, without making the tracking itself a whole nother project.

How do the seasoned vets here keep track of the endless bits and bobs of goodwill and information they accumulate?

 

[Christian Williams]

Interesting. The forum itself works because the veterans here remember a similar discussion and can find it for you.

Google helps, but does require an initial shadow of recall. Quite amazing what the Ericson hive brain can come up with. Probably no algorithm can replace that.

Me, I use Moleskine books. It takes about two years for every page to be filled with lists, order numbers, sizes, phone numbers and so on.

I have lost the book twice. Both times the finder called my phone number inside and said "I have your book. It must be very important to you."

 

[bgary]

Trello board here:

Very cool! I hadn't seen that tool before. I use a dashboard like that to track projects at work, but hadn't thought of using it for the boat. Hmmm.

For my "to-do" lists, of which there are always many and varied, I use "wunderlist". It's a free application that does nothing more than track tasks. Simple interface, you can set up multiple lists (eg, one for Engine, one for Rigging, one for Sails...) and can add notes, due-dates, sub-tasks, reminders, even attach files if you want. The thing I like most about it is that I can get to it from anywhere - the website is available anywhere (from any device) where I have connectivity, and the phone app stores a local copy so I always have my list with me even if I'm not in a cell-zone. Very handy, and it seamlessly syncs - if I add or update a task on my phone, it automagically appears on my computer next time I connect.

How do the seasoned vets here keep track of the endless bits and bobs of goodwill and information they accumulate?

I can't answer for the seasoned vets.... but I use OneNote to collect that stuff. OneNote is an application that pretends to be a 3-ring binder on your computer. You can add pages, organize them by sections, move them around, etc. And as above, it "syncs" over the internet, so notes that I put into my "notebook" through the phone show up in my "notebook" on the computer as well.

I use this a LOT. Basically anything I jot down, from the list of equivalent oil-filter cartridges to the size and shape of the masthead sheaves I ordered from Zephyrworks goes into my "notebook". For me - I'm a note taker - I find myself writing everything down anyway, and then I end up with piles and folders of notes and can never find what I'm looking for when I want it. It's true of me at work and at home, too, not just on the boat.

I'm a big Moleskine fan too, have been for years, and it works when I have my Moleskine with me. But as with the tool you just set down in the middle of a project, it always seems to be somewhere else when I most want it. I've lost a few, too, and it's traumatic. So over the years I've gotten in the habit of pulling the random bits of paper out of my pocket and typing (or sometimes photographing) the information and sticking it into the appropriate section in my "notebook".

This is a snip of the "fuel" page in my OneNote notebook.... notes, plus a diagram, etc.



It works for me. I can always have it "with me". It's searchable. And I don't have all those stacks of paper...

 

[Geoff W.]

Interesting. The forum itself works because the veterans here remember a similar discussion and can find it for you.

I expect to be the starter of many new threads that get redirected to old threads over the next year or so. This site is a treasure.

I can't answer for the seasoned vets.... but I use OneNote to collect that stuff.

OneNote is a FANTASTIC program - I love that you use it for boat things. I hadn't considered that myself! Now I can spend the next hour or so nerding out on setting up a notebook just perfectly so when it comes time to take notes, I can scrap it and redo the thing all over again

 

[GregB]

I use Trello too!

I've been lurking for a few weeks now but hope to be an "official" member here soon. The survey on my boat-to-be was this weekend and went well. I signed final acceptance today. Now we're in final paperwork phase, fingers crossed.

All that said, I haven't had much to do but plan and obsess about various projects. One friend had to remind me, "You could also go sailing when you get it, you know." I've found myself trawling the archives here daily in addition to myriad google searches, vendor lookups, technical research, and so on. I keep losing great resources as quickly as I find them, so I decided to use a tool I use at work called Trello.

Below is the board I made to track boat projects, tasks, maintenance items, and so on:

Trello board here: https://trello.com/b/WqCgrJzO/s-v-d

Each card is a project, and within the card I can drop links, resources, notes to myself, and anything else to try and make a mess. Also to visually intimidate myself with just what a bucket load of work looks like when you start tasking it out. Hopefully this helps me keep track of what work is left to do, without making the tracking itself a whole nother project.

How do the seasoned vets here keep track of the endless bits and bobs of goodwill and information they accumulate?

 

[Don Smith]

My view is that safety items, like, "Examine/replace lifelines", belong in the High Priority column of your Trello Board, while merely cosmetic tasks such as, "clean interior", do not.


I agree that you need to go sailing too as you risk hating your boat, and if you have a wife she may hate it too, if all you do is work on it for an extended period of time. When I first got my boat and had a long list of tasks, I found that sailing once a week rekindled my enthusiasm and made the work more pleasant.


Fair winds,

Captain Don
E26, Gitana

 

[frick]

Google docs with file in Google drive

I keep a running list of every part I needs in Google docs in Google drive.

Once in a marine consignment shop They had a large college of yanmar parts
Out came my phone,
I cross checked part number and went home winner.

I also keep a leather note book on board with an active list of oil changes and maintenance items

Find a simple system that works for you.

 

[Geoff W.]

My view is that safety items, like, "Examine/replace lifelines", belong in the High Priority column of your Trello Board, while merely cosmetic tasks such as, "clean interior", do not.

I agree, I think my "high priority" also includes "stuff I can do right now / easily". The lifelines are a bit of a research project in addition to the work itself.