Well... I have spreadsheets. The primary repository of boat knowledge is supposed to be the boat's manual and maintenance log books. Though a lot of the information might benefit from being organized into spreadsheet form. If you look at the "manual" that Ericson left us with, it's filled out with a seemingly random and incomplete selection of 1-page drawings of various systems. As if the owner is invited to complete the manual on his own, with relevance to the specific boat. Arguably, each drawing ought to have a table of info about the parts shown. And I literally have a tub full of equipment manuals (that come in every size and shape imaginable, so as to defy organization) sitting in my office, awaiting some sort of organization. And a binder full of crude drawings, measurements and notes that I generated in the process of various projects.
IDK how "successful" my spreadsheets are. I may have to re-think the whole approach. Just in trying to describe them, I begin to see how they might be better organized. Probably, I should just stop here.
But:
I started a "rigging" spreadsheet. But now I see that it never got filled in from my handwritten notes during the re-fit, which are around here somewhere... It has four tables: Running Rigging, Standing Rigging, Sails, and Deck Gear. Five Tables: Just added Anchoring.
For running rigging, the columns are "Line, Length, Diameter, Material, Color, Source, Date in service, Note." I had great plans to work out a master color scheme, but when it came down to it, there weren't adequate color options available in the rope that I needed. Also, "length" ends up depending on whether a halyard (for example) stays at the mast or gets run aft to the cockpit.
Standing Rigging. Cable, length, diameter, terminator, pin size, source, date in service, note
Sails. Sail, Area, Luff, Leech, Foot, material, weight, Source, Date in service, note (separate lines under the main for each reef point.)
Deck Gear. This is a hodge podge of stuff like the roller furler, the traveler, mainsheet, deck organizers & such that don't have many common data points. Item, brand, model, serial#, source, date in service, note. There doesn't seem to be a level anywhere that captures things like individual blocks and cleats. And I just fabricated a stack pack and lazy jack system, which is a wad of stuff all on its own...
Do dock lines (and fenders, etc.) go under "Deck Gear" or "Running Rigging?" What about storm drogues?
Back up to paragraph 1: maybe the system diagram with accompanying parts table is the best way to capture this.
Mainsail and controls, Headsail and controls, Spinnaker and controls, Anchoring systems, Docking systems, etc. Then a master spreadsheet might capture the data from each "system" table, organized by system. (Does the Master spreadsheet really need details like the first aid kit contents? What about all the parts of the roller furler or the galley range? If not, those manuals need to be (found) kept and organized.). And if some object doesn't fit in any of those "systems," what do you need it for?
Other Spreadsheets:
Electrical Loads: Device, Amps, Volts, followed by load calculations (Hours used, amp hours) for three different use scenarios. This sums up to requirements for battery capacity and power. Separate table of Power Inputs (Source, watts, efficiency, hours per day, amp hours)
These tables include both items on board and items I've been considering, to see how feasible they are and how they would affect the systems. And some values are measured, while others are estimated.
Ships Manifest:
This is the one I've put the most work into, and overlaps with some of the other stuff. It's partly to have a record of all the stuff on board (or considered) and partly to decide how feasible it is to cruise and live on board this boat. Probably need to start all over.
Item, Make, Model, Serial Number, Weight, Date Installed, use (day sailing, cruising). This somewhat randomly includes everything from anchor chain and the water in the tanks to the scuba compressor and the bicycle. Typically "day sailing use" items are installed on the boat and "crusing use" items would only be loaded on if I were heading out on an expedition. There may be some estimates and some wishful thinking involved.
It does not capture, for example, the weight of all the wire, terminals, & etc. needed to install all the gadgets. Nor the shelves and such that I've added. Though it could if I had been more diligent. But Every Possible Thing adds up to about 2500 lbs. Not too far off the "one ton per person" rule of thumb for cruising.
Still, now that it comes down to (or closer to) actually moving on board, the whole spreadsheet thing is inadequate because I still can't tell how feasible it is for all of this stuff to actually fit on board without looking like a hoarders nightmare. Still need volumes for all this gear and a stowage chart. Short of actually hauling it all to the boat and doing the practical exercise. Which it will certainly come down to in the end.
Many of the items on the spreadsheet were thought exercises at the time, but now they're physical objects that I have to decide whether to leave behind or not. Sure, I could give over the whole V-berth to workshop and storage. But then, I'd put my clothes... where, exactly? Can I keep the sewing machine? What about all the tools and supplies that go with it? (Actually that started out as the "sail and rigging repair kit" but somehow it got out of hand...)
Then there is a table called "Performance Effects" that draws values from some of the other tables and tries to compute some crude idea of the effects of boat loading and alterations on various published (themselves, admittedly crude) parameters like SA/D, Motion Comfort, Capsize ratio, Theoretical speed, and inches immersion of the boot stripe. The calculations are somewhat reassuring, for what they're worth. But when I had the boat all stripped down, I should have painted the barrier coat right up over the stripe area.
