I live remote from my boat; need some help learning how to keep track of stuff

[BruceW]

I just realized I have a wader outfit I could use up here. Can't find it. Yeah, it's probably on the CP-23. Why? Who knows. I have learned over the years that whatever logic I use to store things is not even close to the logic I think of when trying to find it.

So, now, what?

Does anybody have a suggestion for a goofball problem like this?

I think I need inventory lists, with container and locations. If it's on my phone, I will have it wherever I am. So, notes, some kind of database, spreadsheet, etc. If I have it in a file on my PC, it will be easier to create, and then I can save to dropbox. I think I need to print out pages and put them in a waterproof page-holder (ziplock?) and have it wire-tied to a place in the boat cabin also.

Dang it.

What would work?


I can start while up here, putting things in that I have in my various storage containers in the garage.

Then, I need a project day down at the boat.

I amaze myself with the messes I make.

Thanks for reading. Thanks even more if you have a database format suggestion.

Bruce

[HeaveToo]

You know, there is probably an App for that.  If you have a smart phone see if there is an application you can download to help you organize.

I know where every single thing is on my boat because if there is an emergency and I need to get to it quickly I can.  Label stuff, keep a list of where it is, or just remember where it is located and always put it back in the same place. 

[captronr]

Not sure I can help............ My wife is the organizer and I'm the 'toss it on the couch' person.  Our boat is an extension of this.  She maintains the cabin and I hand her items and it goes in ITS PLACE.  Only she's the only one who knows what item is where.  When I ask for an  item, it quickly appears..........

The downside of this is when I go out solo.  I have to make dozens of calls "Dear, where is the ____ stored?"  I'd like to do better, really, but at 65, I'm not sure it's gonna happen.  Just look at my desk, my garage, and my boat after I've been on it alone.  The bride really gives me heck next time she's aboard. 

Maybe we're just ying and yang???

If you do find a system, pls post it here.

Ron

[Mas]

Ying and Yang is necessary because if you were married to someone like yourself one of you would be redundant! Plus remember opposites attract and like poles repel.

OK now that we have that out of the way:
1. take pictures (one picture is worth a thousand words, remember!)
2. never set anything down in any other place when finished other that where it lives. (you may think your are saving time to not do it immediately but you will spend more time looking for it than it would have taken to simply put it away) You must be compulsive on this point.
3. keep all items that should be together TOGETHER! Don't put that little something in a convenient little place, PUT IT WITH THE THING IT GOES WITH!
4. think in terms of tasks not things on a boat (or for that matter anything). You do not need a list of things to remember to pack to get dressed. Think about getting dressed then you will remember the things to pack.
5. Less is more
6. Less is more
7. etc! 

[BruceW]

I need to take pictures, label them, and have a database I can search.

Maybe.

[tmw]

I'm a fan of checklists.  When leaving our remote location, I have a departure checklist, which continues to grow as we forget something, and add to it.  Make sure water is off, doors locked, AC/Heat set, etc.  The arrival checklist has been less important, although it exists.

Since I'm an Android user, I leverage Google Keep and it's just a list.  Easy to update, and since it's on my phone, it's always with me.

[crazycarl]

i tried taking pictures of the interior with everything in it's place, then i stored the pics somewhere in the boat and couldn't locate them.

hmmm...

so, i glued the pictures inside my glasses, kind of like a viewmaster i had as a child.

it worked great!  when i needed something i just put the glasses on and there it was!

weird thing is...when i exited the cabin, i found i had doubles of everything in the cockpit!

must be there from all those years of not finding what i needed and buying another! 


hope this is useful!

C.C.

[BruceW]

Well, Carl, I am with you on the checklists. This works for me to gather what I need to take, and then to bring things back.

The issue I have is that some stuff is on the boat and some stuff is in the garage and I don't know where to look.

That glasses thing, well, it'll never work.

I have found a few apps that help you log where you put stuff. I might try one and see if it is easy to look up the thing in question. I could photo the stuff on the boat, enter it into the boat section of the inventory. Then, whenever I want to find something, it would tell me which locker it's in. Garbage in garbage out; nothing in, nothing out.

[brackish]

Yep that is a tough one, it took me a while to get a system that works for me.  I keep almost everything I need on the boat, both for day sailing and for overnight, and have developed a quadrant system (all cooking gear here, all electrical maintenance here, all mechanical/plumbing maintenance here, essential items such as the motor key, the spanner for the water tank here).  I have containers for everything and find that I can remember which quadrant they are in and can eventually find everything.   I have an index card that tells me what I DON'T have on the boat, one for day sail, one for overnight.   Since almost everything is on the boat, the cards just have a few items I have to remember.  Since my boat is 35 miles away up the Natchez Trace Parkway (think absolutely no chance to buy anything in the area), I have to make sure I bring everything.  Anything that leaves the boat for cleaning or maintenance gets staged on the "boat shelf" in the utility room to be returned the next trip.  Not perfect but works most of the time.

life was much easier when I lived in Gulfport, five minutes away from the boats I owned at that time.   When the boat is remote, planning is essential.

[BruceW]

Yep that is a tough one, it took me a while to get a system that works for me.  I keep almost everything I need on the boat, both for day sailing and for overnight, and have developed a quadrant system (all cooking gear here, all electrical maintenance here, all mechanical/plumbing maintenance here, essential items such as the motor key, the spanner for the water tank here).  I have containers for everything and find that I can remember which quadrant they are in and can eventually find everything.   I have an index card that tells me what I DON'T have on the boat, one for day sail, one for overnight.   Since almost everything is on the boat, the cards just have a few items I have to remember.  Since my boat is 35 miles away up the Natchez Trace Parkway (think absolutely no chance to buy anything in the area), I have to make sure I bring everything.  Anything that leaves the boat for cleaning or maintenance gets staged on the "boat shelf" in the utility room to be returned the next trip.  Not perfect but works most of the time.

life was much easier when I lived in Gulfport, five minutes away from the boats I owned at that time.   When the boat is remote, planning is essential.

Dang, second reply I lost somehow; not sure where it went. Anyway, I will use the put stuff that goes together principle, and start out by using a free app I found called Sortly. High level categories will be Garage, Car, Blackbeard; then I'll have a combo of subfolders like CP 23, and maybe just tags from there, but maybe another level of folders for locations like V-berth, quarterberth, etc.

Now, to start logging stuff that is here at the house. This is the easy part, so I will experiment with the folders etc here, and then be ready when I go back to the boat to search and categorize.

This program does more, but I can just ignore it. Check it out!

[relamb]

I use a program called ToodleDo, it's a website and an app, but I prefer to just use the mobile version of the website on the phone and not the app (which needs to synch).
Anyway, you can make folders and lists, and organize things by projects and To-dos.
I use it for everything,  Things to buy at West Marine, things to order from Amazon, lists of things on the boat, etc etc.
Very flexible and easy to use, and always accessible via phone or computer or both.
I live in IN and the boat is in FL, so I need to know when I fly down if I need to take more socks and underwear, what food and canned goods are already on the boat, etc.  When I leave the boat I inventory supplies, so when I come back I know what to bring or what groceries to stop and get on the way to the marina.
Sometimes I write the inventory down on a clipboard, but I always go back and enter it into ToodleDo.
It's free, but I do the paid version and can also share tasks and lists with other people.  http://www.toodledo.com/

[BruceW]

I have google tasks, but it's rudimentary compared to what you describe with Toodleoo.  I like this Sortly, so far. If I see it getting cumbersome, I may take another look at Toodleoo.

Today, I went out to inventory the trunk of the car. I found out by accident that clicking on the word "trunk" asks if you want to take a picture, so I did. I see I can use this to take a picture and later identify what's in it for the discreet part of the database, if I need to.