Boat Fuel and Passage Log

Who this is for

Fuel against engine hours, trip by trip. Each row is a passage with its engine hours, distance and the fuel that went in, and the sheet works out hours run, the cost and litres per hour so the season shows what the boat really burns.

Owners of motor boats, narrowboats, RIBs and sailing yachts with an engine who want a real consumption figure of their own rather than a brochure one, and syndicates sharing fuel costs.

What this helps you track

• Engine hours at the start and end of every passage
• Distance covered and fuel added, with its price
• Fuel cost for each trip and for the season
• Litres per hour, trip by trip and on average
• Where the boat went and when

How to use it

1. Write the boat, the engine, the tank capacity and the fuel type at the top.
2. At the start of each passage note the date, where you left from and the engine hours reading.
3. At the end write where you arrived, the hours reading and the distance from your log or plotter.
4. When you fill up, enter the litres added and the price per litre from the receipt; hours run, fuel cost and litres per hour are worked out in the browser and workbook.
5. Fill the tank to the same level each time if you can, so litres added reflects what the engine actually used.
6. Read the summary at the end of the season for total hours, litres and cost.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why is litres per hour only rough on a single trip?

Because the litres you add may cover more than one passage, or the tank may not be filled to the same mark. Averaged over the season, from the summary, the figure settles down and becomes the one worth quoting.

Should distance be in miles, nautical miles or kilometres?

Whichever your log or plotter uses, as long as you stick to one. The sheet does no conversion; it adds up what you enter, so write the unit in the notes.

What if I fill up without making a passage?

Write a row with the date and the fuel, and leave the hours blank. The fuel cost still counts towards the season, and litres per hour is left empty for that row.

Can I use this for two engines?

Use one sheet per engine if they have separate hour meters, or record the hours of the one you treat as the main engine and note it in the header.