A boat maintenance log
for easy starts, all season long.
Engine hours off the propulsion itself. Impellers, anodes, bottom paint and winterizing on a schedule that comes round every year. Safety gear checked before anyone asks.
- Engine Hours
- Impeller
- Anodes
- Winterize
WHY SKIPPERS USE IT
Boat maintenance that keeps the season easy
The season starts easy when the last one ended right. Impeller yearly, before the vanes give out. Lower-unit oil, checked for milk before you refill. Anodes replaced at half gone. Bottom paint and through-hulls while she is out. Safety gear checked against the flare dates. Winterizing before the first freeze. Oil and filter at 100 engine hours or twelve months, the hours counted off the propulsion itself. Add what is yours: battery conditioning over the winter, a bilge pump test each spring. Then turn the key on the first warm Saturday and go.
WHAT YOU TRACK
A boat record that talks like a boat
Pick the boat type and the app follows: services and service records, propulsion and rigging, and a status that means what it says on the water.
- The thing
- BoatGrouped into your Fleet, each with its make, model, year and hull ID.
- Something is wrong
- IssuesA fault, a leak, anything not working right — logged with a photo and a priority.
- Something recurs
- ServicesImpeller changes, bottom paint and other recurring work, due by date or by engine hours.
- Something was done
- Service recordsThe haul-out, the impeller, the fuel treatment — with the yard invoice attached.
- Who did it
- MechanicsYour yard, your ABYC-certified tech, or you on the hard.
- What it is made of
- PartsPropulsion, electrical and safety, steering and rigging — each with its own serial.
A dead-in-the-water issue sits at the top of the list and stays there: dead-in-the-water issues must be fixed before leaving the dock.
STARTER SCHEDULE
The season, already laid out
Add a boat and the recurring marine jobs are there waiting. Keep them, move them to the months your season actually runs, or turn off what does not apply.
| Service | Comes due | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Engine oil & filter | 100 hrs or 12 months | Whichever comes first. Check the manual for the interval that applies to your engine. |
| Raw-water pump impeller | 12 months | Rubber vanes fail without warning and take the engine’s cooling with them. |
| Lower unit / gear oil | 12 months | Milky oil means a failed seal — check the drained oil before refilling. |
| Winterize | 12 months | Before the first freeze: drain or antifreeze the raw-water side, fog the engine, stabilize the fuel. |
| Sacrificial anodes | 12 months | Replace at half gone. Sooner in a marina with stray current. |
| Bottom paint & hull inspection | 12 months | Antifouling, through-hulls, and a look at the running gear while it is out. |
| Safety gear check | 12 months | Fire extinguisher gauge, flare expiry dates, life jacket condition. |
| Registration renewal | 12 months | Annual in most places; some states register for two or three years. |
Recommendations, not authority — your engine manual and your water win. Anything else is a service you add with your own interval: battery conditioning over the winter, a bilge pump test each spring, a rig check before a long passage.
HOURS
Hours that belong to the engine, not the hull
Engine Hours
The meter is attached to the propulsion part, so on a twin the hours are each engine’s own and a 100-hour service counts the right ones. You record the reading on the service record; the dashboard keeps the current figure and the number of records beside it.
Seasons and hours together
Marine work is mostly calendar — winterize, haul out, paint — with the engine jobs on hours. A service recurs on either, or on whichever comes first, and due-soon reminders arrive before the freeze rather than after it.
SETTING ONE UP
What it asks for, and nothing it does not
The boat
Make, model, year and hull ID. That is the whole identity block — a centre console and a forty-foot sloop take the same four fields.
What hangs off it
Propulsion, electrical and safety, steering and rigging. Propulsion and the electrical and safety gear repeat, so twin engines, two batteries and the bilge pumps each get their own entry with their own serials.
Does it work for outboards and inboards?
Both. Propulsion is a repeatable part, so a single outboard, twin outboards, or an inboard with a shaft and running gear all fit the same record. Engine Hours belong to the propulsion part rather than the hull.
Can it remind me to winterize?
Winterizing is in the starter schedule as an annual service, with due-soon reminders before the date. Move it to the month your first freeze usually lands and it comes round on that schedule every year.
Does it work at the dock without a signal?
The iPhone and Android apps keep your records on the device and sync when you reconnect, so you can log work and check the schedule out of signal. Attachment files need a connection to open, and the web app needs one throughout.
Can I share the record with my yard?
Yes. Invite a mechanic to that specific boat and they can see its schedule and history and log work against it. SquawkIt records an ABYC certification number against a mechanic who holds one.
EVERYTHING ELSE YOU OWN
The slip is not the only thing with a schedule
One account, one app. Each type brings its own vocabulary, meters and starter schedule.
- Aircraft maintenance log
- Car & motorcycle maintenance
- Bike maintenance log
- Home maintenance schedule
- Everything SquawkIt tracks
Android 13 or later. iOS 26.2 or later. The web app works in any modern browser.