A running log for a boat kept in Panama's heat, humidity and warm water, where most jobs come round faster than in Florida. Start it when you take over the boat and add one line for every job. Have your engine manuals, the hour-meter reading and your last invoices to hand.
Fill in the fields below, then print the worksheet or download your entries as a text file. Entries stay on this page until you leave unless you download them. Don’t enter passport, card or medical details; keep copies of those separately.
How to fill it in
Copy your manufacturers' service intervals into the "next due" line first, then shorten them. Heat ages impellers, batteries and rubber faster, and warm water fouls intakes in weeks. Write a line every time someone touches the boat, even for a quick diver clean. Staple invoices to the back, or scan them into one folder per year.
A tropical rhythm to start from
- Every visit or weekly: bilge and pump check, freshwater rinse, lines and chafe, run the engine if the boat sits.
- Every 3–6 weeks: diver on hull, props and intakes, and a zinc check.
- Monthly: raw-water strainers, battery terminals and charge, through-hulls, hatch seals.
- Before May: rainy-season prep, using the rainy-season checklist.
- Yearly, in the dry season: haul-out, antifouling, anodes, running gear, impellers and a full engine service.
This is general practice, not an official schedule. Your manuals and your surveyor come first.
Which office it relates to
No agency inspects a private boat's maintenance. Your log is the proof that buyers, surveyors and insurers ask for. A commercial boat is different: under Ley 57 of 2008 the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP) inspects it every year, and the certificado de aptitud that follows is what the ATP and the AMP operating licence rely on. Log the inspection date and every item the inspector asked you to fix.
Panama tips
- Book haul-outs early. Yard space is limited, and on the Pacific side the 4–6 m tide decides when a boat can be lifted. Compare yards in haul-out yards in Panama.
- Order parts before you need them. Filters, impellers, anodes and belts often come from the United States. Log the order date so you know how long the next one will take.
- Lightning. A strike can kill electronics without marking the hull. Note the date and test everything after a close storm; an insurer will ask when you noticed.
- Invoices. Ask for a proper factura in the boat owner's name, with the boat's name on it. A log backed by invoices is worth more at resale.
Read the companion guide
Before using this resource, read Boat maintenance in Panama's tropics: heat, growth, UV.
Use it alongside these guides
Boat maintenance in Panama's tropics: heat, growth, UV
Panama's heat, humidity, UV, warm water and May–Nov rains age a boat fast. Shorter intervals, a rainy-season plan and a written log keep it sound.
Bottom growth in Panama: antifouling and cleaning
Warm Panama water fouls a hull fast. Pick a tropical antifouling, plan diver cleans every few weeks, and know the ACP rules on in-water hull cleaning.
Boat engine maintenance in Panama: fuel, filters, parts
Engines in Panama fail from dirty fuel, clogged cooling and missing parts. Filter every fill, flush outboards, service on time and stock spares early.
Boat maintenance records in Panama: what to keep
Keep a Panama boat maintenance log of tropical intervals, invoices with RUC, AMP papers and storm repairs. It protects resale value and insurance claims.
Rainy-season boat prep checklist (Panama)
Printable rainy-season checklist for boats in Panama (May–Nov): covers, drains, bilge pumps, mould, lightning, lines, forecasts and a weekly check log.