Questions boat owners ask before they start.
What VesselBook does, what it costs, who can see your records, and what happens to them when the boat changes hands.
What is VesselBook, and what can I track?
VesselBook is a digital boat logbook and records platform. Create a boat profile and keep maintenance, service, repairs, costs, equipment, engine hours, documents, manuals, surveys and receipts together. Track survey findings, expiring safety gear and registrations, float plans and logbook entries. The dated service history follows the hull rather than a folder on your laptop. One account can hold several boats.
Is VesselBook free?
Yes. VesselBook is free for boat owners, with no credit card to start and no limit on the boats you keep in your account. Tools for marine businesses are additive and free during the beta.
Do I need ownership documents to use VesselBook?
By adding this boat, you declare that you own it or are authorized to manage its VesselBook records. Ownership documents are not required. You can add a boat without a HIN or a supported registration format. You can manage your boat without proving legal ownership to VesselBook. Existing permissions and genuine dispute safeguards still apply.
Can I store my marine survey and my receipts?
Yes. Survey PDFs, invoices, receipts and photos upload straight to the boat and stay attached to the work they document. VesselBook can also read an uploaded survey and propose equipment, maintenance intervals and open findings for you to approve, so you are not typing a boat in from scratch.
What happens to the records when I sell the boat?
Before a sale, you can share a read-only Buyer Report containing eligible, privacy-filtered vessel history. After a sale outside VesselBook, an accepted history handoff lets the next steward manage the permitted records. Only permitted records and management access move; private costs, personal notes and personal details are excluded. This does not transfer legal ownership or title, handle a sale, establish title or replace government registration.
Can I look up a boat by its HIN?
The free HIN lookup shows available public vessel identity, shared history and federal records—not certification of legal ownership. No account is needed, and owner identity is not shown.
Who can see my boat records?
Only you, until you decide otherwise. Nothing is public by default — you grant access per boat, and each viewer, whether a buyer, your mechanic, a surveyor or an insurer, sees only what that grant allows. You can revoke access at any time.
How do I get help or contact you?
Our contact page reaches the team for a question, a problem or an idea, and a person reads every message. Signed in, the in-app help centre also answers common questions and lets you open a request you can follow.