# Checklists

_ReadyHelm Owner app guide, chapter 05 · Last updated 2026-10-28 · https://app.readyhelm.com/guide/owner/checklists.html_

Find checklists under **⚓ Checklists** in the Vessel section of the sidebar. Every checklist on the boat shows as a pill at the top of the page. Pick one to see its items, or start a new run of it.

## Built-in checklists

- **Before Trip**: pre-departure checks, organized by category (Engine & Mechanical, Safety Equipment, Navigation & Electronics, and so on).
- **After Trip**: post-trip checks, such as cleanup, storage, and shutting systems down.
- **USCG Safety**: repeats yearly. It's based on the U.S. Coast Guard's recommended safety equipment, including registration and documentation, PFDs, visual distress signals, and fire extinguishers.

> Looking to log trip details like distance, conditions, or crew hours? That's **⚓ Captain's Log**. See [Captain's Log](https://app.readyhelm.com/guide/owner/captains-log.html).

## Running a checklist

Click **Start checklist** to begin a new run. Check items off as you go. The "X of Y items checked" count and the per-category progress update as you work.

- **Filter** by category, by equipment, or by what's still remaining versus already checked.
- **Reset** unchecks everything on the current run so you can start over.
- **+ To-do** on any item turns a problem you spotted ("Issue: bilge pump") into a [to-do](https://app.readyhelm.com/guide/owner/to-do-items.html) linked to the relevant equipment.
- Some items are tied to a piece of equipment and ask for **engine hours or condition** when you check them. That reading goes straight into the equipment's history (see [Equipment](https://app.readyhelm.com/guide/owner/equipment.html)).

Items are **required** or optional. **Complete checklist** becomes available once every required item is checked. Past runs are kept under **📖 History**, which shows when each run happened and what was checked.

## Your own checklists

Click **+ Add checklist** to add another checklist to the boat:

- **📋 From template**: start from a checklist ReadyHelm provides (for example, Spring Commissioning). Templates are free on every plan. If ReadyHelm later adds items to a template you're using, they show as **New in the template** so you can pull them in.
- **✎ Custom**: build a checklist from scratch. Custom checklists are a **Skipper**-plan feature (see [My Account, Plans & Upgrading](https://app.readyhelm.com/guide/owner/my-account-and-plans.html)).

A checklist you add can **repeat** every so many days, weeks, months, or years from a start date. Its pill then shows where it stands: **Never run**, **Next: [date]**, **Due in N days**, or **N days overdue**.

### Managing items

**Manage items** lets you:

- Add your own items to any checklist, including the built-in ones, and mark them **Required**.
- Make an item **one-time** by turning off **Recurring**. A one-time item is removed after the next run that completes it. This is handy for "check the new bilge pump after install."
- Pick **equipment to prompt for**, so that item asks for hours or condition every time it's completed.
- Turn default items on or off for your boat, or delete items you added.

### Managing checklists

**Manage checklists** lets you edit a checklist's name and schedule, or hide it from the pill list without deleting it. A hidden checklist can be turned back on any time from **+ Add checklist**.