Almost all of my logging is in electronic form and stored in the cloud.
For those pursuing/retaining licenses documented time underway is important (although I think a lot of people lie). In the US it is also important to document
offshore vs. coastal/inland time underway (all USCG 6 pac licenses are not equal).
In most cases, recording distance may be for self-gratification. But, it's also used by some to weed through prospective crew (assuming that person not fabricating numbers and is willing to provide references), and it could also be beneficial when submitting boat resumes to some
insurance companies (esp. if you are planning an
offshore voyage) to document some level of experience (and be able to back it up if asked for proof), and some
charter companies like to see this also.
Like MicHughV I gave up on paper logs long ago. I find them to be nothing more than a collection of mostly obsolete and useless data scribbled on parchment that takes up space and collects dust.
But, for long multi-day passages I let
Iridium Go and PredictWind to the
tracking and I reset the chart plotter distance traveled every 24 hours and I log (electronically) the distance and journal notes. This helps me better understand average distance/day for that voyage and more accurately predict a time of arrival at port (some
ports require a 48 hour notice prior to arrival). For me the most important part of the logging is the daily journal/blog entries posted on PredictWind for
family and friends to vicariously enjoy.
For daysails I use the customizable MobiDB database app (saves to cloud when connected to
internet, syncs to all devices, and is useable when not connected to internet). I created 1 table (log book) to simply record date, time underway, distance, engine hours, and a journal entry (guests,
events,
anchoring spots, random thoughts, etc.). This is mostly for personal gratification.
I have other tables in the database for maintenance logging, another for expenses, etc. This provides an easily transferable, searchable record of items that may provide benefit should the boat ever transfer to a new owner.