Creating your first crew

Your crew is the foundation of your watch schedule. In WatchKeeper, a crew is the list of people who will rotate through watches, swaps, pauses, and any later schedule changes. Setting it up first makes everything else simpler.

To create your first crew, open WatchKeeper and go to the crew setup area. Choose the option to add a new crew, then enter each crew member one at a time. Use clear names that everyone onboard will recognize quickly, especially in tired or low-light conditions. If two people share a first name, it is better to use a full name or a short distinguishing label.

As you add people, think about the actual offshore use case rather than an ideal plan. Only include the people who are truly part of the active rotation. If someone is onboard but not standing watch, it is usually better to leave them out of the primary crew until they need to be scheduled. A smaller, accurate crew list makes watch setup and later overrides much easier to manage.

Before saving, review the list for spelling and order. The order may matter later when building a watch rotation, so it helps to enter crew members in the way your team naturally thinks about the schedule. Once saved, this crew becomes the basis for creating your first watch plan.

If you need to make changes later, WatchKeeper can handle real-world adjustments like unavailable crew, swaps, and schedule overrides. But the best starting point is a clean, accurate first crew that reflects who is actually sharing watch duty.

Tips

• Use names that are instantly recognizable.
• Keep the crew limited to active watchstanders.
• Double-check entries before building the schedule.
• Prefer clarity over shorthand if the boat has new or mixed crew.