Empire State I Logbooks, 1931-1941

This collection consists of the logbooks from the U.S.S Empire State one of the training ships used by the New York State Nautical School (now SUNY Maritime College) to train young men for the merchant marines and the naval reserves. A ship’s logbook is a daily record of the ship’s course, speed and location. Navigational, piloting and other notable events occurring in and around the ship are also recorded in a ship’s logbook. Logbooks serve as a reminder to the officers of the deck of their various duties and to serve as a check on the activities of these officers. They are also maintained to serve as potential evidence in legal proceedings in naval, admiralty, or civil courts.

The Empire State’s logbooks contain the above information as well as facts concerning weather and sea conditions and the effect of these conditions on the ship. There are entries regarding deliveries made to the ship, records of inspections, emergency drills and the activities of the various officers including when these officers are aboard or ashore.

This collection is comprised of both rough logbooks and smooth logbooks. A rough (or scrap) log is a preliminary draft of the ship’s record that is written by hand on the ship daily. The rough log is then transcribed as the smooth log, which is the final version of the ship’s record and considered the official log. Changes can be made to rough logs but a smooth log is considered permanent and erasures are not permitted. Corrections can be made to a smooth log as long as it is signed by the authorized keeper of the logbook and must only be made by drawing one line through the previous entry thereby leaving the previous entry legible.