Ever found at a shelter or designated campsite that the logbook was soaked by rain?  Or that mice had run off with the pencil and chewed the log pages?  Here's an easy-to-build logbook holder that keeps out the rain and rodents, and is not very likely to be stolen or demolished by that other kind of rat.

The parts you need are a piece of 4-inch-diameter PVC pipe about a foot long, a rounded cap for one end, a screw-type fitting and cap for the other, and two lag-screws.  If you buy PVC cleaner and cement only for this project, you can get small cans.  The pipe doesn't have to be a foot long to hold 8.5 x 11 pages, and in fact doesn't have to be even 11 inches long, because the caps provide some extra height inside.  My pipe was about 10 inches.  I used screws which are 3 inches long, but shorter ones will do for all but the softest wood onto which the tube will be attached.

Assemble the parts and drill two holes for the screws as shown.  The holes should be in line with the long axis of the pipe and no larger in diameter than necessary to accommodate the screws.  You need to be able to reach the mounting screws through the screw cap with the ratchet handle of a box wrench set; the spacing shown in the photo was fine for my 7-inch-long handle.  Shown here are 1.5-inch-long screws, which proved perfectly satisfactory.  I recommend spray painting the exterior brown, both to retard UV-degradation of the PVC and to prevent the holder from being an eyesore.  (Be careful not to paint the threads of the screw cap.)

I mounted the tube vertically (with the screw top up) on the back of an old fence post which bore the sign for the Basinger campsite on the Florida National Scenic Trail.  The tube was placed high enough to show over the top of the sign so that backpackers entering the campsite might notice it immediately.  It's useful to make pilot holes with a battery-powered drill (an old-fashioned hand drill would do) and to ratchet in, and then remove, the mounting screws in order to prepare the holes.  There is enough space in the tube to ratchet in the screws a little at a time, but it's a slow process so preparing the holes helps speed things along.  Not shown in the photo is the word "LOG" scratched into the paint on the other side of the holder.

Once mounted, the tube is virtually theft-proof except for the screw top (and who would want that?).  To make the holder absolutely rain proof, one could put silicone sealant around the screws where they protrude from the holder.  If you worry that someone might not replace the top securely, you could drill a small hole in the bottom cap to drain any water that seeps in.  Alternatively, the holder could be mounted horizontally on the underside of a picnic table or other such sheltered place.

The logbook itself doesn't need a cover, so design your own log pages and print them from the computer or photocopy them.  Staple the pages together along an 11-inch margin to make a logbook that can be rolled gently to fit into the tube.  The rolled logbook stays above the rounded bottom so even if a small amount of water gets in, it collects below the log.  Drop a pencil or two into the tube, screw the cap back on, and sleep well knowing that not even raccoons can get into this box.

Jack P. Hailman, Tropical Trekkers Chapter