The iPad is the day-to-day tool for muster operations, but SOLAS Chapter III, Regulation 8 still requires every passenger ship and most cargo vessels to display a printed muster list in conspicuous places throughout the vessel. The Muster App generates that printed muster list directly from your live configuration as a single PDF — no more spreadsheets, no more manually retyping crew names every time someone joins or leaves.
This article covers generating the PDF, customising the header, choosing compact mode, and the recommended workflow for keeping the printed copies in sync with the live data.
Why a printed muster list still matters
Even with iPads on every bulkhead, the regulator wants a piece of paper. There are good reasons:
- It works when everything else fails — battery dead, network down, screen smashed, fire in the bridge. A laminated A3 muster list on the engine room bulkhead doesn't care.
- It's familiar to inspectors — port state control and flag state surveyors know what a printed muster list looks like. A printed copy is the universally accepted format.
- Crew can read it without training — new crew, day workers, contractors, charter guests. They might not know how to use the iPad in the first ten minutes on board, but they can read a poster.
- It's a SOLAS requirement — not optional. The exact wording requires the muster list to be displayed in "conspicuous places" — typically the bridge, the crew mess, and major egress points.
The Muster App's approach is to make the printed PDF a direct rendering of your live configuration so the two stay in sync without manual effort.
Generating the PDF
From the admin panel, go to Muster in the sidebar, then Hard Copy. The page shows a live preview of the PDF on the right with the configuration options on the left. Adjust the options, watch the preview update, and when you're happy click Download PDF.
The generated PDF includes, in order:
- Header — yacht name, IMO number, flag, and any other vessel particulars you've configured
- Crew roster — every active crew member with name, rank and department. Crew on leave are excluded automatically.
- Each scenario — Fire, Flooding, MOB, etc. Each scenario gets its own section with stations, station leaders, assigned crew and duties.
- Abandon Ship section — the dedicated layout with port and starboard liferafts, leader labels and crew assignments. This is laid out differently from the other scenarios because abandon ship groups by raft, not by station.
- Footer — generation date, vessel name, and the page number
Customising the header
The header at the top of every page can include whichever vessel particulars matter to your flag state. From the Hard Copy page, click Header settings to open the customisation panel:
- Yacht name — required, defaults to whatever's in your yacht profile
- IMO number — required for SOLAS-applicable vessels
- Call sign — optional
- Flag — country of registration
- Port of registry — optional
- Gross tonnage — optional
- Length overall — optional
- Document version / revision date — useful for inspections so you can tell at a glance when the muster list was last printed
The header settings are saved against your yacht profile, so you only configure them once. Future PDF generations use the saved settings unless you override them.
Compact mode
By default the PDF is laid out for an A3 print with generous spacing — easy to read from a distance, ideal for posting on a bulkhead. For smaller vessels with fewer crew, or for handing copies to individual crew members, you can switch to Compact mode.
Compact mode:
- Reduces the per-row spacing so more crew fit per page
- Uses a smaller font size (still SOLAS-readable)
- Combines stations and duties into a denser grid
- Typically halves the page count for the same content
Most yachts use the default A3 format for the bulkhead-posted copy and Compact mode for an A4 reference copy that lives in the bridge folder. Pick whichever works best for how you'll actually use the print.
What's included automatically
The PDF is generated from the same live data the iPad uses, so anything you've changed in the admin panel is reflected in the next download:
- Crew added or removed from the roster
- Crew rank or department changes
- Crew marked as on leave (excluded from the PDF)
- New scenarios, new stations, new duties
- Abandon ship liferaft changes
- Custom leader role labels
- Vessel particulars in the header settings
You don't have to "regenerate" anything in advance — every time you click Download PDF you get the current state of your configuration as of that moment.
Where to post the printed list
SOLAS asks for "conspicuous places". For most yachts that means at minimum:
- The bridge — laminated A3 at the chart table or on the bulkhead
- The crew mess — where everyone sees it during meals and crew briefings
- Major egress points — companionways, watertight doors, accommodation entrances
- The bridge folder — a compact-mode A4 copy in the standing orders folder for reference during inspections
Lamination matters — the muster list lives in damp, salty environments and unlaminated paper rapidly becomes unreadable. Most yachts laminate every printed copy.
Re-printing after crew changes
Anytime there's a meaningful crew change — new crew joining, crew leaving, a rotation, a charter season starting — the printed muster list should be re-generated and re-posted. The recommended cadence:
- Re-print after any new crew joins or leaves the vessel permanently
- Re-print at the start of each charter season
- Re-print after any major scenario change (e.g. you've added a new emergency type)
- Re-print on an annual schedule even if nothing has changed, just to refresh the date and confirm the posted copy is current
Each PDF is automatically dated in the footer so inspectors can tell at a glance when it was generated. If your posted copy is more than six months old and your roster has changed since then, that's a finding waiting to happen.
Tips from yachts in production
- Print at A3 for the bulkhead, A4 Compact for the folder — gives you both reference formats
- Use coloured paper for different scenarios — some yachts laminate Fire on red, MOB on blue, Abandon Ship on yellow, makes them visually distinct on the bulkhead
- Include the date in the printed copy's filename — saves arguments about which version is current
- Keep the old copies in a folder — historical muster lists are useful for incident investigations and demonstrating ongoing safety management
- Generate a fresh PDF the morning before a port state inspection — easy way to show inspectors a current document