Leland, Call me old fashion but I much prefer the 4 on/8 off schedule used by commercial vessels. It has the advantage of establishing a comfortable routine and everyone knows when they are expected to show up on the bridge without consulting a schedule. The off time is adequate for getting some real sleep when needed as well. I'm prejudiced as I have never really tried anything else unless it was on shorter coastwise trips that were quite informal. Four on and eight off is simple, and its worked for me on tens of thousands of miles of passagemaking over 30 years. And can a million merchant mariners be wrong :-) ? Bruce