So... what do you think of the new YachtForums?

As of this weekend, we've made alot of changes around YachtForums...

1. We're proud to have Oceanco, Sea Ray and SonShip come aboard.

2. We've added additional ad positions around the perimeter of the forums. The banners rotate with each new page you open, displaying our different site sponsors. Click on their banner and you are taken directly to their website.

3. We've completely re-designed the site and added many more user features. It might take a return visit (or two) to get the feel of it, but members will have much more powerful tools available to them now.

4. We've installed new software that will index each thread in YachtForums with all the major search engines, ensuring tons of new yacht owners & enthusiasts will find us.

5. We're preparing a postal mail-out to 25,000 documented yacht owners. This starts in June and continues through August.

6. The front page is under development and will feature stories, articles, new products, links, events and more.

I hope you like it. I'm going to get some sleep now.

Carl

To Brian, Denny & Dave...

Thanks for the positive remarks guys. After about a thousand hours of work (no joke), and several bags of Snyder's pretzels, we're just about ready to float this boat. I really expected a few people to make some negative comments, to which my reply would have been, your membership just went... poof!

Seriously, there's been a few instances when the monitor was about to collide with my baseball bat! Over the past 6 months, I've begun to understand what HTML stands for... "How To Miss Life".

Carl

Thanks Fish! It's you guys that make this happen too. Collective knowledge and shared experience are the value here. It's all about content. Thanks to all of you for being active on the site.

I wish more people would stop lurking and start posting. It seems like you've got to ruffle someone's feathers to get them involved, but that sometimes makes the content less desirable. On a couple of occasions, I've even posted inaccurate information, just to get knowledgeable people to speak up! I don't mind being the fall guy if it gets people involved.

Glad you guys like the site. I'm really pleased with it, but I'm a little prejudice.

Carl

I was waiting for someone to notice this. Good catch! Actually, the system clock is correct, it's based off GMT, which is five hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. Each user must set their own clock (in their individual control panels) to the appropriate time zone. The system has no way of knowing where you are located and what zone you are in... without a little help from you.

Thanks for mentioning this. Again, good catch!

Carl (Eastern Time Zone) Camper

VERY well said, Fish!

I've written for a few magazines and worked as the managing editor of one of them, only to discover editors were scouring forums to find content for their articles! Most people reading magazines assume the writers and editors possess a wealth of knowledge they can rely on. Well, that may be true in some cases, but it's not always the case. Many magazines are editorially biased and advertiser influenced. I've gotta tell you... in several cases, I've met writers (and editors) that had no interest in boating and never owned a boat! I don't know about you, but I don't want advice from anyone who hasn't been down in the bilge with me.

With Forums, you get REAL time information, by REAL users, REAL fast. With forums, you can search archives and find the exact information you need to make sound decisions. You can learn from other's mistakes and give a head's up to those about to make the same. You get press releases the same day they are released, not a month to two months later. You get a wide variety of opinions from users with hands-on knowledge. In many cases, you make new friends with a common interest. As a collective set, we have the ability to initiate change in the industry, as manufacturers quietly observe and address future product offerings.

Carl