Favorite boat and yachting magazine?

I find that most of the magazines are good for a distraction and some information, but they are not nearly as critical as they can be.

British magazines tend to be more critical (cars or boats) and I find the UK magazine Motorboating to have analysis you won't find in the US rags. They will actually say something is bad. Covers European boats generally.

With YachtForums at our finger tips, why would one waste time reading magazines

When all else fails and the internet is not available, I pick up Power & Motoryacht, Yachting, Yachts International and...well, never mind

need something to read on the toilet. no internet access there yet

actually i only buy a yacht magazine now if there is a really interesting feature. the ratio of content to ads is generally poor in all the big magazines. like 1/4 content 1/4 full page ads 1/2 broker listings.

Carl does much better reviews, way more text and big photos

the best magazine is Passagemaker magazine. I cancelled my subcriptions to all the others.

the best hands down. period

I too have given up a few mags including Yachting and Power and Motoryacht. I find them to be too full of ads and less on content. The only mag that I do keep up is Sea only because it deals with issues related to the west coast. For my money the only true yachting information centre is right here on Yachtforums where you not only get great reviews but also the opportunity to read and disuss issues with an exceptional group of people.

Ben

You are shortening your learning curve: you are here, esconsed in the midst of some sharp minds in Yacht Forums who are able to bring you up to speed in virtually all aspects of yachts--design, equipment, and all practical matters as of rightnow, with no three or four month lagtime.

Car magazines of the past were pretty useless in doling out the hot skinny and calling a dog... a dog!
"Automobile" mag, back in the early '90s, forged a new paradigm and ate their competitor's collective lunch. "C & D" eventually saw the light and morphed to what readers demanded.
Critical thinking: a refreshing change, something which--and I'm wielding a broad brush here-- is lacking in the boat magazines and will continue as long as they are market (advertising) driven as opposed to consumer driven.

One big difference, though: there aren't too many sea-going equivalents of the Yugo, or the Aztek, or the Suzuki XC90 ( I always pictured Goofy as a driver in one of these) because

a) The yacht business is more sophisticated in design. Right, Lars? Who would commission an ugly boat?
b) The amortization over much fewer builds provides the imperative to avoid any real screwups and I'm refering to hull design here.
c) We are governed, more or less, by individuals/entrepeneurs, not
'design-by-committee', thus avoiding camels that should have been stallions.

Just my humble opinion.

At present i am writing a column on Superyachts in a Swedish powerboat magazine. It is just to give the readers a little insight in this world, but nothing specific on a yachts design and build quality.

My dear collegues however are pretty straightforward when they don´t like the powerboats they are testing. Sometimes they can also be picky just to get a balance if they have said something nice about a boat!

But this is tradition in our boat magazines and should they write as flattering as we can see in english or american yacht magazines, they wouldn´t sell one copy...

I may add that if I should write about boats or yachts from a consumers point of view, they wouldn´t sell one boat!

I humbly disagree. I think there are a number of really ugly boat designs and more importantly, a number of not very seaworthy designs. Granted that some designs are really targetted at small lakes and appropriate for that purpose BUT neither the manufacturer nor the dealer will position and market their boats for solely that narrow field of use.

Online magazine: YachtForums.com...no question

Paper magazine: "Boote Exklusiv". It's an german magazine. Some reviews in english.

Boating Magazines

My subscription to Power and Motoryacht,and Yachting magazines expired and now I have subscibed to Voyaging and Southern Boating and Motorboating,and the Chesapeake Bay magazines.

I do it like Kevin. Yacht Design and the monthly Yacht Capital magazine are one of the best here in Europe.

I vote for Passagemaker. It actually has articles and info from boaters. The others are all fluff and ads.

Passagemaker. Insightful, unbiased, in-depth reading.

Others have become merely "wrap" around advertisements.

Readers see through it. Tell us the good and bad, or risk losing readers.

With the advent of internet - CONTENT IS FREE.

Boat International

magazins

at least
theres a big publisher ********************* with a lot of magazins who circles their tests and features through the issues. Targeting the higher market.
Boat International has a big part (half the mag.) with actual charter-vacations. Togehter with their offers in the web you can see a lot of different ships with a lot of photos and data.

An additional nice one is the: Yacht Capital. It has some 2- and 3-sides-graphics from some yachts that's something special.

Boat International from Edisea Press UK, are one of the best yacht review mags around.
In addition to the normal monthly mag they also have additional seperate magazine to do with ports (Berth Sizes, Max Draft, Fuel etc etc) that cover most parts of the globe. A small almanac in itself with all the port contact details you need.

Also have publications on new launches, refits and full yard activity.
Have subsrcibed to this since 1997 & will continue to.

Talon - Jay

Ben,

I believe one of the reasons forums have become so popular is because it gives consumers the ability to source the collective knowledge and experience of a vast number of users. On any subject, it is likely that someone, somewhere, at sometime… has encountered the same frustration that you may be experiencing yourself.

In the past, we've all relied on magazines for information that would lead to a prudent buying decision, but in some cases… this model is flawed. This touches on one of my pet peeves… when an editor of a magazine has no experience in yacht ownership, navigation, construction or engineering… is this somebody you really want to take advice from? I think there’s something seriously wrong with this equation. For me… I want to learn from my peers. Not… a writer with a degree in literature!

I have some definitive thoughts on the various publications, but it wouldn’t be correct to share the same… just as it wouldn’t be proper for me to cast a vote for YachtForums.

That being said… I vote for YachtForums!

I usually pick up a few magazines here and there but I have come to realize that I have already seen everything in it...on YachtForums!