As this is my favorite sail site, Good old boat is my favorite sailing mag.
The current issue I just got today, has articles on:
Standing Rigging
Anchoring
Equipment for a solo voyage
Solar panels - the good and bad of them
What a sailor did when he drille d ahole in his hull , whilst still afloat...
good stuff
Sometimes I just like the pictures, but this issue was very good. :D
...Zen's end of the year reading pick for 05'
It's a great magazine and the folks that run it are absolutely outstanding.
IMHO, Good Old Boat is the best boat magazine.
I thought the offer of a free years subscription for current subscribers.... hit by the 'canes on the gulf coast was a great thing to do. This was not some ploy to boost circulation, but them doing what they could to help.
I also like the focus, the sailing magazine for 'the rest of us'
I had a script to 'Sail' for a year (bought on Ebay for $7). I could read whole issues without finding a single article of interest.... ::)
Titles like 'cruising for less then $10,000 a month' and the like.....
what other mag would have an article on 'home preserving meat'?? GREAT MAG for REAL people
I love GOB, great articles, great pix, great people. What's the verdict on 'Practical Sailor'. I got a subscription offer and I'm thinking of trying it.
oded kishony
QuoteI thought the offer of a free years subscription for current subscribers.... hit by the 'canes on the gulf coast was a great thing to do.
Absolutely. I sure appreciated the gesture. They've given away a 12 month subscription, but I'll pay for renewals as long as they're in business.
As far as Practical Sailor goes - I've subscribed for awhile and I enjoy reading it, but it is expensive for what you get. I understand they don't have advertisers and they are certainly filling a niche, but different readers will find different values in the magazine. You can get a short subscription for about $14 - try that one first.
Quote from: s/v Faith on January 02, 2006, 10:17:01 PM
I had a script to 'Sail' for a year (bought on Ebay for $7). I could read whole issues without finding a single article of interest.... ::)
Titles like 'cruising for less then $10,000 a month' and the like.....
I had 'Sail" for a while, too. It was pretty good at first, but went way down hill when they started sending staff "on assignment" for stories. I remember the change - it was very distinct. It became more fluff than substance, and it most certainly caters more to the 'big spender' crowd.
Two mags I like (but no longer have subscriptions to due to paring down of the influx of mail) are Boatbuilder and Ocean Navigator. ON is more of a professional trade journal with some hard core info; I especially liked the the nav problems in the back each month (somethimes celestial, sometimes radar, etc).
"Good Old Boat" offers a FREE trial issue - how can you go wrong ?
http://www.goodoldboat.com
http://goodoldboat.no-ip.com:8080/GOBWeb/GOBSamplers/
My Fav is Good Old Boat. Always articles of interest and benefit with a practical, affordable side included.
Latts Atts, Sail, Cruising World, never really felt I got a lot of good info from. Used to enjoy Latts and Atts more, esp for entertainment, but it has lost its luster in the last yr. I will not be renewing that one. IMHO 8)
Like a lot of us, I dropped my 'script for Sail and now subscribe to Good Old Boat. Love it! Signed up at Chicago Strictly Sail this past February so I also got the CD freebie.
I'll pick up a copy of Boatworks if the articles look like they apply to what I'm doing. Pretty safe bet since I'm working on EVERYTHING on the boat.
The previous owner must have been demented! ::)
Nick
I love the articles and the coverage of Good Old Boat, even if the Pretty Gee doesn't qualify as one. :D
For those who may have ideas of converting a quarter berth to a cockpit locker there is an article in the new issue of Good Old Boat written by James Baldwin about doing this in my 8.7 Columbia. I thought some of you might find this of interest. Dan
I look forward to getting that edition Dan. I hope there are lots of pictures of Psyche, she is a great example of what can be done to make a 'Good old Boat' into a great cruising boat.
What month will the article be in? Will it cover all of the amazing work you and James Baldwin have done or will it focus on converting a quarter berth to a cockpit locker?
Yes, excellent Mag, however I have a problem. They need to change their cover art a little more drastically due to the long break between issues. They seem to love the low light and/or foggy shots.
LOL, I bought the same issue twice at $8.95, then refused to buy the nest issue because the cover looked too close. Now I have to go back for it. So maybe I am a dummy ;D at least the boss thinks so most of the ime.
If you were a subscriber, you'd save money and not have this problem. :)
Quote from: Greenman on November 14, 2008, 05:07:49 AM
Yes, excellent Mag, however I have a problem. They need to change their cover art a little more drastically due to the long break between issues. They seem to love the low light and/or foggy shots.
LOL, I bought the same issue twice at $8.95, then refused to buy the nest issue because the cover looked too close. Now I have to go back for it. So maybe I am a dummy ;D at least the boss thinks so most of the ime.
LOL If I were smarter it would help too. I guess I will ask the Money lady if I am allowed to subscribe :D
GOB is definitely my favorite. You don't have to have a 20 year old boat to learn very good stuff from the articles.
I still flip through Sail, L&A, and Cruising World, but I really read GOB cover to cover including the ads.
I read GOB, Sail, and CW at the library; L&A on-line. Mail control is important! <grin>
Quote from: GordMay on March 08, 2006, 06:35:43 AM
"Good Old Boat" offers a FREE trial issue - how can you go wrong ?
http://www.goodoldboat.com
http://goodoldboat.no-ip.com:8080/GOBWeb/GOBSamplers/
I got their free trial issue and they accidently kept sending them to me. I thought maybe they were gonna try and charge me for the extra issues, or tell me that I had somehow subscribed to a full year or something, but they didn't. When I called to find out, they didn't even say if it was a mistake or not, they just said 'ok we'll stop sending them'! I shoulda let a few more come in before I called :) I ended up with 3 free issues.
anyway, great people, great magazine. the free issue is definately free with no obligations. (and its the current issue).
So many of the glossy mags today target the 55 foot boat owner.
I am really sick of articles about some mega-yacht in Greece.
Good Old Boat has some good boat reviews, and plenty of "how-to" articles.
Their target audience is someone with a 1960-70s sailboat.
It is kind of funny how many of the articles in GOB involve the boats represented here.
It is a rare month when one of our members boats (or sisters) are in that magazine. There have even been a couple
of times whoever wrote the articles seemed to have read some of the threads here.
I wonder how many here now are subscribers? Does everyone know about the free issue offer (posted earlier in this thread)?
I heard they did something on the Chrysler boat(s) but not since I've been reading it. does anyone know what issue?
I to should ask my accountant about a subscription. :D
Mario- search here-
http://www.goodoldboat.com/books_&_gear/back_issue_cds.php
They have back issues on CD and here's a list of what's covered.
It's definitely one of my all-time favorites! I happen to be a refugee from the collapse of the boating magazine business, but GOB is small enough, and dependent enough on its loyal readers, that it will keep going as long as Karen and Jerry want to keep it going.
--Joe
BTW, back when the mag. biz was going strong, SAIL magazine tried to buy them out. But luckily Larson/Powlas said no to the offer.
Quote from: Oldrig on September 12, 2010, 03:23:45 PM
It's definitely one of my all-time favorites! I happen to be a refugee from the collapse of the boating magazine business, but GOB is small enough, and dependent enough on its loyal readers, that it will keep going as long as Karen and Jerry want to keep it going.
--Joe
BTW, back when the mag. biz was going strong, SAIL magazine tried to buy them out. But luckily Larson/Powlas said no to the offer.
I had no idea. It is pretty cool, and certainly consistent with what I know of the operation...
I was subscribed but let my subscription lapse. Not because I don't like the magazine; but because I am trying to get away from dead tree publications as I prep to move aboard next year.
I sent an email to them asking about plans for an electronic delivery option; and they responded that they looked into it but determined they would quickly go broke if they did this. Too bad. I would actually have been willing to pay full subscription price for electronic access.
After Christmas I'm getting an ebook reader (I mostly buy from Amazon so likely a Kindle, but I'm still evaluating). I like books and magazines but space is tight. In a perfect world they'd transmit their issues to a Kindle like some of the newspapers do. Oh, well.
Adam,
My dad, who turned 90 this summer, just bought himself the latest version of the Kindle.
And, reliable sources report that he told Santa to re-gift his ancient Kindle to me. I've resisted e-readers long enough, even though I spent my life working for print publications (and even owning a print shop in Maine for a while).
Perhaps that's why I've been out of work for more than a year!
Anyway, enjoy your e-reader, and Merry Christmas!
--Joe
Quote from: psyche on February 16, 2008, 01:08:50 PM
For those who may have ideas of converting a quarter berth to a cockpit locker there is an article in the new issue of Good Old Boat written by James Baldwin about doing this in my 8.7 Columbia. I thought some of you might find this of interest. Dan
Dan,
Maybe you are still subscribed to this thread, I hope so. Did you ever go cruising in that fine little ship of yours?
Good Old Boat is now doing digital subscriptions. I'm back in... :)
Quote from: Godot on June 17, 2013, 03:11:29 PM
Good Old Boat is now doing digital subscriptions. I'm back in... :)
+1
I just got the free print sample in the mail yesterday, and it was an instant transport to the early 80's, when I was getting serious about boats.
It carried me back to the days of subscribing to every boating magazine I could...Small Boat Journal, Practical Sailor, Wooden Boat, Sail, Cruising World, Yachting, and any others I could find.
Plus the catalogs! I sent for all of them (that were free of course! :D ). Luger Boats, Glen-L Marine, Bruce Roberts, West Marine...
I couldn't wait for the mail to be delivered (except for the bills! ::) ). I was always expecting something boat related.
Also every library book I could get my hands on, plus the books I could afford to buy through the magazines. My little studio apartment was packed with boat-related stuff!
Back in those days, the boats in Good Old Boat weren't old! They were all new enough to be out of my price range, so I was always planning to build my own. I still have the plans I bought from Glen-L.
The digital version may have some advantages, but that print copy really stirred me up. ;D