Magazines

[mrbill]

For the last two years I have subscribed to Blue Water Sailing magazine. My subscription is up for renewal, and before I renew, I'd like some ideas as to BETTER magazines to subscribe to. I'm looking for something that is closer in theme and mindset to the people on this board, as opposed to what appears to me to be a magazine focused on mega yachts of a size and sophistication I neither want nor will ever afford. Their content is obviously heavily advertiser driven which offends my sensibilities no end.

Suggestions anyone?

[Godot]

For what it's worth...

My favorite magazine is Good Old Boat (I really need to subscribe).  They spend a lot of time talking projects (which is very good); but also kill quite a few trees talking about sailing and cruising. 

I used to like Lats&Atts but have grown bored of that rag.  I will occasionally pick up a Sail or  Cruising World when they have a good article; but rarely find them all that attuned to my needs.  I sometimes read Small Craft Advisory which is pretty neat; but doesn't quite hit the sailfar topic all that well, usually concentrating on smaller (usually trailerable or even cartoppable), locally sailed boats.  There is a rag from England I sometimes see in the magazine rack at Borders that is quite good; but I can't remember the name.  The magazine Living Aboard seems to have some good articles, but I haven't seen enough issues to really make a firm opinion.

[Lynx]

Try Trailor Sailor.

Where are you from? There may be some local mags. Most have web sites to preview.

[AdriftAtSea]

s/v Godot-

Are you thinking of Points East?? I wouldn't think that Borders would carry it, since it is a free publication.  That's the only New England specific magazine that I can think of. 

I'd second the Small Craft Advisor magazine, although, as S/VG mentioned, it does focus on smaller trailerables, and includes kayaks, canoe, and other non-sail-powered craft. 

Good Old Boat is one of the best magazines IMHO, and has a lot of practical information in it, and the focus on smaller older boats makes it much more suited to those of the sailfar.net mentality.

[Godot]

s/v Godot-

Are you thinking of Points East?? I wouldn't think that Borders would carry it, since it is a free publication.  That's the only New England specific magazine that I can think of. 

Actually, I meant England not New England.  I think it's named Practical Boat Owner; but I might be getting my magazines mixed up.

[rtbates]

Good Old Boat is the only one that I'll be keeping after my subscriptions expire for the others I read. I currently get Sail, Cruising World, Latts$Atts, as well as GOB. Besides all the ads I just can't relate to a $1.7M sailboat!! Ted Hood's latest 'Expedition 55' write up in this months Cruising World. Give me a break.

[Oldrig]

I'm in the magazine business, so I probably shouldn't comment here. But I won't plug my own magazine, because it calls itself a "boating" mag, rather than a "sailing" mag, and it's very local.

My hand-down favorite, as a professional and as a reader, has got to be Good Old Boat.

I subscribed for a while to Small Craft Advisor, but the boats featured there are a bit small for my taste. (I've got a non-trailerable 25-foot full-keeled boat.)

I read Crusing World for the prose and the fantasy of it, but I try to tune out the ads for megaboats.

Sail has its ups and downs. When they write about cruising or give practical tips, I find it interesting; when they write about racing or preview 50-foot megaboats, I just tune out.

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Practical Sailor. I let my subscription lapse, but I recently started getting it again. While the electronics and stuff are a bit more than I need or want, I appreciate some of the items they test. It's well worth it--and there are no ads at all.

Those are my very personal takes on sailing magazines.

--Joe

[Godot]

I'm in the magazine business, so I probably shouldn't comment here. But I won't plug my own magazine, because it calls itself a "boating" mag, rather than a "sailing" mag, and it's very local.

Oh, go ahead and plug it.  I'm sure no one will mind (unless you start a hard sell with excessive spam content flooding the forum ... all bets are off, then.  [Not that I think you would do that!]).

Actually, I think there is room in the market for a specialty magazine or maybe newsletter on the whole sail far concept.  Low distribution, most likely, and it probably wouldn't make anyone rich; but I can see a subscription base of at least several hundred.  Why?  Because a quick perusal of the the Jester Challenge website has 66 boats signed up for the Azores Challenge 2008 and 53 already for the Jester 2010 Challenge.  These are everyday boats not all that different from what we are sailing.  If that many people are signing up for a major semi-organized offshore adventure/race; there have got to be countless more who aren't quite as ambitious but who have similar sailing interests.  I think this would fall nicely between Small Craft Advisor and all the big rags, with a somewhat different focus than Good Old Boat.

Just a thought.

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Practical Sailor.

I used to subscribe, too.  Overall, a good magazine.  Unfortunately, I found that most issues covered stuff that I wasn't about to buy.  Really, I don't often buy all that much (hard to believe after checking my credit card statement and seeing all those West Marine charges).  From a end user standpoint, I'd prefer just buying the articles that pertain to my needs (online probably) and leave the other stuff alone.  On the other hand, without subscribers they can't do their testing (no ads).  If I had a third hand I'd mention that the big spenders are probably the big boaters and they can probably better afford and get more use out of a magazine like this.

Still, it is good.

[Godot]

I ran across a new magazine at the airport book store:

BoatWorks
Tag lines: Expert Tips for Practical People; The Must-Have Magazine for the hands-on boat Owner

This is apparently a quarterly magazine with some great do it yourself articles.  For instance, the Fall 2007 issue contains:

• Make your own Hydrophone
• How to install a new VHF radio
• How to choose and apply oils (finishing wood)
• Building a gimbaled mount for a butane stove (the Glowmate style stove... very cool)
• Installing a hot water heater
• Building an inexpensive whisker pole out of a telescoping boat hook
• One sailors build of a hard dodger
• Carving a Nameboard
• Building a kitboat

That's a lot of stuff for one 80 page issue.  And the magazine isn't stuffed solid with so much advertising that you can't find the articles.  It's hard to believe that it is made by the same people who publish Sail Magazine.