The Magazine Poll

[rob d]

Oops, I forgot GOB but they have gotten a bit spendy for my tastes.
Boat Works also is a favorite that usually has an article that is quite usefull on one of my boat projects.
My wife has always claimed that I will make the herse stop at the magazine rack on the way to my own funeral so I can stock up. With that you can tell that I buy and read a number of magazines although I have cut down quite a bit in recent years.

[bobola]

I have an interesting story about how I received a complimentary copy Good Old Boat.
Two years ago I was on a chartered sailboat with a brother and his family, in the anchorage on the east side of Rocky Island in the Apostle Islands.

We are eating diner down below and hear a knock on the hull. A couple named Karen and Jerry are in 2 kayaks paddling through the anchorage giving away complimentary copies of their magazine.

They are very nice people…

[GordMay]

Yes Karen Larson & Jerry Powlas (publishers of GOB) are nice & interesting folks. Their boat “Mystic” (C&C 30) , is currently in Thunder Bay. They are cruising her home, between stints at the magazine, from last year’s North Chanel (Huron) cruise.

[Mareva]

Being Europe-based, we love Yachting World. Lots of newsy, fun articles about amazing people doing kewl (ha ha ha) things, boat comparisons, gear tests, destination write ups, racing news. And for me, the newbie , I have just discovered Yachting Monthly. It has the usual cruising info and boat evaluations, but also sections on the basics (getting out of tight berths, answers to simple questions like which way to coil ropes, and September has a great article on securing alongside). GOB looks pretty interesting, though...

[cat man do]

Coastal Passage was my pick from the list, no Multihull World or Powercats Magazine, Cruising helmsman or Australian sailing, come to think of it except for Coastal Passage it was all Northern Hemisphere stuff.

You'd think we don't play boat's down here going by that.

Dave

[rebel heart]

I picked lat 38 because The Log isn't an option. The Log is a really nice (monthly?) newspaper that comes out in San Diego, and really has a quite impressive reporting arsenal given the small staff. It's not the Washington Post or anything, but I'd rank it much better than lat 38 when it comes to overall quality.

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Coastal Passage was my pick from the list, no Multihull World or Powercats Magazine, Cruising helmsman or Australian sailing, come to think of it except for Coastal Passage it was all Northern Hemisphere stuff.

You'd think we don't play boat's down here going by that.

Dave

Sorry Dave,
I started the poll by asking for suggestions in a different thread. Specifically I was looking for input on magazines outside of the US or regionals that were especially good. If I missed your favorites it was an accidental, not intentional. Thanks for mentioning them since the real purpose of the poll is to make the forum aware of the resources these magazines provide.

pv

[bru]

What about Yachting Monthly and Classic Boat (both published in the UK).

I get both of them and Practical Boatowner and they're all good mags serving up differing content (even though they're all from the same publisher)

[Factor]

Australian Multihull World (cause the writers are just brilliant - he says with all due modesty)

[Amgine]

To be frank, the closest thing to a nautical mag I've paid for in the past year is Tools & Shops (and yah, it actually does have wee bit about boat building in it...). That's assuming you don't consider the annual Waggoner Cruising Guide to be a periodical. At least I'm faithful in that regard.

48° is reasonably non-commercial compared to almost everything else listed, and it's given away for free. But I don't read that more than if I find it at the marina laundry room; and I bring it back.

The northern nautical periodicals in general do not address their subject in any depth or coherence, and do their readers disservice by focusing only on topics which are commercially relevant. It's noteworthy that the majority of magazines which have had a long history were either industry magazines, or focused on how to engage in the sport for a minimal expenditure. The current crop appear primarily focused on the most expensive and extravagant everything, with all the depth and literary scintillation of GQ or women's fashion magazines, though perhaps without their redeeming characteristics.

[GordMay]

For those unfamiliar with “Good Old Boat” magazine, I recommend you avail yourself of their “Free Sample Issue” offer.
Goto: http://goodoldboat.com:8080/GOBWeb/GOBSamplers/

Some articles from Good Old Boat have been reprinted on-line, available at the BoatUS reprints page:
BoatUS.com: Good Old Boat - Article Archives

As I cast my vote, I see Crusing World is second. I would curious why people like this one. I used to subscribe to CW and Sail magazine up until a couple years ago. I got frustrated because it seemed they were more ads than anything else. Plus it seemed reviewers would not say anything "bad" about what they were reviewing. Seemed like anything reviewed was given positive comments. This was especially true for Sail magazine.

Have they changed since?

[DeepFrz]

LC, I don't know cause I stopped buying those magazines for the same reasons as you, plus the fact that they were running very few detailed technical articles.

[muskoka]

Yachting Monthly
Multihulls World

For you PNWers there is a new magazine called

Pacific Yachting 'Boating in the Pacific Northwest', (not to be confused with the classic "Pacific Yachting" magazine.

I just got their second issue and it seems pretty good quality. Interesting articles, technical, not a lot of ads, covers power and sail.