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Old 30-12-2012, 06:43   #31
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

I subscribed for a year when we were refitting and I was buying a LOT of boat stuff. I did it just for access to their reviews on their website. It was worth it then, it isn't now.
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Old 30-12-2012, 11:51   #32
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

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[*]The bottom paint testing is inherently flawed in that bottom paint choice is very location specific. Florida (where most of it is done) is very different from San Fransico Bay. I'm sure Fastbottoms (or any Bay area sailor) could run tests in SF Bay and get them published. I'm quite sure of it. I would LOVE to read a review based on hard paints that are cleaned, rather than just panels hung from a dock. So we would need about 20 similar sample boats on several fixed cleaning schedules (and of course all the same color to avoid tester bias) and to take cleaning data over 2 years. Sounds like hard work. Only a paint manufacturer would have the budget to do that right.
There have been, and currently are, anti fouling paint tests being performed in the Bay Area. Most notably the Econea/copper-free product that was put on a boat owned by a Latitude 38 writer. Of course, there was no in-water cleaning done and the only reports given about the efficacy of the product were inexpert opinions given by the writer, who was present when the boat was hauled for inspection. I found the apparent results to be so far from anything I have experienced in the 20,000+ hull cleanings that I have performed as to be rather unbelievable.

I have very casually participated in some product testing here, primarily with Interlux, who are currently running tests on some zinc-based anti fouling paints on panels hung off a barge at KKMI in Point Richmond. But I agree with thinwater, the best testing would be to do side-by-side comparisons over a long period of time, on like boats that live near to each other in similar environmental conditions. And no results without pictures taken in the water prior to cleaning could be considered worthwhile, IMHO.
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Old 30-12-2012, 12:05   #33
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

I've seen substantial variation from one year to the next on the same boat (repainted each season) in the same location using the same bottom paint!
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Old 30-12-2012, 12:28   #34
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

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I have very casually participated in some product testing here, primarily with Interlux, who are currently running tests on some zinc-based anti fouling paints on panels hung off a barge at KKMI in Point Richmond. But I agree with thinwater, the best testing would be to do side-by-side comparisons over a long period of time, on like boats that live near to each other in similar environmental conditions. And no results without pictures taken in the water prior to cleaning could be considered worthwhile, IMHO.
Exactly. I would love to see testing that included a regular cleaning program. Very different from stationary panels. Soft paint works for me, for my locations and my reasons. But if I were still racing it would be a different story. I'd want to know what stayed smooth.
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Old 30-12-2012, 12:39   #35
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

I too previously subscribed, but no longer. Not enough useful information, too few issues per year and over priced. Not to mention I don't put much faith in their evaluations.
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Old 30-12-2012, 12:48   #36
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

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I was a subscriber for many years and gleaned some good comparative info from Practical Sailor. It had almost a newspaper feel to it. After a while I noticed a distinct bias creeping into their analysis and dropped them a note about it (pre e-mail days). I got a snotty note back that basically said that I was clearly the biased one... haven't read the mag since... not a great way to hang on to or gain readership. Sounds like it has changed even more since the '80's. Phil
I had it way back when also. It got too expensive for me fast. I found it useful at times. Some of their tests were more real world than some reviews anyway. Not perfect though. No idea what it's like now. But there isnt a sailing mag out there I would pay over $15 a year for.
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Old 30-12-2012, 13:25   #37
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" Magazine?

I think that a subscription now gets you access to all old issues via internet. Which is a major improvement from when I had it last when they charged big bucks for reading old stuff on the internet. But then you have to decide if the reviews have any value to begain with.

I used to have a subscription to Consumer Reports and basedon it got a lot of stuff over the yeaars that turned out to be pretty crappy.
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Old 30-12-2012, 13:30   #38
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" Magazine?

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I think that a subscription now gets you access to all old issues via internet. Which is a major improvement from when I had it last when they charged big bucks for reading old stuff on the internet. But then you have to decide if the reviews have any value to begain with.

I used to have a subscription to Consumer Reports and basedon it got a lot of stuff over the yeaars that turned out to be pretty crappy.
I think if your a vender all you have to do to get a good review is stuff a few hundred $ in the envelope-----------on the other hand the SSCA gives the best reviews from 10,000 active cruisers worldwide, and that hard to beat
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Old 31-12-2012, 15:30   #39
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

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Moral of the story; if you are interested in them and want to try it first send them an email saying so and see what happens.
So I recieved my free copy of the Jan 2013 issue today. It took me about 10 minutes to read it, mostly spent on the letters section.

There wasn't a single article that really provided any info that I could not have found free online if I were interested in that topic. Maybe the gas tank vent filter would have been of some interest if I had a gas powered boat.

It isn't even worth keeping in case I become interested in one of the articles later.

So for me this is the third time I have come to the conclusion that PS isn't worth the price... at least to me.
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Old 31-12-2012, 15:38   #40
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" Magazine?

It actually used to be a good publication. Unfortunately, their response to the competition from the internet was to reduce information content and research and to increase fluff.
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Old 31-12-2012, 18:45   #41
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" Magazine?

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Practical Sailor is the worst sailing magazine, except for all the others.
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Old 31-12-2012, 18:49   #42
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" magazine?

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[*]Although the issue price is high, a subscription gives full access to ALL of the back issues as PDFs back to 1999.
How long has this been available? I was told that this was an option when I signed-up for the magazine, but once I paid and got access, I found out I still had to pay for the individual older PDF copies... just at a discount rate. I sent them an email and was told that is just the way it is, and I had to pay to get each PDF copy. I will never signup for that magazine again!
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Old 31-12-2012, 18:50   #43
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Re: Opinions on "Practical Sailor" Magazine?

Curmudgeon :

I also am fond of :

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities."
-- Winston Churchill
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Old 31-12-2012, 18:54   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy
It actually used to be a good publication. Unfortunately, their response to the competition from the internet was to reduce information content and research and to increase fluff.
This is true of ON, I must have 10 years of back issues , but from about 08 on. It began to get very thin and Contained fewer in depth articles and more review type stuff. I also thought they should have more specialised ( rather like Dave Gerrs mag ) since the general stuff is all over the net.

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Old 31-12-2012, 18:57   #45
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Curmudgeon :

I also am fond of :

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities."
-- Winston Churchill
Mine is

" The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter "

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