Biggest B.S. I've ever read. And some one would believe this "expert".
Pascoe is, in my opinion, only an expert in one thing. That is self promotion of himself. I find his reviews to be extremely limited in value, highly influenced by personal prejudices, often from a time long ago or based on one or two unrepresentative experiences. The only place he excels is he's more widely published and more often mentioned on the internet than are others. I cringe when I see him referred to here as an expert or as someone to read. His writings are not those of an independent surveyor but are highly opinionated, self promoting pieces and most of them have long ago become outdated. He often applies what he saw on one boat decades ago to a brand across all boat models and all time periods. His books were published 15 to 20 years ago based on far older writings and surveys.
There are at least 200 members here whose opinions and writings (well postings on this forum) I would value far above Pascoe, and they are current in their posting. I just looked at one section of one book of Pascoe and laughed. In his Buyer's Guide to Outboard Boats, Chapter 5 is Power Options. Published in 2002 he discusses Stern Drives, Inboards and Outboards and compares them and offers advice. In 2002 (and in previous years when most of his actual work was done), Stern Drives were big and now they're dying. Outboards didn't even include any of today's large models or all the brands. Pods weren't even relevant yet. He has a full discussion on two cycle vs four cycle which is the ranting of someone living in the past and definitely not relevant for today's buyer as there is no choice.
Now, even just relating to the times of Pascoe, he blasts methods based on their earliest days before any refinements as coring is a prime example. He blasts brands based on one or two boats he once saw which were likely poorly maintained for decades. Specifically, his crusade against Sea Ray shows ignorance and narrowmindedness and a personal prejudice totally inappropriate for an objective surveyor. Sea Ray never professed to be Hatteras, but was not only the most successful brand, the most loved brand of the masses on the lakes to whom they appealed and were marketed. Meanwhile he praises Bertram above all others. Well, I've known of more Bertram delaminations at sea than any other brand but then that's after his time. I have friends with older Bertrams who love them and they were fine boats, but then there is the litany of lawsuits that developed later.
It's not just boat surveys where Pascoe claims to be the expert he isn't. What about "Your legal obligations during a storm." He cites one or two cases. He acts as if he's a lawyer. He misses one very critical issue and that is that your obligation with your insurer is based on your legal contract with them, the policy, and policies differ widely within an insurer and definitely between insurers and even more so between jurisdictions. Again he cites one case as universally applying in all circumstances.
I don't mind those who enjoy looking at Pascoe reviews or reading him. I do have a problem when he's referred to as an expert. However, my major problem is when he's referred to as "The expert", as the absolute authority. This referenced article is just one of many examples.
