Sad State of PassageMaker

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No articles on how pretty a palm tree is but lots on design serious repair and modern concepts like emergency starting systems.

As the Technical Editor of ProBoat (Wooden Boat's sister pub, btw), I am biased, but I agree. There are a few reasons PBB is, and remains, successful and profitable, even in this challenging publishing landscape. Having said that, the old days of print publishing's wild profitability, where they were the only medium available, are clearly gone. ProBoat is available to anyone, but is subscription-free to those in the trade.

There is a formula in publishing that still works, it worked for PMM, it continues to work for PBB. Above all else editorial integrity is paramount, without it readership withers, and without readership advertising dies. And yet today, this simple formula seems to be lost on so many editors and publishers; I've dealt with this 'tension' virtually my entire journalistic career.

I won't criticize the current PMM, I haven't read it in years and only know what I hear from others, and have seen in this thread. My comments refer to my tenure, 2000-2014.

While this applies to virtually every article, it applies especial to boat reviews. Bob Lane, Bill P and I wrote nearly all of the boat reviews while PMM was owned by the Parlatores. While there was a guideline of sorts, Bob and I were free to say virtually anything we wanted, however, every review had to include one key element, legitimate, constructive critique. And, contrary to the current trend of many boating mags, where articles rarely exceed 2,000 words, PMM boat reviews had to be detailed and thus long, mine ranged between 4,000 and 6,000. If critique was absent, it would not be published, period. While builders might supply art, Bill, Bob and I took all our own photos for the reviews we wrote.

I didn't enjoy writing these reviews (unless they included a destination passage, to Iceland for instance with Tony Fleming aboard his vessel Venture II). They were a lot of work, and involved the almost inevitable backlash from the builder, the responses to which were time consuming. I never shared a review, or company profile, with a builder before it was published, primarily because I believed that compromised my integrity, or gave the appearance thereof, as if I was checking with them to see if my comments were OK with them. And, I didn't want to argue with them. I felt it was my job as the journalist to get the details of the story right, and the critique was my own.

Boat builders of course balked at some, well, all, of the critique, and it was made clear they were free to do so in letters to the editor. The result was the establishment of credibility with readers, which grew loyalty, and increased circulation, and increased ad revenue. Subscriptions were never given away or discounted, unheard of in the marine publishing world, and it wasn't unusual for couples to have two subscriptions, one for each of them. This loyalty was, I believe, one of the reasons why Trawler Fest was so successful.

This is in no way meant to be self-aggrandizing, it's simply an explanation of the formula that worked well, I didn't invent it. Every boat review I ever wrote included criticism, and in virtually every case the boat builder eventually realized that review was far more valuable than the puff piece filled with platitudes and a dozen ways to say "beautiful" or "perfect", as it telegraphed to the reader legitimacy; the builder's/advertiser's balking usually died away and most ordered reprints of the review to be distributed at boat shows and sales offices, again realizing they were more valuable than the run of the mill pieces. Parlatore understood the value of this criticism, he insisted on it. There were exceptions, some builders pulled advertising, in some cases permanently, over reviews, a couple of those are legion among PMM alumni, and the debate over who was right in those cases continues to this day. I believe, if a magazine isn't losing an advertiser now and again over something that's been written, they probably aren't being critical enough, and are thereby doing the reader a disservice. I've been subject to this retribution a few times, and good editors have supported me, and I think about it when ever I'm writing, it reminds me to be prepared to back up what ever I write.

Finding authors who can write critical boat reviews (and solid destination and technical pieces) is no easy task. The author has to be able to critically evaluate a vessel, identify the strengths and weaknesses, and then be able to justify them with both readers and builders. The builder is apt to say, "What do you know about boat building? We've built XXX boats, you are just a writer" and in some cases they are right. Bob Lane, a life-long boat owner, experienced cruiser, and retired professional newspaper journalist, was one of the best. His passing was a great loss, I miss him as a friend and colleague.

Predictably, authors who can do this well command a higher fee, or once did anyway, which doesn't sit well with many publishers. As a result, most boat review authors play it safe, filling the review with accolades, shielding them from builder/advertiser critique, while readers stop renewing subscriptions. Many editors/publishers gravitate to this format as well, as they never have to worry about getting that angry call from an advertiser, threatening to cancel an ad contract. At first this seems like a workable format, ad revenue remains steady or even climbs as advertisers love it, but over time it's like the moth attracted to the flame, the bond of trust with readers is broken and it all begins to crater.

I worked for PMM for 14 years, and was the Technical Editor for 12 of those years (I proposed the position to Bill P, and he created it for me). During the Parlatore's ownership I had at least an article in every issue, and lectured at every Trawler Fest, it was some of the most enjoyable writing and lecturing I ever did, as I was free to cover almost any subject I wanted; nothing I wrote was ever edited for content without my permission. The longest article I ever published, about, of all things, Sir Ernest Shackleton's epic Antarctic saga, which I wrote after PMM sent me on an expedition cruise that retraced some of his route, was over 9,000 words, I'm pretty sure it holds the PMM record.

Clearly the world of publishing, marine and otherwise, has changed and print publishers do struggle to remain profitable for many legitimate reasons. Positions continue to be cut and consolidated and those who remain are told they need to do more with less. I see more and more magazines forming advertising and editorial "partnerships", in a seeming effort to remain profitable, as readers gravitate to online publications and forums like this. My instinct says the firewall between ad and editorial should remain in place regardless of the format, without it all-important reader trust is once again forfeited for short-term gain. ProBoat continues to do this effectively, their editorial integrity is among the highest I've ever encountered. They have no real competition and they command a world-wide readership. How that landscape will change in this new decade remains to be seen.

Finally, I'm looking for a PMM article written many years ago, maybe by Bob Lane, about Northern Lights/Alaska Diesel Electric. If anyone has an issue with that article in it, and can find it, I'd gladly pay to have it mailed to me. Thanks.
 
Mr. DAntonio, there is a reason I always enjoy reading your past articles and this one is no different. What a pleasure to read it. Thank you!
 
Finally, I'm looking for a PMM article written many years ago, maybe by Bob Lane, about Northern Lights/Alaska Diesel Electric. If anyone has an issue with that article in it, and can find it, I'd gladly pay to have it mailed to me. Thanks.

I guess that's one of the issues with these magazines. If I had it how on earth would I find it! :)
 
I have been considering a subscription to Pacific Yachting, and are interested in your opinion. Do you feel you are getting good value for your $$?



I enjoy it immensely. As mentioned it covers a area we cruise in and the monthly fishing article is helpful.
 
I am a long term subscriber to Pacific Yachting with some breaks in there over the years.

Now I get 1/2 through CPS membership & 1/2 paid to fill in the missing issues.

It is usually worth it as it covers, as mentioned, the fishing and some of the political shenanigans behind it. Some articles are presented about cruising areas now on both sides of the border and of course the new boats which I pay almost no attention to anymore.

I do and continue to do so read what they have to say about Coastal Craft as I get to watch them come and go as they are built here and launched across from my slip.

Try it for a year and see. Maybe you will or won't like it but really only you can decide. Like all mags. they have interesting stuff and then not so interesting depending upon your needs and outlook.
 
Steve, you’re a Shackleton fan? I never knew. [emoji16]

"Fan" is an understatement, fanatic is more like it, for the past 25 years. I've been to Elephant Island, Stromness whaling station in South Georgia, and to Dulwich to see the James Caird. Here are the two articles that are the result of that Antarctic passage...

https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Shackleton-In-thre-Footsteps-Of.pdf

https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/.../Big-Ship-Little-Ship-Cruising-Antarctica.pdf
 
We're off to the Antarctic spring of 21. Considering Patagonia and maybe the Falklands at the same time. All as part of out Seven Continent Retirement Plan! :)

Seriously looking forward to it.
 
Professional Boatbuilder magazine has all their past issues available to read on their site - proboat.com

It's my favorite magazine. The articles on boatbuilding technology is fascinating.

Steve D'Antonio has written many articles for PBB that TF members would enjoy.
 
We're off to the Antarctic spring of 21. Considering Patagonia and maybe the Falklands at the same time. All as part of out Seven Continent Retirement Plan! :)

Seriously looking forward to it.


I highly recommend the Falklands, and South Georgia is not to be missed. It's arguable better than the Antarctic peninsula.
 
I still have a rather large collection of boating related magazines on a storage rack system in the garage, something like 225 boxes, I hate to admit. Not sure what I will ultimately do with them, looking at scanners and book binder cutters to possibly make an electronic library efficiently.

One thing that strikes me is the dumbing down of articles from the past. In the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s there were plenty of technical articles in Yachting, Motor Boating & Sailing, and Sea magazine. Plenty of technical content, engineering numbers and calculations on a wide range of topics. It is almost like today’s publishing climate has elected to believe that readers are too “dumb” in general to have content like this, outside if PBB.

The types of sailing, seakeeping, powering, structures and navigation articles in the most commonly read marine magazines were far superior back then and I have to ask the question , why? And why not go back to that model?
 
Works for me

I’ve been a west coast sailor most of my life and have just switched to power. I’ve been taking a bunch classes, attending seminars, reading books and yes, I’ve been a PM subscriber for a few years.

I’m not sure how great the mag was in the old days but I love this magazine, especially since the mild makeover last Fall. I wrote the editor, Andrew Parkinson, about my thoughts, good and bad, about the new layout. He replied the next day, seems like a good guy, a decent writer and he’s definitely trying.

Seems like a lot of the respondents in this forum haven’t picked up the mag and read it in years, just a lot of “oh it’s not as good as it was, too many ads, too much fluff, blah, blah . . “

This month Zimmerman wrote a great step by step article on the game plan for haul-out. I know most of you guys have done this and could do this in their sleep but it’s new and immensely informative for me and number of my other sailor buddies turned pb’rs Also in this issue is a piece on cruising with your family. Again super interesting to me as I’m trying to figure out how to juggle family life, work and getting us all out for some long term cruising. Another about a couple who met late in life and started their cruising adventure together. Neither one of these great articles is tied to any advertising or selling anything but the lifestyle we all love.

Yes, there are going to be ads for some sexy boats and in this day and age it doesn’t make a ton of sense to write overly harsh reviews on these boats and equipment. But, as has been said in many of the above posts, the publishing industry has radically changed and I’m just thankful mags like PM still exist. First, to get my face off my phone and laptop for content and to page through some informative (for me) articles . . . and do a little dreaming along the way.
 
... Yes, there are going to be ads for some sexy boats and in this day and age it doesn’t make a ton of sense to write overly harsh reviews on these boats and equipment. ...

But writing reviews that make the advertisers/vendors happy rarely give buyers (subscribers) accurate, in depth information to help make a buying decision on anything.

If a product is crap, the readers of a review should be told that (IMO).
 
We're off to the Antarctic spring of 21. Considering Patagonia and maybe the Falklands at the same time. All as part of out Seven Continent Retirement Plan! :)

You taking your Grand Alaskan down there??
 
Seems like a lot of the respondents in this forum haven’t picked up the mag and read it in years, just a lot of “oh it’s not as good as it was, too many ads, too much fluff, blah, blah . . “

Ocober 2001 - 224 pages.

December 2005 - 240 pages.

Jan/Feb 2015 - 120

April 2018 - 96

Last issue - 104.

Very few articles - a lot of new boat reviews with more and more non-trawler reviews and new gadgets reviews.

In the last issue the first two ads were for a Marlow 75E and a Nordhavn followed by a Belize 66 Daybridge!

So yes, I still get it and will do until this subscription runs out. But it has little value to me anymore.
 
Ocober 2001 - 224 pages.

December 2005 - 240 pages.

Jan/Feb 2015 - 120

April 2018 - 96

Last issue - 104.

Very few articles - a lot of new boat reviews with more and more non-trawler reviews and new gadgets reviews.

In the last issue the first two ads were for a Marlow 75E and a Nordhavn followed by a Belize 66 Daybridge!

So yes, I still get it and will do until this subscription runs out. But it has little value to me anymore.

A more telling indication would be the percentage of advertising and paid placement copy vs. editorial and story content. I don't know the percentages in PM magazine, but if you have 240 pages that is 70% ad copy vs. 100 pages that is 40% ad copy, which is better?
 
A more telling indication would be the percentage of advertising and paid placement copy vs. editorial and story content. I don't know the percentages in PM magazine, but if you have 240 pages that is 70% ad copy vs. 100 pages that is 40% ad copy, which is better?

240 at 70% is better for everyone. It has 168 pages of advertising vs. 40 so clearly far better for the publication and it has 72 pages of magazine vs 60 pages so 20% more articles.

Now odds are that the advertising pages have shrunk proportionately in this case.
 
We're off to the Antarctic spring of 21. Considering Patagonia and maybe the Falklands at the same time. All as part of out Seven Continent Retirement Plan! :)

Seriously looking forward to it.

Spring, ours or the southern hemisphere's? Most tour trips to Antarctica are in their summer, i.e. Nov-Feb. earlier you have more snow, later you have more young animals, either way it's unforgettable.

I've been to the Falklands, and South Georgia, both well worth it, but especially the latter.
 
I still have a rather large collection of boating related magazines on a storage rack system in the garage, something like 225 boxes, I hate to admit. Not sure what I will ultimately do with them, looking at scanners and book binder cutters to possibly make an electronic library efficiently.

One thing that strikes me is the dumbing down of articles from the past. In the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s there were plenty of technical articles in Yachting, Motor Boating & Sailing, and Sea magazine. Plenty of technical content, engineering numbers and calculations on a wide range of topics. It is almost like today’s publishing climate has elected to believe that readers are too “dumb” in general to have content like this, outside if PBB.

The types of sailing, seakeeping, powering, structures and navigation articles in the most commonly read marine magazines were far superior back then and I have to ask the question , why? And why not go back to that model?

That's a very good observation and I agree entirely, pick up an issue of one of those mags, even from the 30s and 40s, and to me they seem far more sophisticated. What's changed, the readers, the authors or both?
 
Spring, ours or the southern hemisphere's? Most tour trips to Antarctica are in their summer, i.e. Nov-Feb. earlier you have more snow, later you have more young animals, either way it's unforgettable.

I've been to the Falklands, and South Georgia, both well worth it, but especially the latter.

Jan-Feb 2021. South America was already planned and booked for this year.

Surprisingly I thought I would have to get in early as I heard it was getting quite popular. So before Christmas I went online and started to the research. Not only were there no schedules out yet for Spring 2021, but the 2020 cruises were still selling. I guess it is still a niche trip.
 
I have been a subscriber for 19 years, but will not be renewing when this one runs out. I don't think I have opened the last four or five, though the missus flicks through them. They have become so thin as to basically be one big ad.

I guess with all of the on-line options including forums like this one their time has passed.

This could not be summed up better than by this morning's FaceBook post from PassageMaker.

"Great Loopers can drop anchor at new state-of-the-art marina in 2021 in the Windy City."

Drop anchor? Really?

I have about 110 back copies on my office shelf that I will recycle. If anyone is passing through JAX and wants them let me know.
Unfortunatley I will not be able to 'not' read PM any more - as when I renewed there default renew was 3 years and I did not pick up on it until it was to late not good business practise in my opinion. but won't be renewing in the future if they are still around.
 
Another annoyance I have is with them and others, their emails. Seems to me when publications send you emails initially they are mostly content with perhaps an ad at the bottom. Then they turn into advertisement only. Now, being subscribed to Passagemaker, gets you one advertising email after another. I love Waterway Guide and they provide good content, but I see a small movement in them to more ads vs. content and I just hope they manage to keep a good balance.
 
I have been considering a subscription to Pacific Yachting, and are interested in your opinion. Do you feel you are getting good value for your $$?

I like and subscribe to Pacific Yachting and read most but not all of the articles. I've stopped reading about sailboats, their races, and anything sailboat hardware and support. It's just not me in my early 70's. As mentioned by another here, the local knowledge is great, local being Seattle and above into Alaska. The little gunkholes one can access but first you need to know about them, abounds in articles in PY.

I have copied and pasted the following and will comment:

How big is a big boat?
If your dreaming of a 50 footer - That's BIG! - You might want to think again.
According to USCG statistics - of all the more than 12 plus million pleasure boats registered in the United States, fewer than 1% are 40 feet or
longer. Of those over 40 feet less than 1% (thats 1 in 10,000) of them reach 48 feet.


My problem with PY is that it reviews too many large boats, far out of proportion to the reality of boaters in our region. They do have a small boat issue but I feel there should be more an emphasis on "starter boats" accessible to would be cruisers.

I just blanked out on the name of the mag out of England that deals only with used boats with used boat reviews, and issues related to owning, repairing, saving these boats. In one study done in the early 2000's, the magazine found the average sailboat in E. was 24 feet long. So their emphasis is on boats roughly 22 to 35 feet long, rarely larger. I think this kind of thinking is bang on with the reality of the boating community here.

When I read the back page of PY, the humour section of incidents happening, invariably the person or family is on a Catalina 27 or a C&C 24 or the like. Yet when you read the boating reviews it a major emphasis on 40 feet and above. This to me feels like they are ignoring the reality of the boating community in our coastal living.

All that said, I still look forward to a new PY magazine when it arrives.
 
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I think those stats are really meaningless. Sure, overall a 50’ bot may be huge. But for a trawler doing trawler things, I’d guess it’s just a bit above average, and not at all off target for the mission
 
Would be interesting to learn what percentage of our membership have 50+ ft trawlers/boats.
If it is discovered, the majority of the membership have 40ft+/- used boats then we should search for a publication that addresses maintenance issues perhaps even machinery specific ie, main engine makers, generator makers, then the smaller physical equipment onboard.
Sadly, I do not believe the publication would last long.
Magazines must make a profit to remain in business. If the publication cannot make a profit via subscriptions, leaves two options. Increase the cost of advertising or add more advertising. Advertisers will not stay if they perceive their product is being badmouthed or do not see an increase sales. Of course when the readers perceive the space for advertisers exceed the space devoted to quality articles, readership may die off too.
So we see, it is a delicate balance ....
....... Just my option......
 
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Would be interesting to learn what percentage of our membership have 50+ ft trawlers/boats.
If it is discovered, the majority of the membership have 40ft+/- used boats then we should search for a publication that addresses maintenance issues perhaps even machinery specific ie, main engine makers, generator makers, then the smaller physical equipment onboard.
Sadly, I do not believe the publication would last long.
Magazines must make a profit to remain in business. If the publication cannot make a profit via subscriptions, leaves two options. Increase the cost of advertising or add more advertising. Advertisers will not stay if they perceive their product is being badmouthed or do not see an increase sales. Of course when the readers perceive the space for advertisers exceed the space devoted to quality articles, readership may die off too.
So we see, it is a delicate balance ....
....... Just my option......



My guess would be 40’ as the mean. But very interested to see actual number. Care to start a poll?
 
To be accurate you would need to exclude any open boats, from daysailers to center consoles.
 
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