Boat Cards

[Bob Cofer]

I think the OP's card looks great and conveys them as happy and proud of their boat.

 

[CPseudonym]

I think the OP's card looks great and conveys them as happy and proud of their boat.

Leave it alone, looks great.

 

[Moby Nick]

Good discussion. Am considering a card for ourselves. Need a better photo showing the Albin without a pier.

 

[Northern Spy]

I too, like the disembodied floating heads. Sometimes I need a face with a name, to put it together. I think the font of the boat makes sense too, as it could be compared to the small blurry image in a pair of binoculars.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Perhaps turning the picture of the boat into a simple line drawing?

 

[O C Diver]

Maybe organized a little better.
Delete the "follow us on" as it's unnecessary.
Contact information across the bottom:
Web address, email address, phone number
Put name of vessel, home port, make & length, and mmsi number together.
Reduce the size of the boat just a little, and the information will format better.

Ted

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I think your cards are great. I did much of the same using MS Word. I went with putting our information on the back of the card for a few reasons.


1. A lot of info on the front makes for a "busy" card and can take away from your pic of the boat.
2. Placing info on the back give you more room.

 

[FlyWright]

Generally, I like it. I think boat cards are a great idea! I find those with photos look busy, too. I like the line drawings or artist renditions as a base for the card. Maybe you can try some graphics adjustment on the photo to provide a more 'artistic' appearance. If you can fade the image, it allows the contrasting text to become more apparent.

I like the people photos idea, but IMO, the names should match the order of the photos. Yours are reversed.

My daughter, a millennial, printed cards with a QR code printed on the back to direct smart devices to her site of choice. I thought that was a great new-tech solution to providing a social/website link without taking up real estate on the front of the card.

 

[BandB]

Most unusual cards I ever saw was an executive from Bangladesh who owned and/or ran many companies. It folded out, about half a dozen sections, and he listed all his positions in all his companies.

 

[Jeffrey S]

The problem with boat cards is the exact problem with all paper products...

- They are static - once printed, they can't change without throwing them out and reprinting them.

- If the data changes, everyone who was previously given the card doesn't get the new information.

- Searching them is impossible once you've been cruising for a while. We have 1,500 boat cards today. Good luck finding anyone in those stacks.

- Once you give someone the card, you can't take it back.

- There is no dynamic information on a paper boat card - like current position, plans for the season, etc.

- The small, fixed size leaves little room for detailed information about the boat, equipment, engines, etc.

- There's no way to tie a paper boat card to the set of reviews that have been written. Or the things that couple are interested in. Those types of things build community.

- Paper boat cards don't record the tracks and routes of the places you've been.

- The only way you can write your own notes about the boat/couple/person is to physically write something on the card. Good luck trying to find that when you need it.


This is just the beginning of the list of issues. If you think about it, the change from paper guidebooks to electronic website/app data sharing is really no different from the move from paper boat cards to electronic boat cards. In another few years, these paper boat cards will be quaint reminders of the way cruising used to be done. They'll start to disappear in 2020 - when the vision of what's possible will become crystal clear.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Wow Jeffery nice buzz kill, sheesh!

 

[BandB]

Wow Jeffery nice buzz kill, sheesh!

Yes, he did do a rather harsh put down based on his prejudice toward a product he offers.

I must say, the only cards I have less use for than paper boat cards are electronic boat cards. If I want to establish communication, I either share phone numbers by texting on the spot or emails by emailing on the spot.

 

[gaston]

Most unusual cards I ever saw was an executive from Bangladesh who owned and/or ran many companies. It folded out, about half a dozen sections, and he listed all his positions in all his companies.

By any chance was his company called The Karma Sutra,

 

[North Baltic sea]

interesting way you have a boat card. I've never seen before, not used here, we may have antisocial here in the northern Europe, say if anyone elsewhere in Europe use?

 

[rochepoint]

Wow Jeffery nice buzz kill, sheesh!

X2.....

 

[menzies]

The problem with boat cards is the exact problem with all paper products...

- They are static - once printed, they can't change without throwing them out and reprinting them.

- If the data changes, everyone who was previously given the card doesn't get the new information.

- Searching them is impossible once you've been cruising for a while. We have 1,500 boat cards today. Good luck finding anyone in those stacks.

- Once you give someone the card, you can't take it back.

- There is no dynamic information on a paper boat card - like current position, plans for the season, etc.

- The small, fixed size leaves little room for detailed information about the boat, equipment, engines, etc.

- There's no way to tie a paper boat card to the set of reviews that have been written. Or the things that couple are interested in. Those types of things build community.

- Paper boat cards don't record the tracks and routes of the places you've been.

- The only way you can write your own notes about the boat/couple/person is to physically write something on the card. Good luck trying to find that when you need it.


This is just the beginning of the list of issues. If you think about it, the change from paper guidebooks to electronic website/app data sharing is really no different from the move from paper boat cards to electronic boat cards. In another few years, these paper boat cards will be quaint reminders of the way cruising used to be done. They'll start to disappear in 2020 - when the vision of what's possible will become crystal clear.

AtAnchor.com | The Voyages Of Sonas And Her Crew.

 

[menzies]

Thanks, some decent suggestions here.

Since I am flying to Ireland tomorrow and want to give a few to friends and family, I have bought and printed out one pack of Avery forms. The new sheets do not have perforations and, apart from personal design, you cannot tell the stock from commercial.

I do like the end result but will ask for more feedback when back "home." One thing regarding reducing the font is that the card photo in the OP is roughly twice the size of the actual card. Many cruisers are not people with 20/20 vision so I will be hesitant to reduce any further.

Couple of your suggestion that I will consider when I get back. Look to make the boat a little more opaque and into the background. Definitely reverse the names to match the order of the faces - missed that. Take out "follow me" as it is somewhat redundant. And maybe look for a boat photo from the bow aspect but still at a similar angle to this one. Play with the order a bit and see what putting all the contact info along the bottom looks like.

A couple have mentioned adding home port. As I keep the boat at the house I would rather not do that while cruising. So the generic Jacksonville will do.

Though as I said to the missus last night - it's a boat card, how much effort so I need to put into this thing!

 

[Jeffrey S]

AtAnchor.com | The Voyages Of Sonas And Her Crew.

Exactly. You get it. Congratulations - and what a beautiful boat.

 

[O C Diver]

The problem with boat cards is the exact problem with all paper products...

- They are static - once printed, they can't change without throwing them out and reprinting them.

- If the data changes, everyone who was previously given the card doesn't get the new information.

- Searching them is impossible once you've been cruising for a while. We have 1,500 boat cards today. Good luck finding anyone in those stacks.

- Once you give someone the card, you can't take it back.

- There is no dynamic information on a paper boat card - like current position, plans for the season, etc.

- The small, fixed size leaves little room for detailed information about the boat, equipment, engines, etc.

- There's no way to tie a paper boat card to the set of reviews that have been written. Or the things that couple are interested in. Those types of things build community.

- Paper boat cards don't record the tracks and routes of the places you've been.

- The only way you can write your own notes about the boat/couple/person is to physically write something on the card. Good luck trying to find that when you need it.


This is just the beginning of the list of issues. If you think about it, the change from paper guidebooks to electronic website/app data sharing is really no different from the move from paper boat cards to electronic boat cards. In another few years, these paper boat cards will be quaint reminders of the way cruising used to be done. They'll start to disappear in 2020 - when the vision of what's possible will become crystal clear.

Here's the problem with your theory:

The people we meet and want to give a card to are in the real world, not cyberville. As many of us are older, it's harder to remember stuff to write it down later. Many of us choose not to be bound with a cellular leash when we're cruising, so the boat card is a simple information source that we can either save or transfer the information from. Also there are places many of us go that don't have Internet access. Why should I have to write things down when your system is unavailable to me. Don't see the cards going away.

Secondly, the information that I deem important and want people to know about my family and my boat, can all be done and updated on a web page, which I'm in control of, not you. Why should I be constrained by what you deem is important and how you want me to do it?

Ted

 

[rwidman]

Busy schmizzy! I think the card looks great. After all, it's a boat card - not a business card. You're accomplishing quite a few things with the design. There's nothing wrong with it at all. People that like to remember people/faces more than boats will be pleased. People that like to remember the boat will be pleased. And that should please you!

You are entitled to your opinion but not to make fun of those who disagree with you. The OP asked for opinions and got what he asked for. The "Busy schmizzy!" was uncalled for.

Boat card or business card, the point is to do the best you can. Many of us feel that the card attempts to put too much information in too small of a space.

In the end, it's up to the OP to read all the suggestions and make his own decision. That's why he posted in the first place.

 

[rwidman]

That was part of my question above I guess - it's a social card, not a business card, so is that an issue?

Or so people here give cards as a kind of mix of social and business networking?

I would say people print and give out boat cards as a matter of pride. Pride in their boats and pride in their cruising.

So if you're giving out or exchanging boat cards, give out cards that you are proud of.

When you hand someone your dot matrix printed card with perforated edges and they hand you a professionally printed full color glossy card, it takes you down a bit. Been there, done that.

 

[rwidman]

The problem with boat cards is the exact problem with all paper products...

- They are static - once printed, they can't change without throwing them out and reprinting them.

- If the data changes, everyone who was previously given the card doesn't get the new information.

........................

Jeffery, your first two points are valid. I printed cards and then changed my email address because of an issue with my ISP.

The rest are not wrong, but not necessarily right either. Most of us don't care about them and those are not reasons we hand out boat cards.

What is your suggestion for an alternative to paper cards?

 

[Jeffrey S]

The people we meet and want to give a card to are in the real world, not cyberville. As many of us are older, it's harder to remember stuff to write it down later.

Yeah, I get it. The same thing was said about ActiveCaptain - internet access, technology use, older boaters (they mentioned small type and not wanting computers, not "remembering stuff" - but it's the same argument).

Actually, much of the same things were said about Facebook too. And sure, there are a small group of people who stay away from it today. Or perhaps they want hyper-anonymity. Last quarter, 1.79 billion (with a B) people accessed their Facebook page at least monthly. I guess the people who want to be connected to cyberville is a large percentage of human bodies on Earth.

The reality is that the next generation of capabilities has to be aimed at the next generation of users. And those 45 year olds who are now thinking about boating and cruising are the ones who don't shun this type of advancement; they ask for it.

I think that if paper charts, paper guidebooks, and paper boatcards make someone feel more secure and thereby provide more capabilities, then by all means, ignore the technological trends and use them. But just step back and think about which direction you'd take if you were producing capabilities for the future set of boaters.

 

[Jeffrey S]

I would say people print and give out boat cards as a matter of pride. Pride in their boats and pride in their cruising.

I think people give out boat cards because they don't know what else to do. They've typically been in the corporate world where they used to hand out a business card when they met someone new. That knee-jerk reaction remains deep within their psyche.

Surely everyone realizes that the vast majority of boat cards are received, brought back to the boat, and thrown out or ignored forever?

 

[menzies]

I think people give out boat cards because they don't know what else to do. They've typically been in the corporate world where they used to hand out a business card when they met someone new. That knee-jerk reaction remains deep within their psyche.

Surely everyone realizes that the vast majority of boat cards are received, brought back to the boat, and thrown out or ignored forever?

I see one side of that.

The other is this.

I want to print them now because we are about to set off on three months in the Exumas. I suspect while there we will meet people on the beach, on land, who can't use, or don't have or want the cell phones or device with them. They aren't going to remember details such as the web address.

So by giving them a card it gives them the opportunity to either save it, or transpose it when they get back to the boat - immediately or later.

While doing the loop with better general connectivity, maybe not as required. But going through the out islands, I think more worthwhile, certainly given the very small cost.

 

[rwidman]

I think people give out boat cards because they don't know what else to do. They've typically been in the corporate world where they used to hand out a business card when they met someone new. That knee-jerk reaction remains deep within their psyche.

Surely everyone realizes that the vast majority of boat cards are received, brought back to the boat, and thrown out or ignored forever?

As I posted above, it's a matter of pride in your boat. Vanity even.

But if you're at a marina for a day or more and meet some fellow boaters, it's nice if you exchange boat cards because you have a way of remembering their names.


Boat cards are optional of course but there is nothing wrong with passing them out and no wrong reason to do so.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Well Jeffery now that you have painted us boat card people as Luddites we can now go on cruising in peace. Thanks for that.

 

[Northern Spy]

But if you're at a marina for a day or more and meet some fellow boaters, it's nice if you exchange boat cards because you have a way of remembering their names.

Yup. It really is akin to the tradition of a calling card, rather than a business csrd.

 

[Jeffrey S]

I want to print them now because we are about to set off on three months in the Exumas. I suspect while there we will meet people on the beach, on land, who can't use, or don't have or want the cell phones or device with them. They aren't going to remember details such as the web address.

We were in the Bahamas and mostly the Exumas for 16 weeks last winter. As featured speakers at the Cruisers Regatta in George Town, we met plenty of people. But seriously, more people had their phones with them than had boat cards. I think we received fewer boat cards there than anywhere else we've been. It's a younger crowd and we thought that was the reason.

Cell service is fantastic in the Bahamas. Your phone becomes your weather prediction service, dinghy chartplotter, and communications center. We had our iPhones with us on the beach every time we were off the boat - so did many others. Perhaps you'll find the same thing.

 

[menzies]

We had our iPhones with us on the beach every time we were off the boat - so did many others. Perhaps you'll find the same thing.

Nope. I will be updating the web site when on the boat some evenings.

But other than that we are disconnecting.