Magazines

Anyone recommend any magazines that focus mostly on trawlers or liveaboard type motor boats?

Most of the ones I see in my corner store, are for ski-boats and sail boats.

They still make magazines?

Yeah as far as I know, I am not against digital version, just looking for recommendations, don't want to subscribe and find out its mostly ski-boats or sail related content!

toocoys said:

They still make magazines?

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It was a tongue in cheek post...

Passagemaker magazine used to be a good source of trawler info, but I don't read it anymore so no idea how relevant it is today.
Pacific yachting is focussed on sail & power boats of all sizes and cruising the west coast of Canada and northwest US.
Yachting
Motorboat & sailing
As mentioned, much of their offering is now online.

PassageMaker was a fantastic magazines with lengthy articles. One could spend the day and night reading the articles.
Now, I am told, more advertising and shorter articles.

I am not sure how the 'on-line' version stacks up.

When you have your mail forwarded, the USPS doesn’t forward magazines past one month. We gave them all up. Trawler Forum and Cruiser Forum are much more entertaining IMHO.
Passage Maker and Cruising World have relevant articles.

Trawler Forum, AGLCA and builder-specific association forums are more relevant for me. Much more timely, as well. I'd like hear what's up with boating into Canada and the Bahamas, or lock closures in real time; a magazine cycle will be 2+ month old news.
Magazines cant match a forum for ability to drill into details when you want them. Then there is the need to deal with the USPS....

We subscribe to just three. Latitudes and Attitudes, even though it's mostly (but not all) sail, because it's funny and interesting and irreverent and has nice photos and it's poorly proof read. At the opposite extreme we get Boat (International, US version), all about superyachts, because it's pretty and some of the yachts are spectacular, and it's a kick reading about superyacht problems (can't find a good chef!). And you get invited to certain webinars and online industry forums and events that are really interesting. Unfortunately I'm not eligible for the owners club because minimum owned boat length is 76' I believe. And then we get Marina Life's magazine because we're association members just for kicks. It's fun and interesting too, for future trip planning.

Used to get Passage Maker too but like a lot of others, too many ads and not enough solid or useful content for my taste. If I want actually useful information and advice I come here to TF.

Give the "Liveaboard" forum here on Trawler Forum a read. LOTS of threads there about various aspects of full time living on power boats! That's what we are just about ready to start doing, as soon as we can sell our house here in KY, and get out to our new to us boat in the PNW.

Also, if someone hasn't already said it, Welcome to Trawler Forum!

Every once in awhile I get a crazy, masochistic feeling and think about starting an actual trawler magazine. About real trawlers. The kind people use. For folks like us.

Then I shake my head a few times and come to my senses...

"Used to get Passage Maker too but like a lot of others, too many ads and not enough solid or useful content for my taste. If I want actually useful information and advice I come here to TF."

PM is still useful if you can purchase a set of back issues from when
the articles were good.
May cost a bunch as magazines are heavy and 50 or 100 will be heavy to ship.

Magazine "articles" are just the filler between advertising and the folks with the bucks for a new boat are seldom interested in repairs some hired folks will be doing.

The hassle is as a mag gets a following it raises the price for add space , no problem with $10.000 color adds if you are selling a $250,000 and up boat, but how does a company selling repair parts or simple hardware break out even?

Any ancient issues of Yachting or Motor Boating from the 40's to the 80's should have articles that are still of interest.

Pro Boat Builder is fantastic by todays standards for real information.

Another item, any review of a boat is usually written by the builder or someone who is greatly influenced by the builder, ie, the staff of the magazine. They want return business....

I suspect the Titanic got great reviews too.

I think you will get the most honest and unbiased info, other than the individual's personal biases, from forums and blogs.


Most magazines are just promotional material for the industry they serve. You will get lots of happy thoughts and clear blue water, and be certain that whatever boat they are promoting will make you happier, younger, and more attractive than you are now.

One nice thing about all the advertisements is, it makes us aware of all the after-market parts and upgrades especially for a newbie

Passagemaker Magazines 4 sale

Sharked said:

Anyone recommend any magazines that focus mostly on trawlers or liveaboard type motor boats?

Most of the ones I see in my corner store, are for ski-boats and sail boats.

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I had a trawler once. Now, I have a steamboat.



I have 20 issues over four years of Passagemaker Magazine available, 2002 through 2005 (some are missing).



Fifty cents apiece, must take the lot, you pay shipping via USPS. If interested, PM me.



Ryan

OK - a little bit bias here but not an unusual background. We had sailboats for over fifty years. For many of those years (currently still subscribe) we got two magazines: Practical Sailor & Good Old Boat.
Practical Sailor is like Consumer's Report. I test products and report their findings. Yes some only relates to sailing, but I will suggest 80% covers products used by any boat owner.
Good Old Boat is 100% sailboats - but the topics they cover, refitting ideas, remodeling interior, heads, water systems, heaters etc very much relate to trawler owners.
I currently get Passages. It advertises boats I will never have (and really never wanted), and voyage to places I will never go. For me it is not relevant.
I Joined this group, and some Facebook Groups that directly relate to my interests. Also joined the Marine Trawler Owners Association that has a monthly digital publication, and the American Great Loop Cruising Association, that has daily, or monthly communication and your setting control the frequency. Now any digital information is in my area of interest.

This was my approach - works for me.

Leo Reise said:

OK - a little bit bias here but not an unusual background. We had sailboats for over fifty years. For many of those years (currently still subscribe) we got two magazines: Practical Sailor & Good Old Boat.

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I think I still have boxes of old Wooden Boat mags in the attic from the 1980's if anyone is interested.

Ocean Navigator Magazine

This has historically been a magazine for sailors, but the great news is that it is now owned by "one of us." Yes, a trawler owner bought Ocean Navigator and is transforming it into a magazine for bluewater folks whether sail or power. Dave currently owns a Cape Horn 58, his third trawler.

Discount for trawler owners: Dave is offering a 20% discount. I have no interest, financial or otherwise, so am passing this along as my good deed for the day. My only disclosure is that Dave is one of my +/- 300 trawler clients.

Check out: www.oceannavigator.com and use Trawler 21 for the discount.

Correction: the code for the 20% discount is Trawler21
The grammarian in me added a space. Sorry.

Passage Maker is probably the best, but as others have posted, it has drifted away from what it once was. I let my subscription lapse several months ago because it just didn't seem like it was worth the price any more.

Don't get me wrong, there is still good stuff in there so buy a copy or two at the newsstand and decide for yourself.

OldDan1943 said:

PassageMaker was a fantastic magazines with lengthy articles. One could spend the day and night reading the articles.
Now, I am told, more advertising and shorter articles.

I am not sure how the 'on-line' version stacks up.

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https://www.passagemaker.com/

PassageMaker is available from Zinion (on-line & app), which is great if you are never home because you are out cruising

I think there is a market for a magazine specializing in used power boats including trawlers. My favourite mag out of England in my sailing days was only about used sailboats, repairs, suggestions, reviews of sailboats, restorations, etc. The name escapes me. The editors under took a study and found the most popular sailboat size in England was 24 feet, so rarely did boats above 30 feet make it into their pages.

What has happened to our local boating magazine - Pacific Yachting - is the focus on larger boats in reviews. I've stopped reading these reviews as anything big isn't in my bailiwick. But I'm sure if a study was under taken it would be discovered that about 98 % of power boats are below 35 feet here in BC, probably Washington as well.

ScottC said:

PassageMaker is available from Zinion (on-line & app), which is great if you are never home because you are out cruising

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I meant to write Zinio

I think much of the younger generation is not interested in reading any more. They can only learn by seeing things on a screen. They will watch videos on youtube about boats but nut read them in a magazine.

Judy at JWY said:

Ocean Navigator Magazine

This has historically been a magazine for sailors, but the great news is that it is now owned by "one of us." Yes, a trawler owner bought Ocean Navigator and is transforming it into a magazine for bluewater folks whether sail or power. Dave currently owns a Cape Horn 58, his third trawler.

Discount for trawler owners: Dave is offering a 20% discount. I have no interest, financial or otherwise, so am passing this along as my good deed for the day. My only disclosure is that Dave is one of my +/- 300 trawler clients.

Check out: www.oceannavigator.com and use Trawler 21 for the discount.

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Good tip Judy - Steve d'Antonio writes a lot for Ocean Navigatory.

To my tastes, Ocean Navigator may be one of the best rags still out there for true cruising-type topics - PMM long ago relinquished cruising topics to slick advertising for slick/go-fast boats. Yes, 90% sail, but that's because sailors are the ones cruising these days.

I see Ocean Navigator has a "Power Cruising" section which is great.
https://www.oceannavigator.com/power-voyaging/

Definitely sail-oriented, but Latitude 38 remains a favorite as it covers a lot of cruising topics - again, sailors are the ones cruising. Available in PDF format free at www.Latitude38.com

Peter

Thanks for the kind words Peter! Dave Abrams here. I'm going to work hard on bringing Ocean Navigator back to where it once was. We have a great editor and some really talented writers, but want to expand the pool to create a more balanced approach to both sail and power cruising. It's still going to be a more technical publication and less of a lifestyle magazine. I would love to hear more from this group about what they would like to see in the magazine. She's a great old ship and I'm the new skipper ready to take her on another voyage. I can promise you it's not going to be about shiny new boats or what to make in the galley. I want to make Ocean Navigator into THE resource for voyagers. I look forward to having you aboard for the journey.

Taken

The magazines have been taken.

Steamguy said:

I had a trawler once. Now, I have a steamboat.

I have 20 issues over four years of Passagemaker Magazine available, 2002 through 2005 (some are missing).

Fifty cents apiece, must take the lot, you pay shipping via USPS. If interested, PM me.


Ryan

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