Trawler Magazines?

What good trawler magazines are out there? I feel our community doesn’t have anything like “sail” for example. But I stand corrected if you can point me in the right direction. I want to subscribe for personal reasons and for commercial reasons to advertise our Jet-Thruster products.

Passagemaker is about it.

I get more out of TF than any magazine.

There are not a lot left. Magazines have been on the decline for years.

Passagemaker
Yachting
Power & Motoryacht

Greetings,
Mr. X. As mentioned, Passagemaker is about the only one I know of. Many moons ago when it was first started by Bill Pantaloons it was a good publication directed toward the "average" owner. Not terribly pretentious and full of interesting articles that I, for one, appreciated.


MY opinion only:


Since being taken over by a major publishing house, PMM has become a paid advertising platform geared toward the "rich and famous". Well, maybe not so much the famous but NOT to boaters like myself (NOT rich either).

At it's onset, there were at least one or two articles about repairs and/or modifications that could be undertaken by boaters not unlike a lot of TF members. Articles about owners and boats doing boating "stuff".

I qualify the above statements with the disclaimer that I have not opened an issue of PMM for a long time and it may have changed...


YMMV

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. X. As mentioned, Passagemaker is about the only one I know of. Many moons ago when it was first started by Bill Pantaloons it was a good publication directed toward the "average" owner. Not terribly pretentious and full of interesting articles that I, for one, appreciated.


MY opinion only:


Since being taken over by a major publishing house, PMM has become a paid advertising platform geared toward the "rich and famous". Well, maybe not so much the famous but NOT to boaters like myself (NOT rich either).

At it's onset, there were at least one or two articles about repairs and/or modifications that could be undertaken by boaters not unlike a lot of TF members. Articles about owners and boats doing boating "stuff".

I qualify the above statements with the disclaimer that I have not opened an issue of PMM for a long time and it may have changed...


YMMV

Click to expand...

+1. PMM used to be great. Now it is ok but no longer great.

I still get Passagmaker-I'm not sure how as I haven't paid for it in at least 5 years-and I would second RTF's assessment. Every new boat featured is north of a million dollars, many of them well north, which is OK, I guess, it just doesn't interest me. There is generally one good maintenance/upgrade article per month and an interesting destination story about every other month. Other than that, it's not worth much. If they asked me to pay for a subscription I wouldn't.

R. T., you explained it well. The trick in the magazine world is to have a pretty cover and just enough editorial content to attract readers. Readers attract advertisers to the mag. PMM has always been a relatively expensive boating magazine for subscribers. When Bill sold and retired it changed the whole character of the mag. When I caught the new drift in direction I no longer subscribed.

You could try the various regional mags like soundings, sea and others. Ad rates will be lower......

A huge problem with magazines is if you believe the articles are witten by experts with no counterpoint and their words are gospel.some are much better than others, but most still tote the "best practices" line with no exception.

While they contain good info, they don't cover all of a subject and there's no rebuttle.

So read at your own risk.

Once fully immersed in the boating lifestyle as a liveaboard and commercial operators, I virtually gave up magazines and boat shows when the internet came around.

All the info you need is out there, just not as many pretty pictures....

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. X. As mentioned, Passagemaker is about the only one I know of. Many moons ago when it was first started by Bill Pantaloons it was a good publication directed toward the "average" owner. Not terribly pretentious and full of interesting articles that I, for one, appreciated.


MY opinion only:


Since being taken over by a major publishing house, PMM has become a paid advertising platform geared toward the "rich and famous". Well, maybe not so much the famous but NOT to boaters like myself (NOT rich either).

At it's onset, there were at least one or two articles about repairs and/or modifications that could be undertaken by boaters not unlike a lot of TF members. Articles about owners and boats doing boating "stuff".

I qualify the above statements with the disclaimer that I have not opened an issue of PMM for a long time and it may have changed...


YMMV

Click to expand...

I agree with you and thank you for eloquently describing what many of us are feeling. That's exactly what 'sail' magazine is doing. Other than being a marketing tool to the nouveau riche and documenting every ocean race there is under the sun, it really offers very little hands-on and down to earth (sea) information. We looked into advertising our Jet-Thruster products and "sail" is asking $50,000 for a half page ad over six months. That is ludicrous! It surely explains why we keep getting the magazine for free, even without subscriptions. They have to justify high numbers of readers, otherwise who in their right mind would spend that kind of money on advertising? Same as the Miami Boat Show. We had a booth there last February and spent more than $15,000 to fill a space at the end of a dead isle - but being there you have to! I get it - and yet I don't. I feel we are feeding a machine of corporate wealth distribution for a handful of executives who get to travel all over the world to review boats and products that the masses cannot afford, all the while slurping champagne from crystal goblets.

While not aimed at trawlers, I think one publication that has a lot of useful information for the “average” boat owner would be Practical Sailor.

The Boat US magazine that arrives is as good as any / better than most as far as useful information is concerned. My 2 cents.

Dougcole said:

I still get Passagmaker-I'm not sure how as I haven't paid for it in at least 5 years

Click to expand...

Do you go to a major Boat Show on a yearly basis? Many, such as the New England Boat Show in Boston, give you a yearly subscription from a choice of a handful of subscriptions as part of the admission ticket. That is how I usually get Passagemaker or Yachting.

It's not lost on me that these are cleverly disguised print ads with a handful of articles and columns sprinkled in to justify a newstand price.

Another in agreement with the comments on PassageMaker, though I still subscribe and we both still read it cover to cover.

I believe it took the biggest hit when Steve D'Antonio left to focus on his own business. His fix-it and safety articles were beyond excellent.

BTW, I have all of mine on a shelf in my home office, going from left to right by date. The ones on the left are pretty thick, but they get progressively thinner. I just grabbed one at random and it was 224 pages. The latest is 130!

I have a collection of PM from the coveted #1 on up for perhaps 100 or 200 issues.

These were useful as information on the different boats , and covered topics like owner repairs and upgrades.

However many there are (there in FL I am not) if you take them all a buck each , plus postage will get a great library. I paid a buck each a number of years ago.

If new, new ,new, is your interest , these early PM will be of no use.

The collection stops a few years ago when PM became useless as a resource for folks with modest older boats..

I read half a dozen or so boating magazines. Or browse through would be a better term. There always seems to be a good nugget or two hidden amongst the advertising and new boat non critical summaries. But gosh I find the over the top push for throwing out my perfectly good instrumentation for a new gizmo nauseating.

I do believe car magazines have been derisive enough to create meaningful change in that industry, not so boating magazines. Like coffee filters, my boating mags go in the trash after the John rack becomes full.

Xcelcior,

While not helping with your direct question, have you targeted the commercial folks?

Boats and Harbors and Trade Only Today come to mind.

Best Wishes

Pacific Yachting is a Canadian publication that serves Puget Sound / Salish Sea cruisers. Articles and boat reviews are more aligned with my budget and interests than Passage Maker, but I still read that too.

XCELSIOR said:

What good trawler magazines are out there?.... I want to subscribe for personal reasons and for commercial reasons to advertise our Jet-Thruster products.

Click to expand...

You might want to tell TF more about your Jet-Thruster,there is thruster interest on TF.
May involve becoming a commercial member but a Mod/Site Team member could help you there if appropriate.

Today I consider pro boat builder the best mag to read .


No picture spreads of saloon cushions , but great articles on modern boat design /construction and repair.


proboat.com - Professional BoatBuilder Magazine

www.[B]proboat[/B].com

A start-up boat company based in Newport, Rhode Island, aims to compete with the growing number of luxury sport boats in the 35‘–65‘ (10.7m–19.8m) range. As examples of this genre,… Read more »

• Subscribe Professional BoatBuilder Subscriptions. Professional...
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• Current Issue Current Issue October/November 2018 — Table of Contents. On...

• Construction Designer/Builder Dave Sintes: 1947–2016 By Paul Lazarus |...
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Passagemaker - once a magazine I couldn't wait to get every month - has gone so far downhill it has become downright annoying. No surprise it gets thinner and thinner as they drive off the readers. I won't be renewing my subscription when it comes up in 2019.



Boat US magazine continues to be good and is getting better.



FF thanks for the Pro Boat tip will definitely check that out.

dhays said:

While not aimed at trawlers, I think one publication that has a lot of useful information for the “average” boat owner would be Practical Sailor.

Click to expand...

FF said:

Today I consider pro boat builder the best mag to read .
proboat.com - Professional BoatBuilder Magazine

www.[B]proboat[/B].com

A start-up boat company based in Newport, Rhode Island, aims to compete with the growing number of luxury sport boats in the 35‘–65‘ (10.7m–19.8m) range. As examples of this genre,… Read more »

• Subscribe Professional BoatBuilder Subscriptions. Professional...
• Classifieds Submit a Classified Ad. Professional BoatBuilder is written...
• Current Issue Current Issue October/November 2018 — Table of Contents. On...

• Construction Designer/Builder Dave Sintes: 1947–2016 By Paul Lazarus |...
• Digital Issue View Sample Digital Issue The digital version is fully...
• Charles Palamé This article is a companion piece to, and continuation of...

Click to expand...

ProBoat and Practical Sailor are the best magazines I get. Passage Maker is only sorta interesting. The past issues of ProBoat and Practical Sailor are treasure troves of information.

Morgans Cloud,https://www.morganscloud.com, a virtual magazine that is focused on sail boats is also pretty good. Even though it is from a sail boat perspective, many of the articles apply to power boats.

Later,
Dan

Practical Sailor like Consumers Reports still needs a lot of research beyond the articles to get the big picture.

It is probably accurate for what it reports, but completely misses some products, areas of products, or alternatives so reader beware.

I get Professional Boatbuilder mag and enjoy some info...but for tech DIY stuff...it's really just a regurgitation of ABYC or similar.... so for helping us amatuers...you only get half the picture once again.

I have a 1982 edition of "Trawler Cruiser Yacht" magazine with a photo of an Albin 36 on the cover. Among the articles, How to rig out flopper stopper birds, EPIRB distress signal use, a column on electronic problems/solutions, passage making at night, a survey on what makes the ideal cruiser, SEAFARE (cooking,) How much fuel are you burning? a gallery of navigation tools, Today's marine diesels, a close-up look at seven mid-size diesel engines, and articles on different cruising areas, all in the U.S. Just looking at all the boat ads both new and used is interesting as some of the names are no longer in business. It's too bad the magazine went out of circulation as it was a good read.

"It's too bad the magazine went out of circulation as it was a good read."


Folks repairing or refurbishing their own boats are not the folks boat assemblers will pay $10,000 a page for advertising.


Thank goodness for the internet!

Every month I get that big glossy Power and Motoryacht mag that I toss without even turning a page.

ancora said:

Every month I get that big glossy Power and Motoryacht mag that I toss without even turning a page.

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All these mags beg me to renew for free as a "pro Mariner" and I just ignore them.....

I have never renewed but they just keep coming.