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Sailing Magazines

10K views 49 replies 29 participants last post by  cockeyedbob 
#1 ·
What are the best sailing magazines? I used to get Ocean Navigator, but that was more about offshore cruising than small boat sailing. Are there any good small boat sailing/racing magazines? Is Messing About in Boats any good?
Thanks!

Hannah
 
#2 ·
I've never seen Messing About in Boats, but I have found that with few exceptions, sailing magazines target the more affluent market. Sail and Cruising World seem to reflect a world where most everyone buys their 35 plus foot boat new and sails them to Bermuda or the South Seas as a matter of course. Sailing is a little more down to earth. It has articles about cruises to more mundane areas. Sailing has a large page format that allows it to show huge photos of beautiful boats. When they do a feature on a classic yacht regatta, it is about as close as you can get to sailboat porn. The one sailing magazine that focuses on the world I live in (20-40 year old plastic boats) is Good Old Boat. It focuses more on the boats rather than the owners or their adventures. Sailing World is a racing focused magazine (never appealed to me). If you want to try a different style cruising magazine, try Latitudes and Attitudes. Very irreverent and offbeat. The columnists (especially the editor) have a very uncorporate take on sailing and cruising. A big hunk of each issue is taken up with submissions from cruisers around the world. Unfortunately, the stories of drunken debauchery in paradise start to sound the same after awhile, but taken in small doses, I find them a great antidote for the winter blahs.
 
#3 ·
That's a very excellent summary and I would agree down the line. As the owner of a 16 year old boat , I would especially vouch for Good Old Boat. The only one I would add and recommend is Blue Water Sailing. Although there is alot about (naturally) Blue Water Sailing, there are also some very good articles on mechanics, electrics, provisioning, maintenance etc that even us lowly coastal and day sailors can benefit from. There is also a big British publication that I can't recall the name of, but it's fun to occasionally get the European perspective on things.

Mike
 
#4 ·
I'll chime in with a nod to Good Old Boat as the best all around mag for the real world. Helpful and relevant articles. Boat reviews that don't gloss over the bad points, and a definite sense of they are just one of us.
 
#7 ·
I think we should all get a cut on what I'm sure is going to be the uptick in subscriptions to Good Old Boat. It really is a great little mag.
 
#13 ·
If you are after good magazines on cruising under sail then my favourites would be Practical Sailor, Ocean Navigator and Good Old Boat. If you want a pleasant read with some nice eye candy then Cruising World and Latitudes and Attitudes both of which are a pleasant enough read but hardly deep and meaningful. Years ago I subscribed to the English Yachting Monthly and liked that a lot but it's too damned expensive now. I havn't read a copy of Sail for years so can't comment on it's present state but it used to be a good read.
Cheers
tdw
 
#15 ·
Good Old Boat. Simply the best publication for real world, everyday, hands-on sailors.
Practical Sailor. The "Consumers Guide" for sailors.
Cruising World. Just for the "wow" factor.
Sailing. I just received a free issue. Had never seen it before. Good bye Cruising World.
 
#16 ·
Sail Magazine has recently begun issuing a quarterly magazine called Boatworks, which has a lot of good articles on DIY projects, basic primers on systems, reviews of older classics and restoration articles.

Much more focused on the average boater than Sail's usual mega bucks articles and endless brokerage ads.
 
#19 · (Edited)
"Boatworks, which has a lot of good articles on DIY projects, basic primers on systems, reviews of older classics and restoration articles."

This Magazine, "Boatworks" is wonderful! It opens up your skill set and really motivates you. Another great nautical periodical is "Practical Boat Owner," a British insight on messing about.
 
#20 ·
Has anyone else noticed some changes at Sail/Boatworks? I am recieving amazing offers suddenly. $10/yr subscription? What is that? At that price, I'm wondering how long I will receive it before it goes under. I also noticed the "tag line" (?) on Boatworks has changed from "The must have magazine for the hands on sailor" to "The must have magaizine for the hands on boater". They also now show "sail + power" in the "flag" on the cover (used to be "sail"). Me thinks there might be a market penetration situation here.
 
#22 ·
PS is a must read for "the rest of us." They do not advertise which means that they are not being paid for making any product look good. (Notice how Sail magazine always has their top two advertisers in the annual top 10 boats). PS perform practical tests using practical methods. As an engineer, I think it would be a blast working for them in their product test department. When they call a product a best bet, you can be comfortable spending your money on it.

Cheers
Dennis
 
#23 ·
I subscribe to Cruising World and Practical Sailor. I'm letting my subscription to CW run out, but I will always get PS. I describe PS to my non-sailing friends as "Consumer Reports for Sailors." I do put a lot of stock in their opinions since, as Dennis pointed out, they don't advertise and so have no apparent vested interest in any particular product. My only gripe about them is that sometimes on some products, like bottom paint, their opinion changes. I use Trinidad SR on my boat and they really liked it about two years ago and now they don't. I confess to not understanding why. Overall, however, I think PS is well worth getting if you own a sailboat.
 
#25 ·
As an assignment for a marketing class I had to compare two full page magazine ads for similar products. I had just come home from a business trip and had fresh copies of CW and Sail. I ended up comparing two sail manufacturers. One was for racing one for cruising but that is not the point. As soon as we got the assignment I figured that I would compare Harken and Schaefer blocks or Harken vs. Lewmar winches. I couldn’t do it because only Harken had the full page ad. It really opened my eyes to see what market these magazines target. CW and Sail are primarily for people who do not own boats. Why else would a magazine have so many ads for boat and charters and so few ads for hardware? Go to Boatworks (so far a GREAT magazine) GOB, L&A as well as Wooden Boat and you can find at least three different ads from different manufacturers for each type of component you have on your boat. That is the magazine that is targeting me. My 40 year old Luders 33 needs just about everything so I want to know what is out there and neither CW nor Sail tell me what I need to know. They are magazines that have good stories about sailing. Couple Boatworks, GOB, L&A etc with Practical Sailor, the Consumer Reports for boaters, and you can have a well outfitted boat for reasonable cost.

Cheers
Dennis
 
#26 ·
Practical Sailor

Can't argue with PS being a good pub. I just found, after a couple of years, that it seemed to be focused too much on the high end sailor, and I wasn't getting enough to justify the cost.
Sail does seem to be doing some odd things. Offered me a deal after my sub had lapsed and then, halfway thru subscrip, it just stopped coming! Pretty spotty issue to issue on usable info. Agree with sentiment, for people who don't own boats. Boatworks has been pretty good. DIY less-so.
Good Old Boat is the only thing I can count on reading cover to cover!
 
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