Changing face of the Forums ?

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Its funny that a few moments ago - via Yahoo the subject of forums was covered ... and I mentioned that over the years that I have been reading / posting etc. the whole flavour and content has changed considerably.

3 evolutions back ... yep my data on left doesn't record the fact that I was in the original lists going way way back ... before the hacking fiasco. The forums had a distictive character that has eroded and become vague.

Reader to Reader mostly catered and was posted to by the smaller boat person with plenty of DIY content .... the PRACTICAL boat owner.

Scuttlebutt appeared to be more the larger boats and more conversational style of post only occasionally dipping into the 'repair / maintenance' post ..

The rest of the forums were as is ...

Now it seems there is a fair cross-over of subjects and a greying of division between them. It is also apparent that peoples boats and posts have altered ... getting more "bigger" ? more shall we say technical and away from the DIY aspects often a highlight previously .... ?

Maybe this is evolution and an indication of people and styles coming into boating now ... or is that we are becoming more technical, have more cash to spare on "pro's" doing jobs that a few years ago we would have done ourselves ??

The thread not so long ago where someone asked is a 30ft boat a good starter ... is a prime example of evolution in our hobby ... I can remember when the Centaur appeared on the club pontoon ( I was very young and with my Father) ... it led to a party in the club and it was the biggest boat we had in that club ... others were Vivacity's, Snap 21's, Alacrity's and the old Debutante !!

Darwin may have written about Species .... but he left out Boats !!
 
I like Garamond ...... Brush script is hard on the eyes after a while !!


Times New Roman is so common .....
 
Hmmm, yes. I too used to frequent these parts back in those early days - I have had to change my name, due to YBW's system upgrades and changes through the Stir Wars Trilogy.

Nige, it seems to me at least 3 things have happened:

:the 'clientele' has changed a lot, predominantly some pretty happy-go-lucky contributors;

:the subjects tend to have been done to death which were early fun fodder - anchors, first boat, colregs, nasty mobos... now it is mostly recycle or have some fun;

:the technical nature of the forum means that if someone posts a new thread in the face of an existing v long and lively thread, the new thread can vanish off the bottom of your screen as a couple of people update the long thread;

But we all soldier on, in the same way that we go on looking into YM, hoping against hope that by some magic there will be something new there... but only the logs change.

BTW, wasnt the programme yesterday(?) on the SBS wonderful????? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Posters changed ...

In the old days there didn't seem to be so many 'cliques' .... rarely getting posts that showed a trend to a certain group of people .... I'm not complaining here ... just a comment.

When forums got hacked .... my id was one that got hijacked along with a few others .... a group formed during the "down-time" still called the PBOMeet group .... primarily Solent / South Coast Based .... that groups till carries on similar to the old days ... so its interesting seeing one continue and shall we call its founding base evolve to something different.

I have no beef about it ... forums change by virtue of what people post .... not what YBW does etc.

Interesting how the trend goes ....

We still have what I term "roundabout" subjects .... ones that come back time and time again ....... for me no problem as there are new people coming in all the time and they don't know that was covered before etc. In fact new data / info may be apparent on later repeat .....

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 
The change is general.
Back in 1990 the average boat at Mylor was 27 foot, and around 15 years old, we had a little marina and a lot of swinging moorings, on a nice day in Summer 75% of moorings and 95% of marina would be empty, and the car park full of old vans with owners name on the side, or Escorts, etc.
To-day we have a big marina, and a lot less swinging moorings, the average boat now is 40 foot, and a couple of years old at worst. On a nice Summer day, the car park is full of BMW's, Merc's, Audi's etc, and the marina 90% full, with the swinging moorings 80% full.
So thought we have bigger, newer boats, with better cars, no one uses there boat, they appear to sit and read the paper. Falmouth week we did rescue boat one day, and we sat off Mylor and the moorings were full of masts, that was Wed first week of Aug.
Do owners take funny holidays these days? or is owning more inportant than using?

Brian
 
Maybe people are too busy earning enough to pay for the big flash boat to have time to go sailing on it.

The ones who still have the smaller cheaper boats are driven out by newcomers with cash who push the prices up. In areas where moorings are allocated by waiting lists rather than cash there is a much wider mixture of boats. The little boats and DIY owners are still around but they are now to be found in manky yards and up muddy creeks.

As for the change in the forums, maybe the small boat owners are still around but keeping quiet about it or maybe they've gone elsewhere. Who can blame them when a post about DIY fittings gets jibes about Blue Peter. Or any photo gets a comment about quality of paintwork or lack of shine on the gelcoat. I was amazed that a recent thread along the lines of "I couldn't bear to spend a day on a cheap nasty Beneteau" was taken seriously.
 
Sad .... it\'s where it all began ....

Those days of small boats and DIY have evolved into todays big business and marinas etc.
 
Very topical .... I won\'t post this now....

Having wandered into a couple of swinderies, looked at dan buoys and been underwhelmed by the price and quality of same, I was minded to make one.

Recalling an article in PBO along those lines, years ago, I was going to ask if anyone had done so, and seek advice, but when I opened up the PBO forum it no longer seemed such a good idea.
 
I'm probably fairly typical of small boat owners. I've got a Snapdragon 24 that's 35 years old and lives on a swing - the cheapest mooring I could find in my chosen sailing area. I'd love to go in a marina, but the idea of paying the thick end of my boat's value just to park her for a year REALLY doesn't appeal! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I may not go far, but I reckon my mooring's empty more weekends than not.

BTW I think "Blue Peter" solutions are a great idea. The professional is an absolute last resort.
 
Stemar ...

Jim showed me piccies of your baot and I think she is a credit to you ... she's nice and well looked after ...
 
On reflection, I will...

You've encouraged me.

For one thing, perhaps in the spirit of the 1970's JDS-edited YM, I want to try it out and see if it works properly!

I can't do that with a bought one...

...scene..local major swindlery...

"I want my eighty quid back back!"

"Why would that be, Sir?"

"Cos this here danbuoy is only visible from fifty feet, the flag's too small, and it floats at 45 degrees in F3!" /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

"Sorry Sir, but you've unwrapped it!" /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
What happend to ....

The fishing rod blank, the small bucket, the expanding high density foam, the epoxy resin and thin glass mat, the paint tin and lead shot ....

Above plus a red flag to fix to the top makes a danbuoy ...

Blue Peter .......... Here's one I made earlier !!
 
Re: Very topical .... I won\'t post this now....

Hey I think I answered that, using an old pop bottle, grp and a dead fishing rod, it is what we had until, it was stolen.

TopCat_L2P_Beaumaris_lrg.jpg


Though I did buy a Jimmy green one at a boat jumble, this time around. Unless you have an old fishing rod, it works out a little more than a diy freebie!
 
I often feel a bit out of place on the forums but still post when I have something to ask or something to say. Definitely think there is a MAGRPB group needed where we can feel less isolated and where our often dimunitive boats are more representative. We don't belong on the Classic Boat list and we don't fit the normal Scuttlebutt mould but as long as there's the number of people here that there are who can hold back the condescending smirk we'll continue to be OK. However, you never quite get used to being the 'poor relation'. There isn't really a forum anywhere that quite fits the bill and this is as good as it gets.

Always very grateful for the practical and down to earth help I get here.
 
It's a shame you feel that way. Nothing wrong with a shabby little old yacht. I've got one.
I've got a mate (honest) with a Westerly Oceanlord who spends all his time searching for widgets to repair the fridge or the mainsail furling line.
I just go for a sail.
I enjoy what I do, and that's all you need to know. Not whether someone else looks down on you.
That's their problem.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In those days it was all Bodoni Bookman

[/ QUOTE ]

Did they do a bilge keel version? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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