Motorboat and Yachting magazine

[nicho]

Sadly, as the owner of a lowly 20 year old Sealine S34, I find the MBY magazine gets further and further away from my boating world. Full of exotic vessels from many manufacturers, which frankly are of no interest to me, and far far away from my affording one.. OK there is a small section at the back of the magazine that throws us a crumb - articles that highlight a few second hand boats, and a couple of tests. I get it that there are many that enjoy looking at and maybe buying these multi-million pound (but generally ugly to my eye) motor yachts but unfortunately it’s all pie in the sky to me. I seem to remember Motorboats Monthly was more at my level, but it is no more.

 

[Greg2]

Nothing lowly about an S34 - lovely boat.

I much preferred MBM and when it stopped my subscription automatically switched over to MBY. I wasn’t too impressed at the time and thought it was a bit of a cheek but thought I would give MBY a go, which is probably what the marketing guys thought many MBM readers would do. There are elements that I enjoy but if I am honest the fact that I still get it is as much down to not having got round to cancelling as it is wanting to read the bits I like.

Funnily enough when I was having a look though the latest copy yesterday I too thought there were some ugly boats but then I am a bit of a traditionalist
.

 

[Wavey]

Gave up on MBY a while back. Nothing of interest in it for me. Great coffee table magazine to impress your friends though . Likewise I’ve given up on the MBY YouTube channel too.

MBM was always the better of the two publications IMHO.

 

[DavidJ]

I think I’ve just cancelled my subscription to MBY for that very reason. The reason “I think” is that it’s not that straightforward.
However, I‘ve cancelled by bank DD so job done as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Montemar]

I cancelled then got free copies for a year! They got a quick sKim through then into the recycling

 

[nicho]

Nothing lowly about an S34 - lovely boat.

I much preferred MBM and when it stopped my subscription automatically switched over to MBY. I wasn’t too impressed at the time and thought it was a bit of a cheek but thought I would give MBY a go, which is probably what the marketing guys thought many MBM readers would do. There are elements that I enjoy but if I am honest the fact that I still get it is as much down to not having got round to cancelling as it is wanting to read the bits I like.

Funnily enough when I was having a look though the latest copy yesterday I too thought there were some ugly boats but then I am a bit of a traditionalist
.

We love the S34, but compared to everything in MBY, very lowly indeed. I actually wonder if the magazine is bought by the Mediterranean mob, most who seem to be able to buy very expensive boats.

 

[Greg2]

We love the S34, but compared to everything in MBY, very lowly indeed. I actually wonder if the magazine is bought by the Mediterranean mob, most who seem to be able to buy very expensive boats.

We loved our S34 but I know what you mean. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of MBY readers to see how many are ‘dreamers’ and how many are actual boat winners, particularly owners of the larger and more expensive offerings.

 

[Alicatt]

S34? I can only dream

 

[Montemar]

MBY is paid for by big company advertising who want their image splashed around.
I recall the Great Motorboat Tour with John Boyle and his S34 and not a G&T in sight.

 

[ari]

We love the S34, but compared to everything in MBY, very lowly indeed. I actually wonder if the magazine is bought by the Mediterranean mob, most who seem to be able to buy very expensive boats.

I'm not sure it works like that (only owners or potential owners are interested in reading about expensive boats). I also get Car Magazine every month, full of Ferraris and Porsches that I can't afford, but I still read those reviews before I bother with anything dull enough that I could afford it.

 

[Bouba]

It’s the reason I stopped watching Top Gear...and years later Fifth Gear

 

[SC35]

It‘s “aspirational‘.

So either for multi-millionaires or dreamers.

 

[paradave]

I cancelled then got free copies for a year! They got a quick sKim through then into the recycling

Exactly the same here! Quite enjoyed the arrival of my free magazine each month but soon got bored of multi million pound boats so just binned them.

 

[harvey38]

I loved MBM, a down to earth read. I tried MBY for a year but sacked it off pretty soon, others have said, silly priced boats and no more than a magazine for a coffee table in a private hospital.

 

[Hurricane]

In principle, I agree with the OP.
However, last month's mag had a couple of interesting articles
The World's Fastest Nelson which is definitely not aimed at the superyacht market.
The other one was by David Vandyke (continued in this month's issue) who is recounting his experiences joining a shared ownership.
I found that particular article to shows how naive we are when we first start boating.
He outlines how his initial expectations were "shot down" during his first night on board - even before taking the boat to sea.
There is also Nick Burnham's column which is also not about superyachts - although Nick has every opportunity to make it so.

So, I think you are being a bit unfair even though most of the glossy stuff is way beyond the affordability of most of us.

 

[oldgit]

Whinged about the direction of MBY years ago and was shot down in flames by the " Aspirational Tendency" .
Problem is like the locals who whinge about the local pub or village shop when it shuts down through lack of custom,even though none of the complainers used it when it was open.
If nobody was buying MBM how could it survive ?
The fact that these fora still exist is going against the bean counters natural instincts

 

[Moonstruck]

Sadly, as the owner of a lowly 20 year old Sealine S34, I find the MBY magazine gets further and further away from my boating world. Full of exotic vessels from many manufacturers, which frankly are of no interest to me, and far far away from my affording one.. OK there is a small section at the back of the magazine that throws us a crumb - articles that highlight a few second hand boats, and a couple of tests. I get it that there are many that enjoy looking at and maybe buying these multi-million pound (but generally ugly to my eye) motor yachts but unfortunately it’s all pie in the sky to me. I seem to remember Motorboats Monthly was more at my level, but it is no more.

We are obviously all entitled to our opinions but personally I think the magazine is good and seems put together with a great deal of thought. My latest copy opened at the test of the Saxdor 270 which even though I have no intention of buying I found interesting. It’s price is stated as starting at about £90k which isn’t much different than a S34 costs these days?? I realise it’s in no way comparable to a S34 but we cannot really blame MBY for crazy price inflation on new boats?? I cannot afford most of what is in the magazine and unless my numbers come up on Saturday night will never be able to but it doesn’t stop me being interested in new boats and developments. I fear this magazine will disappear soon and just go online which will be a sad day but in the end we have a choice whether to read it or not.

 

[nicho]

In principle, I agree with the OP.
However, last month's mag had a couple of interesting articles
The World's Fastest Nelson which is definitely not aimed at the superyacht market.
The other one was by David Vandyke (continued in this month's issue) who is recounting his experiences joining a shared ownership.
I found that particular article to shows how naive we are when we first start boating.
He outlines how his initial expectations were "shot down" during his first night on board - even before taking the boat to sea.
There is also Nick Burnham's column which is also not about superyachts - although Nick has every opportunity to make it so.

So, I think you are being a bit unfair even though most of the glossy stuff is way beyond the affordability of most of us.

I agree Nick Burnham’s column is great, as are his YouTube videos. No huge motoryacht for him, but a very down to Earth 28’ Jeanneau based in Noss

 

[jfm]

We are obviously all entitled to our opinions but personally I think the magazine is good and seems put together with a great deal of thought. My latest copy opened at the test of the Saxdor 270 which even though I have no intention of buying I found interesting. It’s price is stated as starting at about £90k which isn’t much different than a S34 costs these days?? I realise it’s in no way comparable to a S34 but we cannot really blame MBY for crazy price inflation on new boats?? I cannot afford most of what is in the magazine and unless my numbers come up on Saturday night will never be able to but it doesn’t stop me being interested in new boats and developments. I fear this magazine will disappear soon and just go online which will be a sad day but in the end we have a choice whether to read it or not.

Must say I agree with Moonstruck. Print magazines is a tough business these days and Hugo + team put a lot of work into producing a very good magazine each month. They have to balance lots of competing things, like the need for ad revenue and therefore advertisers' demands as to content, the need to please the readership, and the fact that getting boats to test is difficult due to non-availability.

A Sealine s34 is not lowly - an owner of one is in the top .1% or whatever of people on the planet by wealth. Many people run smaller boats, and many folks start out boating in the sub-20 foot category (I did, and I think many on here did) before trading up through the 30-40 foot zone or whatever. There's a current series about a couple with 1/8th share in an Azimut 58 in Mallorca that cost less than an s34, but why should price even matter? If you switch off the "price" thing in your head and just not care about it, you can just read about boats of all sizes, equipment, news, and people's adventures on the water.

 

[Portofino]

I find myself agreeing with JFM .
Just nice to “ read somewhere “