PBO shallow sailing feature - feedback?

[dylanwinter]

I understand that the February edition of PBO has been sent out to subscribers

-although my local Tescos still has the January Edition on its shelves

(with the excellent item about buying a £500 yacht from ebay)



Just out of curiousity

I wondered if anyone on here who has seen the KTL item and read it has any feedback for me

Feel free to have a rant or give vent to stream of invective -

but as a hack it would be very useful to know if there was something among the the 2,500 words and ten pictures that was a waste of space

and just as usefully

if the article left questions unanswered.

I promise not to post question and then bu%%er off

Dylan

 

[Tranona]

Thought is was excellent - but a little sanitised compared with your contributions here!

Difficult to cover all you have done in just one article. Personally I think an on going series from you would be better than some others that are published.

Would make a good "update" type series - not every month , but 3 or 4 times a year, focusing on specific exploits such as your recent Wells experiences.

Keep up the good work!

 

[bikedaft]

you missed out the cooking tips, i was gutted

loved the article tho

 

[dylanwinter]

you mean..

you mean the safe stuff you can do with cans

I guess something had to bite the dust

Dylan

 

[MoodySabre]

Good stuff Dylan - now you're a real journo . Your commentaries on the vids and occassional naughty word are more entertaining. KTL has made me think about having a small shallow boat instead of 31' finkeeler. Actually, it's made me think about having both - a consortium for a small boat on a swinging mooring would only be peanuts hmmm.

 

[RabT]

another vote for series

Personally I think an on going series from you would be better than some others that are published.

Would make a good "update" type series - not every month , but 3 or 4 times a year, focusing on specific exploits such as your recent Wells experiences.

Keep up the good work!

I agree with the series idea. It would be quite interesting to have different articles for each coastal area you have been to.

 

[dylanwinter]

thanks - nso far so good

doing KTL as a net video series as opposed for the BBC has meant that I can say more or less what I wanted to say

I have been back and removed a few bits that people objected to

so there is some self sensorship

as for a series about each area...

I have not been asked

and the journey is going so slowly because I am savouring every river

and it is a part time loss making venture

petrol costs are really starting to bite now

and as I move up the North sea I shall have to find a way of cutting those back in some way

maybe sailing less frequently but for longer periods

I do wish that I had done it much earlier

as for being a sailing journalist

PBO pays £100 a page

small craft advisor in America pays $100 a page

I am pleased I am not starting out as a freelance

and Moody Sabre - a consortium to own creek crawling dayssailer sounds like a great idea

Dylan

 

[Twister_Ken]

PBO pays £100 a page

small craft advisor in America pays $100 a page

I am pleased I am not starting out as a freelance

Dylan

I'm reminded of a pal of mine who WAS a freelance technology journalist for national newspapers and user mags.

Q. What's the difference between a leg of lamb and a freelance journalist?

A. A leg of lamb can feed a family of four.

 

[dylanwinter]

technology

I used to write for the technology section at the Times

£50 for 200 words

at Radio 4 getting something on pick of the week earned extra cash as well

I thinkl it was a pretty good per minute rate

enought to buy a decent Indian meal for the family and have enough left over for a few drinks as well.

However, I really enjoy writing the column for the American magazine and it only takes me a couple of hours to write it

keeping it down to 1000 is a real challenge - so the hourly rate is pretty good

the PBO article took me quite a bit longer than that

but I continue to enjoy the purity of the written word

there was a bloke at Farmers weekly who regularly wrote 10,000 words in a day

utter drivel of course

mostly re-written press releases

but it kept the bosses happy

and that is the main thing

I am really looking forward to seeing how the £500 ebay yacht they have just bought at PBO works out

It should make a great series

Dylan

 

[Lakesailor]

Yep £100 a page is about where it is. Even for pics.

Sh i t. I used to get that much to do a quick headshot for an article, plus expenses.

 

[Heckler]

I understand that the February edition of PBO has been sent out to subscribers

-although my local Tescos still has the January Edition on its shelves

(with the excellent item about buying a £500 yacht from ebay)



Just out of curiousity

I wondered if anyone on here who has seen the KTL item and read it has any feedback for me

Feel free to have a rant or give vent to stream of invective -

but as a hack it would be very useful to know if there was something among the the 2,500 words and ten pictures that was a waste of space

and just as usefully

if the article left questions unanswered.

I promise not to post question and then bu%%er off

Dylan

I subscribe, why dont other peeps on here? The story was interesting, like the vids. The devil is in the detail and sometimes we have to sanitise stuff. Some of the feedback is irritating and what we want to say sometimes, is tempered by the fact that we have to try to be professional.
Unlike when we are in the Lounge!
Stu

 

[ProDave]

Yep £100 a page is about where it is. Even for pics.

Sh i t. I used to get that much to do a quick headshot for an article, plus expenses.

Hasn't changed much.

The one and only time I wrote a technical article for a magazine, back in the 1980's it was £50 per page.

You have to do that sort of thing because you enjoy it. Otherwise it's a **** hourly rate and not a way to earn a living.

 

[creeksailor]

Shoal Water Sailing

Cant confess to having seen or read a copy of the article but if it is like any of your videos it will be very good indeed. For small boating shoal water fans who having spent four quid or more for a magazine and still want more, there are many articles on the subject written in a largely unfettered style by a passionate enthusiast of the creek-crawling art, and free to the reader. Just click on the link.

 

[Puggy]

Great article. Really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to seeing what you need to do to the boat to get it along some of the more exposed coasts. Made me think about why I am a slave to 1.9m + a bit under the keel at all times...

 

[prv]

Made me think about why I am a slave to 1.9m + a bit under the keel at all times...

To me it's not so much the depth as the grounding ability. When the time does come to replace KS I would be looking for something a bit more weatherly, and accept the extra depth needed to achieve that. However, being able to take the ground without worry, whether deliberately or accidentally (within limits), to park on the beach or nose up a creek until I come to a stop, is something I think I'd really miss.

Pete

 

[Searush]

To me it's not so much the depth as the grounding ability. When the time does come to replace KS I would be looking for something a bit more weatherly, and accept the extra depth needed to achieve that. However, being able to take the ground without worry, whether deliberately or accidentally (within limits), to park on the beach or nose up a creek until I come to a stop, is something I think I'd really miss.

Pete

Sounds like you may need a lifting keel then . . . or a better engine! ;-)

 

[prv]

Sounds like you may need a lifting keel then . . . or a better engine! ;-)

Actually, I have a horrible ( ) feeling that the right answer might be ... shhh ... bilge keels. Only the later, better-sailing kind though. I hear some Sadlers are almost indistinguishable in performance from their proper-shaped sisters

Pete

 

[dylanwinter]

bilge keels and preping the boat

I agree

it is not the deptth so much as the taking the ground without worry

I have also had drop keels

stones and mud are a great worry

at times I have been stupidly cavalier about taking the ground

and have the damage to prove it

but so far the slug has proved to be very tough

despite being 50 years old I have no doubts that the design is good enough to handle most of what the Northern parts can throw at us provided I keep an eye on the weather forecast

as for mods for the tougher places...

the engine installation needs a thorough overhaul

better lights

better cockpit drains

better roller reefing and new genoa

standing rigging overhaul

new running rigging

a proper installed vhf with a masthead antenna

epirb

good quality dry suit

new life jackets

I reckon around £3,000 should do it

I don't actually have the money set aside yet

so I shall keep moving slowly

 

[Croak]

You did ask.

I will be unpopular.

I was surprised that the pictures were not better or even more varied, We had 4 shots of single boat and sand/mud. One other, sand, boat, mud, wellies. I don't like repeats of the same photo (page3 and page42) A waste of space.

I dislike the daytime television style of telling us what we are going to see before we see it. The editorial nicks all your best lines.

I do like articles like this much more than the 5 page expensive boat ads, or someone telling us how to reverse in a marina, or boatshow stuff.

Probably a great article for me, Alas I knew about your exploits so not much new.

And we got the Ebay boat, how to wash a boat and fix a trailer, I hope that gets better and doesn't turn into a you can do this for only £900 plus 1000 free hours from a boatyard, and we just happened to pick up an engine for £50 fully reconditioned.

 

[dylanwinter]

points well made

I will be unpopular.

I was surprised that the pictures were not better or even more varied, We had 4 shots of single boat and sand/mud. One other, sand, boat, mud, wellies. I don't like repeats of the same photo (page3 and page42) A waste of space.

I dislike the daytime television style of telling us what we are going to see before we see it. The editorial nicks all your best lines.

I do like articles like this much more than the 5 page expensive boat ads, or someone telling us how to reverse in a marina, or boatshow stuff.

Probably a great article for me, Alas I knew about your exploits so not much new.

And we got the Ebay boat, how to wash a boat and fix a trailer, I hope that gets better and doesn't turn into a you can do this for only £900 plus 1000 free hours from a boatyard, and we just happened to pick up an engine for £50 fully reconditioned.

choice of pix is very subjective

I did send PBO about 50

most of them are still on my website

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/scuttlebutt/pbo-gallery-1/

so you can say if you would have used different ones

I guess the ability of the slug to sit on the mud or sand is one of its best features

actually it probably is its best feature

high speed upwind sailing is not really in the repertoir so images foaming wakes are few and far between

(I will confess here to a soft spot for Hirondelles and noow lust after a mark 3)

I have not yet read the editorial or the seen the magazine - so cannot comment

but repeating the images in the contents section is now pretty standard in newspapers and magazines

and all over the TV

it is something I seek to avoid in my own films on the basis that there are no advert breaks and if some-one wants to see something twice then they can just go back and see it again

but apparently the endless tv repetitions and recaps helps the drongo viewers



as for not much in the way of new information

well PBO ciculation is around 30,000

ktl subscriber numbers stick resolutely around an elite 500

no idea what the overlap of the ven diagrams are between the two

but as a PBO reader and KTL subscriber you are part of an uber-elite

I agree with the ebay boat that it will be a temptation to call in a few favours

but I assume that Sarah et al are aware of the impact that will have on their credibility should they stray down that line

I for one am curious to find out if at the end of the process they finish up with a cheaper boat than they could have aquired by buying one in reasonable nick in the first place

there is a chap on the wooden boat forum who claims that he builds wooden boats because it saves him money compared to buying a second hand plastic one......

not in my experience anyway

D