Why isnt there a decent tv programme for boats

[Whitelighter]

Hugos video made me think about it. There are a couple of progs on the telly for narrowboaters, three for caravans and camping, but non for offshore, coastal boats (both power and sail).

There was boat.tv on some sat channel but the production values were poor and it ws on at random times. Would have thought one of the recreational networks would have picked something up - there must be the interest out there.

 

[Nick_H]

Yep, and can they get someone with a more interesting voice to do the narrative, or at least someone who sounds vaguely interested in the boats they're reviewing. The boat.tv commentator made me want to slash my wrists ..

 

[tinkicker0]

Yep, and can they get someone with a more interesting voice to do the narrative, or at least someone who sounds vaguely interested in the boats they're reviewing. The boat.tv commentator made me want to slash my wrists ..

That the same guy that used to do the caravan show? If so, I think the production team consisted of the one guy with a Handicam.
Still used to watch it though, Only one new prog a month and about 200 repeats, in the end even the new prog was made up of regurgitated pieces of the old shows.

Mind you, with the weather last summer, must have been hard to get any footage at all.

I agree, a good boating programme with a professional, knowldgeable host plus some decent boats to test and informative articles, set in good locations would go down a storm on Discovery channel mid winter time.
Everyone's looking for a bit of sunshine escapism then.

Nothing better in the bleak mid winter than to sit down on a Saturday night with a beer or 5 and watch Locks and Quays or waterworld, even if they do target Narrowboats.


Anyone work in TV production on here?

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

get satilite and see the Yachting Channel

they do some very nice review on there too, Deleted User once showed link with the Cranchi 43 Med HT report
but I saw some others there too

 

[jfm]

Hugos video made me think about it. There are a couple of progs on the telly for narrowboaters, three for caravans and camping, but non for offshore, coastal boats (both power and sail).

There was boat.tv on some sat channel but the production values were poor and it ws on at random times. Would have thought one of the recreational networks would have picked something up - there must be the interest out there.

Yup, agree. Maybe MBY could make a channel

Meantime, there is some great stuff on Youtube. You may have seen these before but the Azimut blasting thru the Exumas to the Killers/Are We Human is a pretty cool video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBSX3-Q1O3w and then there is some brochure-esque stuff like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp9kTM_kgj0&feature=related (love the passerelle action on the pershing 72). And then stuff like this which you've seen before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vin5jbeKmPU&feature=fvsr

 

[hlb]

What about Gordon Ramsey, doing a cooking program on MF at twenty odd knots!!

 

[rickp]

What about Gordon Ramsey, doing a cooking program on MF at twenty odd knots!!

Great idea, can't wait to see the taste test on whether the smoked flavour is better into, or down-wind

 

[scubaman]

My wife and I have often speculated that it would be great to have marine equivalent of Top Gear. Maybe even with Jeremy and co...

Seriously though, in the current climate (and I don't mean the weather) Jeremy blasting along with a Predator or some such while burning 600 ltrs/hour, might also bring some negative attention to our pastime. To put it mildly.

We have two boating related tv-programmes here locally, but both are 'a-man-and-a-handycam' -based with the man not being very good with the handycam.

So, I would love to have a decent boating programme!

 

[PCUK]

I have been trying for years to get production companies interested in a 'grown up' boating programme. I also thought of something along the lines of Top Gear before it turned into its current 'lads' format.
Apparently the 8 million plus viewers who have an interest in boating (whether actively or in passing) in the UK isn't worth the effort.

 

[nonitoo]

get satilite and see the Yachting Channel

they do some very nice review on there too, Deleted User once showed link with the Cranchi 43 Med HT report
but I saw some others there too

Where's the yottin' channel on satellite ?

Tom

 

[jhr]

My wife and I have often speculated that it would be great to have marine equivalent of Top Gear. Maybe even with Jeremy and co...

Seriously though, in the current climate (and I don't mean the weather) Jeremy blasting along with a Predator or some such while burning 600 ltrs/hour, might also bring some negative attention to our pastime. To put it mildly.

We have two boating related tv-programmes here locally, but both are 'a-man-and-a-handycam' -based with the man not being very good with the handycam.

So, I would love to have a decent boating programme!

The BBC did do a series of "Top Gear Waterworld" a few years back, which I thought OK but it obviously didn't do well enough to get recommissioned. It was in the days of the last version of TG (i.e. no aircraft hanger set, Stig, Hamster, May etc) so was a more conventional format but followed a fairly predictable course, with Jeremy lusting after Sunseekers and testing boats with an exhaust by-pass so that you could make them noisy, Tiff Needell reminiscing about how his old man (Tony Needell) was one of the founding fathers of the Cowes-Torquay race and Quentin Willson (probably) talking about the second-hand market.

In the Sixties and early Seventies, Southern TV (RIP) produced an excellent magazine format boating programme called "Afloat", which ran for quite a while, and which was presented from the banks of the Itchen, outside their Southampton HQ. As well as general boating topics, they also covered Cowes Week and the Cowes-Torquay, with the help of their converted MTB, Southerner, as well as notable events like the return of Francis Chichester to Plymouth. I went out on Southerner once, she had a couple of Mamba gas turbines, which was nice .......

Apologies to all who have heard this spiel from me before; it's a bit of an obsession of mine. I agree, there is room for a decent boating programme, with modern production values, and the absence of such a thing is a national scandal.

 

[jhr]

PS, there's also some good stuff on Cowes TV, including a nice interview about the Cowes-Torquay with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, especially for Scotty_Twister

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Hugos video made me think about it. There are a couple of progs on the telly for narrowboaters, three for caravans and camping, but non for offshore, coastal boats (both power and sail).

There was boat.tv on some sat channel but the production values were poor and it ws on at random times. Would have thought one of the recreational networks would have picked something up - there must be the interest out there.

Agree. Discovery or whichever have not 1 but 2 progs devoted to the narrowboating market which I guess consists of about 22 people and 4 dogs so why doesn't somebody do a prog devoted to offshore boating which is a much larger market (I guess?). Surely it would be an advertiser's dream too. All we A/B demographics sat in front of our boxes ready to be assaulted by advertising for posh cars and healthy cereals. Where's Gludy? He should be doing this

 

[asteven221]

I have often thought that there must be a big audience for a decent boat program. It should be aimed at "normal" folk i.e. boats that don't cost many 100's of 1000's of £'s, although a little bit of dreaming is fun. Unfortuantely, I can't really relate to programs about £2 million pound superyachts as it is extremely unlikely I will ever own one - or anything close for that matter. Leisure boating has many interesting topics surrounding it so it is very strange that nobody has made a series of programs. It is fairly obvious that the broadcasters struggle for programming content, which makes it even more strange that nobody has takien up this opportunity.

 

[Whitelighter]

there are so many topics it would be easy to fill up 10 half hour progs. its something I would really like to see.

There have been a few other shows onDiscovery - Dreamboats is one, but that focused on wooden saily jobs and the buildogn of a wooden dingy.

I have tried to watch SailTV but thats just shots of boats cutting through the water witha dreamy soundtrack playing in the background. If I want to see that I will just play a few manufcturers DVDs.

 

[Whitelighter]

I have often thought that there must be a big audience for a decent boat program. It should be aimed at "normal" folk i.e. boats that don't cost many 100's of 1000's of £'s, although a little bit of dreaming is fun. Unfortuantely, I can't really relate to programs about £2 million pound superyachts as it is extremely unlikely I will ever own one - or anything close for that matter. Leisure boating has many interesting topics surrounding it so it is very strange that nobody has made a series of programs. It is fairly obvious that the broadcasters struggle for programming content, which makes it even more strange that nobody has takien up this opportunity.

Totally agree, Id like to see a ahow that looks at the big sports boats and the occasion £1m thing, but also looks at trail boating, boating on a budget, used market and group tests. there is so much diverisity it could be really good programming. Of course, there is also the danger if badly done it could be ****e

 

[jhr]

Google is our friend. Top Gear Waterworld 2CV Racing

 

[Infamous]

glad im not the only person thinking a boat program not based on narrowboats would do well. chatting to few friends on the moorings and the general feeling is we have so many boat mags in the shops that a televised version would surely draw viewers, advertise 'cheap' boating which would bring more people onto the water, and forward the marine industry in a way that normal advertising couldnt do.

a format roughly based on top gear, with a test of the new £1m superyacht followed by boating news, a celebrity boating piece (rock star owns Sunseeker and does 10 minute piece on his cruising grounds), a trailer boat challenge, a 'what now skipper' problem every week, and maybe a piece about navigation/nav dangers/how to, so the viewers are learning while they watch.

surely something like this wouldnt cost a fortune to produce, and if some of the major brands contributed to production costs and the program was shown on the right day at the right time this would be an advertising dream for everybody involved in the boating industry.

 

[ari]

Yup, agree. Maybe MBY could make a channel

Meantime, there is some great stuff on Youtube. You may have seen these before but the Azimut blasting thru the Exumas to the Killers/Are We Human is a pretty cool video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBSX3-Q1O3w

That's brilliant!

Somewhat lower budget and closer to home there's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCHmSyZegnM

 

[ari]

Or howabout this?

http://www.performance-marine.de/index.php?id=279&L=1