Yachting Monthly New Boat Tests

[prv]

The thing I'm always looking for whenever I read any boat review is an answer to the question "Why does this boat stand out from the crowd?" Is it sailing performance, space, details, handling, clever design, price.... or what? If the reader of the review cannot answer that question after reading it, then frankly what was the point?

Of course the majority of boats don't stand out from the crowd, that's why there's a crowd for a few of them to stand out of

Reviewing the boats which are much like all the others is useful for the tiny minority of readers who are considering buying a new boat. For the rest of us, the vast majority, it's not usually very interesting. When I used to get the mags (I subscribed to PBO for a decade and YM alongside it for a while) the new boat review tended to be one of the last things I read, unless the picture showed it to be something out of the ordinary like a French aluminium world-girdler, or a carbon-fibre gaff-rigged weekender, or a quirky Dutch 24-footer with a deckhouse and a computer-controlled centreboard at the bow. Those were all actual reviews that I remember now years later. The latest Bavaria 34? Nope.

I'm not knocking the Bavarias and Beneteaux themselves, they're good boats and the right choice for most people. But they're not entertainment material for a magazine. Think old Top Gear worthily discussing the brake master cylinder on a Rover Metro, versus new Top Gear driving a Lamborghini off a cliff.

Pete

 

[Deleted member 36384]

..... the new boat review tended to be one of the last things I read, unless the picture showed it to be something out of the ordinary like a French aluminium world-girdler, or a carbon-fibre gaff-rigged weekender, or a quirky Dutch 24-footer with a deckhouse and a computer-controlled centreboard at the bow. Those were all actual reviews that I remember now years later. The latest Bavaria ......

..... I'm not knocking the Bavarias and Beneteaux themselves, they're good boats and the right choice for most people. But they're not entertainment material for a magazine ......

You have hit the nail squarely on the head.

 

[Neeves]

I find the idea that anyone reads a yacht review of a Stg60k new yacht and uses it as a basis for purchase to be ludicrous. For that money I expect a private viewing and a test sail, if these are not forthcoming I'd not even think about it.

Write the review as if you are assessing the yacht for yourself and need to tell your wife or partner what it is like, so that she (or he) can decide if you should both go down and have a second look. Your joint desires are similar to ours, how does she sail, how is she to live on, what's missing what's to like. But make it readable and entertaining - most only buy a new yacht 'occasionally' but having a new yacht review every month has to cater for the majority that will not be buying a yacht (or you need to accept many are not going to buy a magazine a part of which is a waste of their money).

Jonathan

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I find the idea that anyone reads a yacht review of a Stg60k new yacht and uses it as a basis for purchase to be ludicrous. .....

No one is suggesting that. The query is about hoe to make new yacht reviews in magazines interesting.

 

[CLB]

No one is suggesting that. The query is about hoe to make new yacht reviews in magazines interesting.

From reading this thread, it appears that the answer is to not have them, and use the pages for something else.

 

[Wansworth]

Maybe if the reports where more technical and in depth .For instance whilst the boat is being built we would have pictures and commentary on construction ,fixing bulkheads keel adhesion system and steering etc.

 

[alant]

Why?

What happens when the boat isn't in the Solent?

In my experience being on board for longer just confirms that my initial interrogation was correct. I wouldn't learn any more sailing in the same direction for 12 hours and back again the next day. The way the boat handles won't change, the feel on the helm won't change, and what if the next day there was no wind? I'd still get wet feet in the heads without a separate shower compartment, and the heads door without a sill will still leak, if I hit my head on a cockpit moulding a couple of times during a test, I'll only start avoiding it as you would, but your guests would still hit their head.

And that's before you get into the logistics of getting a boat that can be used, fitting it with all the safety equipment: liferaft, jack stays, flares, mob kit etc etc etc. Then utensils, crockery, cutlet, pots/pans food etc all of which would have to be taken to the boat and loaded/unloaded (I already fly with a full weight allowance).

A lot of manufacturers simply won't allow for a boat to be used (cooker/stove/galley/toilet etc) prior to handover to a customer.

I would like to spend longer on the boat, but for what I learn it's not worth my time as it's details that rarely make the final feature. Lastly, I get paid for my words, not how long a test takes.

Being onboard doing a cross channel, can tell you much more than fiddling about in the confines of the Solent.
A short hop, does little to indicate how a boat can affect a crew, particularly when tired.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

From reading this thread, it appears that the answer is to not have them, and use the pages for something else.

After reading prvs post, that was my thoughts as well. If the purpose of the article is to entertain and thus make people buy the rag then new boat tests fail. Perhaps a bold decision is required to drop the bland boat review and instead focus on something far more entertaining for todays British sailor: experienced, novice, aspiring or even fantasist, the target audience. I really like the American magazines such as Sail and the online rags such as Practical Sailor.

 

[Neeves]

I really like the American magazines such as Sail and the online rags such as Practical Sailor.

Well - that is a commendation

Except they are very different.

PS is VERY practical with little humour and entertainment and SAIL is very readable and entertaining. I write for both and they demand totally different styles and totally different approaches for the identical topics.

Jonathan

 

[prv]

After reading prvs post, that was my thoughts as well. If the purpose of the article is to entertain and thus make people buy the rag then new boat tests fail. Perhaps a bold decision is required to drop the bland boat review and instead focus on something far more entertaining for todays British sailor: experienced, novice, aspiring or even fantasist, the target audience. I really like the American magazines such as Sail and the online rags such as Practical Sailor.

To be clear, I like features that look at all the details of a boat, assess how well done (or not) they are, point out interesting features, etc. Very much the format of a boat review. I'm just suggesting that the subject should be an interesting and unusual boat, not an average well-marketed conventional one.

Obviously this is more difficult to arrange - instead of manufacturers who actively want their boats reviewed, you have one-offs with no particular reason to open up to the public, and giving honest assessments is going to be even trickier with individual owners than PR departments. But in an ideal world how about detail-oriented "boat reviews" of, for example,

A one-off "agricultural" home-build like Mollymawk
A modern small working boat like a harbour tug or pilot launch
Skip Novak's Pelagic Australis
A Tamar lifeboat, with the detail that isn't in every other layman's overview article. How do they stow their tools? What's the fuel system like? What's that funny flat black aerial on the cabin top?
A top-flight racing yacht of some type (to be fair, there are articles on these from time to time).
A racing powerboat.
The lugger Guide Me
Steve Dashew's FPB Cochise
Steve Dashew's earlier large fast comfortable sailing designs
An Edwardian torpedo boat, if one exists in a museum somewhere
A sailing trawler in as close to original fishing trim as possible, showing how the gear was actually worked.
Plus whatever new production boats come out that aren't just 38 feet of perfectly competent fibreglass bermudan sloop with cockpit above, saloon below, and two or three sleeping cabins.

Pete

 

[snooks]

I really like the American magazines such as Sail

I write some of SAIL's new boat tests / tech features too :0D

 

[Saguday]

I like reading new boat reviews, even if I'm not in the market to buy one. Useful to keep an eye on where things are and where they're going and p'raps pick up any new ideas one might filch for one's own yot, or feel smug about one's choice or provide reasons to berate all new boats as the work of the devil on yachting forums.

I would point out to those who poo-poo new boat reviews that going into the second-hand market 10 or 20 years later and being able to access back-copies of a candidate boat test is incredibly helpful and often part of the research of a second-hand buyer. Follow up reviews over the years are also very useful to see how particular models have faired over time.

So, Snooks, I vote to keep the boat reviews as they are all part of the invaluable archive of information that can be mined not only by new-boat buyers but the vast majority of scruffy follow-on buyers years down the line.

As for what the reviews should cover:

- as many pictures as possible, above and below decks and also in the nooks and crannies
- these days videos and 360's: I love Chris Beeson's bow-to-stern walk-throughs
- as much techie info as you can put int: yes, polars and suchlike as well as basic length beam draught stuff
- subjective views: every so often there should a be an overnight or weekend trip to really get the feel, for this reason I quite enjoy Toby's videos on YW although they've gone a long way up market

Anyway, that's my tuppence worth.

 

[snooks]

I like reading new boat reviews, even if I'm not in the market to buy one. Useful to keep an eye on where things are and where they're going and p'raps pick up any new ideas one might filch for one's own yot, or feel smug about one's choice or provide reasons to berate all new boats as the work of the devil on yachting forums.

I would point out to those who poo-poo new boat reviews that going into the second-hand market 10 or 20 years later and being able to access back-copies of a candidate boat test is incredibly helpful and often part of the research of a second-hand buyer. Follow up reviews over the years are also very useful to see how particular models have faired over time.

So, Snooks, I vote to keep the boat reviews as they are all part of the invaluable archive of information that can be mined not only by new-boat buyers but the vast majority of scruffy follow-on buyers years down the line.

As for what the reviews should cover:

- as many pictures as possible, above and below decks and also in the nooks and crannies
- these days videos and 360's: I love Chris Beeson's bow-to-stern walk-throughs
- as much techie info as you can put int: yes, polars and suchlike as well as basic length beam draught stuff
- subjective views: every so often there should a be an overnight or weekend trip to really get the feel, for this reason I quite enjoy Toby's videos on YW although they've gone a long way up market

Anyway, that's my tuppence worth.

Thank you :0)

Beeson's walk through videos won't be coming back to Yachting Monthly any time soon. The new boat test are resting squarely on my shoulders, for the time being at least.

There was never any question of losing the new boat tests, I was seeing what you all want from a test, and how I can supply what was wanted (less pictures, more pictures, more words, less pages, old boats etc ). I can now say they are getting more pages with more images, word count is also increasing too.

360° images can be found here: http://grahamsnook.com/360-tours/360-degree-yacht-interiors/

 

[Ric]

Second other comments that I want to see a lot more technical detail. I would like to hear what the brief was to the naval architect. Is the boat designed to be comfortable offshore, or is it just designed to be a pleasant inshore marina-hopper? What sort of handling will the hull form give?

I also like to read about unusual boats. If it is just yet another Benbavjen sloop with a cabin at each end and a big saloon, then I almost never read the test. As soon as I see something with a cutter rig, or a lifting keel, or unusual construction material, or a dinghy garage, or anything that is not just another mediterranean marina hopper, then I am interested.

There are a lot of smaller yards, particularly in France, that make interesting little boats that never get any coverage in the UK mags.

 

[kacecar]

Much of the info in tests I already find useful. I'd like to read a bit more about sailing performance but accept limitations will be imposed by conditions on the day. A bit more on handling performance might sometimes be worthwhile - the feel on the helm is usually covered but other aspects less so - I once went on a new 40+' boat where the control lines were so poorly run that, for example, one had to use a winch to furl the headsail! Other stuff I'd find quite interesting:
a) While motoring at cruise speed, the decibel level in the saloon and, perhaps, in the rear cabin(s).
b) Perhaps also a subjective assessment of what the boat feels like while motoring - e.g. on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is silky smooth, 4 is "average" (whatever that is) and 7 threatens to dislodge fillings from teeth or eyeballs from sockets.
c) Similar rating system indicating the apparent ease (or not) of engine maintenance - impeller change, oil top-up / change, coolant system maintenance, fuel and oil filter changes, gearbox oil top-up/change, etc., etc.
d) Wherever one tends to sit and relax, the size of the seat and the angle of the backrest.
d) And a pet hate of mine; what rubbish / recycling storage facilities are built in (if any - I loathe boats supposedly capable of crossing oceans or being used by a crew of eight for days on end where rubbish is necessarily kept in a plastic bag hanging more or less open and somewhere "convenient") and, on larger boats that go on longer voyage where can one stash bagged rubbish in a way that is safe from smells and seabirds.

Just my tuppence worth. Thanks for asking.

 

[snooks]

Second other comments that I want to see a lot more technical detail. I would like to hear what the brief was to the naval architect. Is the boat designed to be comfortable offshore, or is it just designed to be a pleasant inshore marina-hopper? What sort of handling will the hull form give?

I also like to read about unusual boats. If it is just yet another Benbavjen sloop with a cabin at each end and a big saloon, then I almost never read the test. As soon as I see something with a cutter rig, or a lifting keel, or unusual construction material, or a dinghy garage, or anything that is not just another mediterranean marina hopper, then I am interested.

There are a lot of smaller yards, particularly in France, that make interesting little boats that never get any coverage in the UK mags.

I try to test a variety of yachts, but more people will buy the latest Ben Jen Bav Han than almost all of the other brands put together, so I try to serve that section of the market as well as thowing in the odd intertesting boat here and there.

If the smaller French yards would get back to me about boat tests, I'll happily test their boats. But the availability of new boats and logistics are always a determining factor when it comes to new boat selection.

 

[[70521]]

Beeson's walk through videos won't be coming back to Yachting Monthly any time soon. The new boat test are resting squarely on my shoulders, for the time being at least.

I mentioned the fantastic videos Chris and you have done in my first post. The decision at Yachting Monthly Towers needs to be reviewed and quickly. With falling paper readership turning away from video is going to do them no favours at all. If they are not looking to offer YM as a multimedia package then the title is dead in the water.

I found the PBO YouTube channel this month. I watched a number of brilliant talks there that may or may not be articles in the paper version, but having seen the video I might just buy a mag off the shelf.

 

[Ric]

d) And a pet hate of mine; what rubbish / recycling storage facilities are built in (if any - I loathe boats supposedly capable of crossing oceans or being used by a crew of eight for days on end where rubbish is necessarily kept in a plastic bag hanging more or less open and somewhere "convenient") and, on larger boats that go on longer voyage where can one stash bagged rubbish in a way that is safe from smells and seabirds.

Just my tuppence worth. Thanks for asking.

Agree with that! At boat shows I always check provision for rubbish. I'd actually like a dedicated bin locker on my "ideal" boat.

Other pet hates are detachable washboards with no dedicated stowage so that they always end up at the bottom of a locker. And self draining locker for a single Camping gas 907 bottle. Obviously you need at least two to go cruising so why not make a self-draining locker for two? Better still, self draining lockers that can take any size gas bottle, and outboard fuel, various solvents etc - as on Southerlies. Come to that, in general, most modern boats don't have enough deck storage because it has all been sacrificed to cram as many cabins as possible in down below...

 

[Sybarite]

I try to test a variety of yachts, but more people will buy the latest Ben Jen Bav Han than almost all of the other brands put together, so I try to serve that section of the market as well as thowing in the odd intertesting boat here and there.

If the smaller French yards would get back to me about boat tests, I'll happily test their boats. But the availability of new boats and logistics are always a determining factor when it comes to new boat selection.

If you want a 2nd opinion when you are testing boats in France...???

 

[Sybarite]

To be clear, I like features that look at all the details of a boat, assess how well done (or not) they are, point out interesting features, etc. Very much the format of a boat review. I'm just suggesting that the subject should be an interesting and unusual boat, not an average well-marketed conventional one.

Obviously this is more difficult to arrange - instead of manufacturers who actively want their boats reviewed, you have one-offs with no particular reason to open up to the public, and giving honest assessments is going to be even trickier with individual owners than PR departments. But in an ideal world how about detail-oriented "boat reviews" of, for example,

A one-off "agricultural" home-build like Mollymawk
A modern small working boat like a harbour tug or pilot launch
Skip Novak's Pelagic Australis
A Tamar lifeboat, with the detail that isn't in every other layman's overview article. How do they stow their tools? What's the fuel system like? What's that funny flat black aerial on the cabin top? Why does it cost twice the amount of the larger French boat??
Comparative review?
A top-flight racing yacht of some type (to be fair, there are articles on these from time to time).
A racing powerboat.
The lugger Guide Me
Steve Dashew's FPB Cochise
Steve Dashew's earlier large fast comfortable sailing designs
An Edwardian torpedo boat, if one exists in a museum somewhere
A sailing trawler in as close to original fishing trim as possible, showing how the gear was actually worked.
Plus whatever new production boats come out that aren't just 38 feet of perfectly competent fibreglass bermudan sloop with cockpit above, saloon below, and two or three sleeping cabins.

Pete

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