Fed up of yacht review quality!

[Bill_Giles]

When the review concentrate on the hand carved fiddles and the elk hide cover on the wheel then something is missing from a review.one needs to know how stiff it is, how does it track, does it have vicious prop walk, are the sea cocks cheap brass etc etc. Most of the time it seems they are selling the dream rather than something that will keep you safe while seeking the dream.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by dr.j.levy

Hello all,

Seems that reading a review on new sail yachts is a total waste of time. One proviso - the description of the yacht that any sailor can see for his/her own eyes in a few pictures. All If your read a few reviews you will probably find that new yachts are almost faultless. Worse, words selected to describe a particular characteristic, are so obscure that they may as well would have never been written. It is as if the same narrative is used no matter what yacht is reviewed. Most bizarre is their willingness to test yachts in no wind, rather than come back another day. Imagine a car review in which it is not driven for lack of petrol….

Is it because journalists will not report the snags of a boat or terrible performance because of their fear of the builders?

Would value thoughts …

The only value of boat reviews are for the photos and hard specifications like LOA, I,J,P,E, etc. and you should compute the ratios yourself (You can't believe the SA/DISP because some don't use 100% sail area.) Also, the reviews are usually of the big manufacturer's boats.

If you want an honest educated review you have to pay for it and I do with Consumer Reports and Practical Sailor, who are subscription only and do not take advertising, but it still just one opinion and they are often slow to cover the one product you are interested in.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[RickG]

I look for reviews by Bob Perry and Jordan Yachts. Plus John Kretschmer.

Cheers, RickG

[MicHughV]

it's like dating sites....you have to learnt to read between the lines...

" a few pounds overweight".....a 300 pounder....

" only drinks occasionally".......from 6 am to midnight...

"enjoys long walks on the beach".....makes it to the mailbox and back without having a stroke.

"educated"...." passed 5th grade"

"loves to laugh and giggle".....incessant childish yammering....

" financially independent"......hanging on for dear life, hoping for a rich husband

"enjoys children"...as long as they are in school, and out of sight.

" enjoys stimulating conversations"......can only talk about current TV reality shows....

" owns own home".....currently in foreclosure, due to being in arrears on mortgage payment....

now apply this to sailboat reviews...

"sails well to windward"...only with the engine on....

"easily singlehanded "...by a gorilla....

"ample storage"....if you're only gone for a weekend...

"large battery capacity".....two Walmart brand batteries.....

"large anchor rollers"....you supply the anchors...

"full sail compliment"....two furling sails...

" complete with electronics".....handheld vhf....

etc, etc, etc......

[hukilaumike]

I agree that new sailboat reviews are hardly the stuff of real journalism, but I don't get why this is such a big deal. Does anybody really think that there are sailors out there that are basing their decision to buy a 200K boat on a magazine review? Of course you are going to figure out a way to see one of these boats in person. All of the major manufacturers (at least in this country) will take a prospective buyer on a factory tour and arrange a test sail.

Me, I find the reviews kind of boring. Very occasionally, one can detect actual enthusiasm from the writer, and those reviews are worth reading. Just as occasionally, you get a comment like "the test boat came with a 35 hp engine, which seemed a bit underpowered", or "I would have liked to see more storage space", but you will never get a full on "the glasswork was sloppy". Usually, it's more of the same old, same old. The primary value of those reviews is to maybe inform you of a brand or a model you didn't know about so you can put it on your list of things to maybe research.

[PocketNaomi]

Originally Posted by dr.j.levy

Hello all,

Seems that reading a review on new sail yachts is a total waste of time. One proviso - the description of the yacht that any sailor can see for his/her own eyes in a few pictures. All If your read a few reviews you will probably find that new yachts are almost faultless. Worse, words selected to describe a particular characteristic, are so obscure that they may as well would have never been written. It is as if the same narrative is used no matter what yacht is reviewed. Most bizarre is their willingness to test yachts in no wind, rather than come back another day. Imagine a car review in which it is not driven for lack of petrol….

Is it because journalists will not report the snags of a boat or terrible performance because of their fear of the builders?

Would value thoughts …

I don't know whether there exist any sources which do this with sailboats -- maybe not, because they're so expensive in the first place. But the standard way to get a fairly objective review of anything is to look for a source which refuses to accept free test access, and pays for their own in whatever fashion. (It doesn't need to mean they buy every boat they try, but that they rent it at standard market rates from a company which is not affiliated with the manufacturer, for example.)

[Shaneesprit]

On a different subject, I used to ride high end mountain bikes, and in one magazine they said that if they get something of poor quality on a review they would return it to the manufacturer and not report it.
I never bought that again - so vote with your feet

[Stu Jackson]

This one is a keeper! Great reference material!!!


Can I keep it for personal use?

Originally Posted by MicHughV

it's like dating sites....you have to learnt to read between the lines...

" a few pounds overweight".....a 300 pounder....

" only drinks occasionally".......from 6 am to midnight...

"enjoys long walks on the beach".....makes it to the mailbox and back without having a stroke.

"educated"...." passed 5th grade"

"loves to laugh and giggle".....incessant childish yammering....

" financially independent"......hanging on for dear life, hoping for a rich husband

"enjoys children"...as long as they are in school, and out of sight.

" enjoys stimulating conversations"......can only talk about current TV reality shows....

" owns own home".....currently in foreclosure, due to being in arrears on mortgage payment....

now apply this to sailboat reviews...

"sails well to windward"...only with the engine on....

"easily singlehanded "...by a gorilla....

"ample storage"....if you're only gone for a weekend...

"large battery capacity".....two Walmart brand batteries.....

"large anchor rollers"....you supply the anchors...

"full sail compliment"....two furling sails...

" complete with electronics".....handheld vhf....

etc, etc, etc......

[Creedence]

Hard to imagine a person spending XXX hundreds of thousands of dollars based on a magazine article, but I suppose it did used to happen. That’s very much a relic of a less connected world.

That’s really to say that your observation is spot on. You’re right to be wary. A buyer’s agent could be of some assistance, but really it’s boats- not quantum mechanics. The hardest part is understanding your unique needs, then it’s a matter of googlefoo to find the build that best addresses those- perhaps even with a broker, but not necessary.

Magazine articles are eye candy, but almost never thought-leadership.

[MicHughV]

What about the used boat market.....there is ample evidence of enhanced poetic descriptions that do not fit the reality of the situation....as penned by the boat owner....then add a broker...who will also provide his "spin" on the situation...

as they say....caveat emptor...

[merrydolphin]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Yep....that happened to the car reviews decades ago. Every review on every car enede with a happy ending and you decide. Today they would make Yugo look like a BMW. It os becoming more difficult to tell the difference between an ad and a review.
abe

Yes, and the only reasonable accurate review of a car is Consumers Report. It has some flaws but is by far and away the most fair and accurate. Based on owner feedback and repair records. Magazine in general are very advertiser biased…heavily

[MicHughV]

it boils down to personal perspective...

you " lookit dat hot blonde!"
friend " you're kidding me, she's ugly as a rock"

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by BillKny

I am going to draw a bit of an analogy. On my blog pages I occasionally review and recommend products. I post affiliate links to products I review--if I have them--to help with the cruising kitty. In a lot of ways it is the sailing magazine business model in miniature.

I have (almost) never posted a bad review. It makes no sense. It generates no income. It pisses people off. The only people who really enjoy reading hostile reviews do so out of a sense of schadenfreude rather than real knowledge gathering. Many products (including boats!) I consider terrible have a lot of customers with significant brand loyalty. If I attack "their" brand, they go other places to read because they are now convinced I am (at best) an idiot.

It's really not just about advertisers. A mass circulation sailing magazine can't pan the latest boat from Groupe Beneteau without making a bunch of bendy-toy fanboys mad. People mad at you don't read your magazine.

I never fudge a review, I am honest in my opinions. I just only review products I like. Does that make me a worthless industry shill? I don't think so, but your opinion may differ.

“ I almost never posted a bad review “

“I never fudge a review “

Hmmmm

[Moosemiester]

There is hope. On the auto side of the world we have Scotty Kilmer - who runs the most successful automotive related program ever created. As a retired mechanic He tells the truth about cars on You Tube - and because he makes his income on views he’s free to say whatever he wants.

Someone needs to do this for boats. I used to devour the magazines but they are all horrible now except GOB.

[Tonali99]

Pretty pictures aside, I don't think I've seen any boat that was 'just right' without a lot of changes. Once upon a time I designed my own.
Simple things like square corners in the salon. A head well above the water line just in case the joker ain't funny anymore. ended up looking like a six gun sloop of war.Nice to dream though ..