Magazine reviews

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Dusty

New member
hey guys,

i am an avid reader of the top brand motorboat magazines in this country, i love them its my escape into another world seeing as though jhb is quite dry at times,

i have been reading for quite sometime never miss an issue and have even on sundays whipped out the older copies and read through them again. i have gotten to the point where a can pretty much tell you what boat it is by looking at it, its specs best motor option etc.

but i am digressing now.

my point is is that how helpful are these reviews really?

every review i read is the same as another its not actually a review its just a info snippet or a press junkit?

surely a review needs to list good bad and compare where some boats might not cut the grade? i read the forums here and read horror stories of boats (new ones) which actually pass a review in one of our top mags with flying colours?????????????

what the hell is going on here, is there a massive deal between manufacturers and journo's are the pay outs undertable dealings etc???

just begs the question doesnt it

i am a big fan of top gear as im sure many of you guys are, and jeremy and the boys will tell you straight if a car is kuk or not, will our journo's do the same for us???

please guys elaborate here i think this can turn out into a great discussion
 
F

Fin-S

Sealiner
IIRC the Editor of SkiBoat posted here once and had a good comment - they forward all boat reviews to the manufacturer prior to publication, and then check if the manufacturer is happy to let it go into print. Obviously if the review is not positive, then the builder will pull the editorial. Hence, we do not get bad reports.
In saying that though, I strongly believe in editorial freedom and think that if more poor riding, badly built boats were exposed, we the consumer would only benefit. Cut out the crap and let the best get better.
 
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Rory

Sealiner
all reviews are paid for so they wont say anything bad outrite as the manufacturer will just not advertize with them. And all magazines make their money with adds not copies sold
 
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Dusty

New member
well then gents we have a problem, what the hell is a point of a review then?

surely a review is where a seasoned pro of that particular industry will test something from top to bottom and give his experienced point of view.

think about it how many people go and buy a boat based on a boat test? think of a newb who grabs a mag reads a test and says great i have 160k lets go get a full package boat and it ends up being a piece of crap???????

there are big problems in this country with the boating industry,

i have had a passion for boats my whole life and im thinking of opening a small boat retailer for myself, where im going to get great boats great motors and give great aftermarket service.

all of this and also do it at a decent price and not rip people off!!!!!!!
 
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Redhawk

Senior Member
HI Dusty

I do not even read the boat reviews, they are utterly useless! Please do the following as an example: search for broaching problems/issues with certain boats on Sealine, then read the reviews of those same boats, not even a mention of any broaching issues. The guys who had broaching issues with some of their previous boats are not rookies either.

There are numerous other examples: new boats with leaks (common under certain makes), "skew" hulls, etc

What I do now is to find someone who has owned a similiar model to what I am interested in, to find the truth before I part with my cash.

It is not that our legislation do not allow for that to be taken up with the manufacturer, it does, just one hell of a schlep. As with most other things the customer would rather read about the issues before ending in an elongated legal battle.

We could certainly do with some more objective journalism here!
 
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Dusty

New member
just a quick thought, why dont we ask guys to do a review on there own boat? properly with pics and everything,

overtime we could have a decent library of hard hitting decent reviews?

it would probably take max a day and imm sure somepeople would love it i know i will.
 
T

tkei

Sealiner
On the reviewers side, They have a few hrs at most to play with a boat. The one they get tends to be brand new (or close to it. They ride it, get off it and go home. A leak will not always be noticiable on 1 trip of 2 hrs. i doubt the reviewer opens the bungs.
Broaching may only happen in a particular swell direction, size etc. masy not have happened during the test due to those conditions not prevailing.
Top gear may test a car and say its gr8. but druive it in the wet and it may be a dog. they drove it in sunshine, no problem.

I am critical of the reviews and heinrich Klein slated me for it, but it is the manufacturer that pays for the review and would not be happy to get a dud report as they wouldnt sell a thing.

There are great boats that have never been tested, Tom Cat, Yeld cat, Butt cat, and many more. Ask owners of these and you will get decent answers, and if you are genuinly interested, sure one will take you for a spin.
 
C

CRUSTY

New member
There's obviuosly a major problem, however i believe that the solution is rather simple!

We're all already using sealine to voice our concerns, why not start a specific boat "reveiw section" where owners and persons with experience of specific craft voice there opinions?

This forum has in its individual membership more money, time and experience than all the journo's and manufacturers combined!

Lets tap into it and  put the substandard manufacturers to task and maybe save a lot of money and a few lives along the way?

 
 
K

KA

New member
This is a great idea.

The reviews have for the most part have become advertorials for the boat manufacturer which make them pretty worthless for the simple reason that the negatives are never articulated so the reader is left with the impression that the boat has no shortcomings. This is not always the case.

I accept that these boat manufacturers pay for adverts but call the "reviews" what they actually are; advertorials.
 
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Datsun

New member
That's a geat idea, Dusty!

This way you'll get more that one opinion on a specific boat/motor.

Let's say there are ten owners of eg Kosi Cat. Each one wrights a report and 8 of them agree on a specific trait, you can be pretty sure they are right.

What's more, we will then have access to relevant info, and can then make informed decitions.

GREAT IDEA! 
 
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Echo7

Senior Member
I dont't mind giving you the straight dope on my boat, except that it will express my opinion and personal taste.
 
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