Small Boats 2021 issue

[Robert Meyer]

I have purchased every Small Boats issue since 2007.
The 2021 issue bothers me.
Year by year Small Boats has reduced the number
of boats reviewed per issue. Examples:
2007 25 reviewed
2013 21 reviewed
2015 19 reviewed
2019 17 reviewed
2021 15 reviewed
I purchase Small Boats to see small craft reviews, not
reviews of camping gear and expeditions. I purchase
WoodenBoat Magazine for those.

[Ben Fuller]

Before Small Boat Monthly we often did reviews specifically for the issue. Since then I believe the reviews are drawn from SBM.

[WI-Tom]

Before Small Boat Monthly we often did reviews specifically for the issue. Since then I believe the reviews are drawn from SBM.

That's my understanding as well. Also, narratives have (almost entirely?) moved to the Small Boats online monthly, not WoodenBoat.

Tom

[Robert Meyer]

Tom


I my words concerning expedition/voyages in Small Boats Yearly was not
in any way a criticism of your excellent writing in the 2021 issue. I have followed
your articles in Small Craft Advisor and enjoyed them all. This does not mean
that I still find the reduced number of actual boat reviews in the 2021 issue
disturbing. My reduced retirement income precludes me from purchasing anything
beyond my monthly issue of SCA, an occasional WoodenBoat Magazine and
my eagerly awaited copy of Small Boats Yearly.


I look forward to your future articles. I miss reading about Jagular.

[WI-Tom]

Tom


I my words concerning expedition/voyages in Small Boats Yearly was not
in any way a criticism of your excellent writing in the 2021 issue. I have followed
your articles in Small Craft Advisor and enjoyed them all. This does not mean
that I still find the reduced number of actual boat reviews in the 2021 issue
disturbing. My reduced retirement income precludes me from purchasing anything
beyond my monthly issue of SCA, an occasional WoodenBoat Magazine and
my eagerly awaited copy of Small Boats Yearly.


I look forward to your future articles. I miss reading about Jagular.

No worries! I didn't take it as a criticism at all--I'm sorry if my reply made it sound that way. It's a valid observation about the direction WoodenBoat has chosen to go with their annual Small Boats issue. I hadn't noticed it myself, but it seems to be a clear pattern, and I can understand some disappointment about that.

On the economic side, reprinting boat reviews from the online magazine allows them to run content they have already paid for (writers don't get paid twice if one of their articles runs again in the annual Small Boats issue) rather than commissioning (and paying for) new work. I suspect that's a major driver of decisions. I suspect profit margins in this kind of specialized publishing are very thin!

Writing about Jagular was even more fun than the sailing! There's a special kind of magic to doing things for the first time, when you don't really know what you're doing, or how dumb it might prove to be.

Tom

[signalcharlie]

Hi Robert

Glad you enjoy Small Boats as much as we do. We enjoy writing for the digital parent Small Boats Magazine and for the past few years we have been thrilled to see a few of our boats in the print magazine, Our Penobscot 14 and wooden Super Sailfish among them, most recently in the 2021 edition.

Right now a subscription to Small Boats Magazine is $29.99 annually, and there are 2 Boat Profiles and 1 Reader Built Boat in each issue. The subscription includes access to every article written since 2014. The other Technique and Gear articles are included to round out the small boat lifestyle, so it seems those articles are included in Small Boats Annual now to round it out.

You can reach our Editor Chris at chris.cunningham@woodenboat.com and I'm sure he would take your suggestion under advisement. I don't see the other articles going away but maybe Small Boats grows a few pages to include more boat reviews. We might also see if there is a way that the print version of WoodenBoat could be packaged with the digital version of Small Boats Magazine and discount the price a few dollars. Never know til we ask.

Hope you have a great holiday season!

[SheilaB]

I've been trying to find any history about Ken Douglas Boats produced thru the 1980's up until his retirement around 1995. He was well known on the West Coast of B.C. Canada for his signature 9' and 12' cedar lapstrake dinghy's. He must have enjoyed his work as these boats are still showing up during the season... some restored to new quality! The craftmanship, materials, and look of these little gems is beautiful. It would be nice to keep his legacy goingIMG_0517.jpgIMG_0636.jpgIMG_0564.jpg as long as his boats survive.IMG_0501 (1).jpg

[jpwg]

Sheila, you might consider starting a new thread in a different section for better visibility. Maybe in http://forum.woodenboat.com/forumdis...c-Boat-Related perhaps? This is posted in an existing thread about a magazine, in a section about that magazine, so I think fewer people will see it.

[SheilaB]

Thanks for the tipoff... just saw "small boats" and jumped in!