No, you have not fallen down a rabbit hole. Practical Sailor has gone four-color, and our new paper is glossy. Yes, were about ten years too late, but good things take time. To accommodate the switch to color and improve our product coverage, we will be publishing once a month instead of twice, so youll still be getting the full 40 pages of Practical Sailor youve been getting. Annually, thats 480 pages of detailed, unbiased product testing and consumer information on boats, gear and everything in between, something no other sailing publication can deliver. Your expiration month wont change. (Whether your subscripton ends on the first or the 15th of a particular month youll still get that months issue.)
The value of any good publication lies not in presentation, but the content. This is especially true with Practical Sailor. Our success depends solely on how well we provide you with the concrete information you need before you buy. I think youll agree that a review of color digital charts (check out our test in next months issue) is much more meaningful in color than it is in black and white. In addition to adding color photographs, weve revamped the design to better highlight key information.
One change you may notice is that our tables now feature three ratings based on our evaluations: Budget Buy, a relatively inexpensive product that meets our standards; Recommended, a high-quality product that stands out among others in its class; and Best Choice, a superior product that meets or exceeds our highest standards and offers exceptional value. All this in addition to our traditional Dont Buy recommendations.
Bottom line: We hope youll like what you see, and we hope youll stick around as we sharpen our focus on the information that truly matters.
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This month, Dave Laska has the unenviable task of diving head first into the Bilge-O-Matic, a simulated version of the real thing that, much to Daves dismay, will be seeing a lot more hard service for Practical Sailor. Daves thorough testing and evaluation of the three most popular types of bilge switches (See Bilge Binge) yielded results that will likely surprise longtime subscribers to Practical Sailor. The test spotlights the tough task our testers, writers and editors face: In many cases, no single product best serves the needs of everyone.
The owner of a shallow-bilge boat will be more interested in getting a bilge switch that doesn’t cycle the pump on and off as waters sloshes, while the sailor with a deep bilge and sump might place higher value on a switch thats easy to install.
As an incurable cruising sailor, my own preferences are for heavy-duty gear that is simple to maintain. Im not impressed by gadgets that try to think for me. But thats just me. In the months ahead, well consider more ways to better accomplish our mission of serving all our readers, so now is an ideal time to give us your thoughts. I look forward to hearing what youd like to see in your new, color Practical Sailor.
-Darrell Nicholson
