Guest Opinion

Fluff

We get tons of e-mails commenting on all aspects of this sport, and this one touched on something that raises a valid question. There are probably a number of answers to it, and I'll be curious to read what you have to say. -Ed

Why do sail boat reviews in the well known mags tend to be so lame? A car like the Nissan Maxima will be reviewed to death in the automotive press. Stats galore, comparisons with many other vehicles, performance on the track and the high way, and on-and-on. Yet, a $300,000 sailboat gets a fraction of the copy inches, little that is meaningful about its performance (when was the last time you read about how well a boat could point vis-a-vis the competition), and platitudes about the market segmant the boat is aimed at.

How important is it that the Farr 395 is not post cured? Are SCRIMP boats really stronger and, after several years, dryer than the competition's boats? Are boats being sold with hardware that is too light and too cheap - creating a safety hazard? Why are Swan hulls so low tech (are they better anyway)? If the products were cars, these questions, and many more, would have been asked and answered.

The reality is that sailboats are expensive to make, and it's a tough business in which to make a buck. There is, as a result, a lot of temptation to cut corners. So why aren't there any watch dogs out there writing good, tough reviews?

Is it the sailing culture that teaches us that all boats are good boats? Is it the advertising dollars that would dry up if the reviews were honest? Is it the difficulty getting the answers?

You want to cause some anarchy, try a really honest review of a boat you know is a piece of crap, especially one they popped 300 copies of out of the mold last year.