Selecting Our Project Boat:
The Search for Toy Boat 2:
The Search for Toy Boat 2:
Our project boat was a result of some hard work, and more than a little luck...
The "looking around" phase took over a year, and involved a lot of time on the Web, reading reviews, talking to people, and visiting boat shows and dealer showrooms. Each source of information had its own set of Pros and Cons:
| Source | Pros | Cons |
| Manufacturer websites | Direct source, technically accurate | Not always up-to-date, photos and other information not complete, difficult to judge quality and design points, obviously biased |
| Boat Shows | Hands on, direct view of features, quality & construction | The model you want may not be there, dealer reps are not always knowledgeable & the manufacturer reps may not be there |
| Dealer visits | Hands on, direct view of features, quality & construction | May not be a dealer near you, salespeople are not always knowledgeable or interested in selling the model you want |
| Owner feedback | "Real Deal" | Owners are not always unbiased, either for or against, and sometimes let their personal situation affect their opinions (e.g. how the dealer treated them). They may not always have had realistic expectations when they purchased the boat. |
| Magazine reviews | Broad range of manufacturers, sometimes very detailed analyses of performance | Very rare to find a truly critical review. Most magazines review the products of their advertisers, so tend to soft-peddle the boats and gloss over major issues. |
| Boating websites | Broad range of manufacturers, sometimes very detailed analyses of performance | Combine "Owner Feedback" and "Magazine Reviews" |
One bright spot was the discovery of Powerboat Reports (http://www.powerboat-reports.com). PBR is modeled after Consumer Reports. They accept no advertising, run quantitative tests, and report the results in an unbiased fashion. Definitely a useful publication.
Another bright spot was finding out how many people already fish offshore in small boats. While not commonplace, there are more than a few people doing this. Talking to them, trading e-mails and participating in discussion board threads provided a wealth of information.
But it also pointed out that there was no forum like OSJ where we could exchange ideas withgout being harassed by "big boat" owners calling us crazy.
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