Laser 28 - Excellent example of this great design Hamble le rice |
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Laser 161752 Tynemouth |
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Laser 140101 Tynemouth |
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RS aero Y&Y test |
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Dougaldog ![]() Far too distracted from work ![]() Joined: 05 Nov 10 Location: hamble Online Status: Offline Posts: 356 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: 08 Sep 14 at 2:07pm |
Gosh...how short are the memories of some of you (amongst the more frequent posters on here). I still have the scars from when that 'other' mag ran the sort of comparison tests you refer too and apparently wish for. Yes, you know who you are.... cast your minds back to the early days of the D-One and RS 100 and... the HALO. At the time I must have been one of the very first, if not THE first, person to have a reasonable time afloat in all three. Back then I thought that the D-One was simply superb, an amazing boat that all but re-defined single handed sailing. Nor was there anything wrong in the RS100, far from it, but in terms of sheer 'grunt' - the devoti boat was in a league of its own. But for the UK Club sailor, racing around the cans,the boat that to me offered stunning performance and (back then) the bests 'bangs for your buck' was the Halo.
Now I was lucky in that I had the freedom to write exactly what I though and did so, only to get howls of protest from a number of you on here along with suggestions that I should be strung up. It is an interesting perspective that 'TurnTurtle', nee 'Yellowwelly' nee..... would today recognise that writing about the boats on the back of having sailed them all is a very different kettle of fish to just writing about the boats - on here. From a personal viewpoint, my observation is that it has never been easier than now to get a test sail in any of the new boats. Do that and form your own opinions, you may well find that these then are at odds with what you read elsewhere Dougal Hooked On, The story of the International Contender Pure Magic, 70 years of the Merlin Rocket Simply the best; 60 years of the 505 |
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Dougal H
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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Did you sail any of them on the sea? I don't recall lambasting you then, but just query it now since the Halo hardly got a grip, was this Dinghy Magazine? I thought it had gone by the by before those boats came out.
In my experience of these things, relative tests, there are certain 'facts' that cannot be escaped. I've never sailed a Halo, but briefly owned the Blaze, if you are who I think you are, we met briefly up at that lake near Reading that caused all the Icon problems with its coastal handicap, I forget its name. Irrelevant to the discussion, my point, I do have one, to thoroughly tests boats they need to be sailed in at least three different venues, Inland puddle like that Reading one, a big open water like QM or coastal estuary like Minster and a South Coast club like Hastings, Bexhill, Us or Lancing for example, only then can you really get to grips with the pro's and cons of those things, they can be such different animals on different water and that's the problem you (and I jest)'lazy' journalists have. ![]() You're also dealing with peoples passions, which in itself is a nightmare. So product testing, weigh them, measure them, sail them on three different waters, use a common tester but complemented by guest testers with independently written reviews (don't let them compare notes) then write it up. That's how to test stuff properly for mags and protect your back. Edited by iGRF - 08 Sep 14 at 2:46pm |
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Null ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 11 May 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 745 |
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Dougal,
Thanks for the insight. I guess my problem with that is that its comparing apples with oranges when you compare a Halo (which seems to of disappeared) to a 100 and D1 (please excuse my ignorance as I chucked all my magazine back copies last year thanks to the wife 'Kicking off', so cant remember the 100vd1vHalo trial). One of the things I love about MTB and road bike reviews is they review categories properly. So Sub £1000 hard-tails as an example. The sample size is huge and i guess as a market they get countless new models making it easier to find new models to review. They review the bike fairly in terms of what you are getting handling, value for money etc. with very limited (seems to me) brand loyalty. I get that there will always be tester opinion across a broad range of brands and products, that's human nature. But comparing a Single handed Kite hiker, with a unarig upgrade to an old design is not highlighting the best of that sector? In the dinghy world its easy to category classes, so comparative reviews should be easy? All this leads us down an Ally of needing a new consumer lead magazine. I guess it would be popular even in tablet format. Just needs someone with some money they want to waste!
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Rupert ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
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I like the idea of 3 boats, 3 testers, 3 venues, but it starts to sound pretty expensive, so who pays?
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Null ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 11 May 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 745 |
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Great post again Graeme (whats going on, please post some bollox again soon so we can get back on track) One of the things i like in Mtb magazines is the 'long Termers' where staff etc. run a bike for a season, warts and all review of whats broken, what they have upgraded, what they love, what they hate. So much more balanced then one review on a flat pond, or somewhere where in frankly odd conditions something supposedly doesn't perform with a specific wave pattern! Christ there ar not many dinghy designs, so long term tests should be easy!!!! I wont say cycling mags have it all right, they still spout stupid articles full of inaccuracies, like the recent wheel size tosh. With different people riding different bikes with different wheels sizes then making a sweeping statement of whats best (just so happens to be what the market is pushing at that time)
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Null ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 11 May 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 745 |
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Guess if its balanced and fair the magazine, perhaps if they did these things they would sell more copies and the cost wouldn't be a problem. increased readership may encourage people like RS to start advertising in the printed mag again!
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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I seem to remember paying to drive down to Hayling to 'test' the RS100, you don't need to pay folk to do what they love, you just need one person to oversee it and a strict guideline to what you do on a test to give your readers confidence, and you call out the bad points. |
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kneewrecker ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 09 Apr 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1586 |
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it sounds like a lot of work for not much return Graeme. I also don't know what kind of value it would really have as either a) a sales / advertising platform or b) an impact into 'group think' of dinghy sailors.
In the end most will still buy, what is it, 'old dross' for class racing. And who can blame them...
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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That's only because new stuff isn't marketed to them in a manner that accommodates impulse purchase.
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kneewrecker ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 09 Apr 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1586 |
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aren't most dinghy sailors devoid of the emotion that impulse purchasing connects with?
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