On Jun 15, 7:26?am, HK wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:
..

It is almost impossible to check out all the possibilities in your local
West Marine or any other major marine equipment store. First, they don't
have the depth of inventory. Second, they rarely have things hooked up
so you can mess with them comfortably. Third, they never seem to have
things like manuals handy. Fourth, the sales people they employ simply
have no depth of information about much of anything.



Vs. the challenges of doing a valid head to head, real world test?

You'd need to rig an individual boat with a half dozen depthsounders,
plotters, etc. How else would you be able to compare operation under
the exact same circumstances?

Disregarding your nasty personal remarks below, (surprise, surprise),
could you please explain to the group exactly why the very same
features and functions will always be important to a guy trolling for
billfish in the Atlantic and a guy with a bass boat in Minnesota?
Whose subjective priorities should prevail? The reviewer's?

To follow the Consumer Reports model you suggest, all of the tested
equipment would need to be purchased, anonymously, at a variety of
retail outlets. To purchase and rig a dozen plotters, modify and
operate a boat to do the test, etc, all of a sudden you're looking at
an article that costs $25,000 to write. If you compare the size of the
market for, (say) washing machines, vs the size of the market for
chart plotters and the circulation of Consumer Reports (likely greater
than the circulation of all boating magaznies combined) it should
become pretty obvious why its easier to justify buying 6 different
$400 washing machines to test by plugging into the wall than buying a
large number of radar plotters that cost as much to rig and test as
they do to purchase.

And finally, unless a magazine accepts *no* advertising (like Consumer
Reports) there would be no reason to accept their "objective"
comparisons as entirely unbiased. Look at Motor Trend for example;
want to be "Car of the Year"? just sign up for the appropriate
advertising package and you're in. Years ago, I heard their publisher
excuse this practice as "being in the entertainment business".

The "no advertising" model with head to head comparisons has been
tried. Powerboat Reports. It failed. That's why nobody is doing
it. :-)

Publications cross a pretty tricky line when moving from a description
of an individual product with associated features and characteristics
to any attempt to pronounce "Brand X is better than Brand Y
because...."
Who's subjective preferences should prevail? The reviewer's?



Before I buy an appliance, I check it out in Consumers Reports. There's
no reason why the same sort of comparative info on boating gear wouldn't
be useful to boaters.

Stop pimping for the boating industry, Chuck. It doesn't serve anyone
but your masters.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -