Letter to Editor [Archive]

LVjetboy

01-19-2002, 01:48 AM

As I promised, I sent a letter to the Executive Editor of HBM with the poll results. Here's a copy of what I sent:
Brett Bayne,
I am writing because I feel many other subscribers share my concern on this issue. Here are results from a poll taken on Hot BoatÂ’s discussion board:
http://users.lvcm.com/lvjetboy/***boatSurvey.jpg
And here are the questions:
If you subscribe to Hot Boat Magazine...
1) Do you want to see more small (<24 foot) Hot Boat coverage?
2) Would you like less offshore (24 foot and over) and poker run type coverage in exchange for more small Hot Boat coverage?
3) Do you want more technical articles and custom upgrade projects for small Hot Boats?
4) Would you like less new boat performance evaluations in exchange for more technical articles and custom upgrade projects?
While unscientific, I think these opinions reflect a general feeling among many, if not a majority of your subscribers. They want to see more small, custom Hot Boat coverage in Hot Boat Magazine. Granted, new boat manufacturers are drifting to ever-larger hulls. But a lot of readers still buy the used market, or own smaller boats and are more interested in upgrade projects and technical articles for the boat they own. Opinions on what makes a Hot Boat vary. But I think of Hot Boat as the Â“Hot RodÂ” of the boating magazine world, with a loyal following of enthusiasts who like to work on their own boats and arenÂ’t interested in the coverage offered by Offshore or Powerboat Magazine. As Hot Boat drifts from itÂ’s roots to follow new market trends, a void is left behind. If this is true, and a majority of your readers still want more small boat articles, wouldnÂ’t Hot Boat Magazine be interested in what we the customers want?
Sincerely,
Jerry Friddell, aka LVjetboy
I'll let everyone know if I get a response.
jer

beached1

01-19-2002, 07:33 AM

HB's response.
We are truly ashamed, filled to the brim with self loathing. There is no way an apology would make up for this appalling mistake.
JK http://free.***boat.net/ubb/wink.gif
Very cool graph showing what the readers want. Hope they listen.

Banshee

01-19-2002, 08:18 AM

Great job LV. I hope your efforts produce the intended results. Though I still think that a sister mag to Hot Boat would be in the best interest of hot boaters on our end of the spectrum and the offshore enthusiasts as well. I canÂ’t help but think about how easily it would be for Hot Boat to start given that they already have most or all of the necessary resources.

Cas

01-19-2002, 08:24 AM

good job Jer! You get the "Atta Boy" award for the month and if they do something about it, you'll get the Atta Boy Award for the Year, a free campsite at this year's Tower Park Run. Ok, so you'll have to take time off work, pull the boat to No CA but what the heck, you'll be able to meet myself, KZ, Old Rigger, Jim Lee, hopefully Jack McClure, Ken A, the Captain, 058, squirt, Al Rock, NelsonF, Heatseeker, OldSquirt and many more!
Steve

LVjetboy

01-19-2002, 11:27 AM

Thanks for the comments guys. That tower park run sounds like it'll be a great time...and I'd love to meet everyone. You too RiverDave...we're still friends right? http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
jer

future boater

01-19-2002, 07:43 PM

if they could do a quarterly, i think all of us would be happy with it. but in their defense i noticed something today.the cover reads as follows:
august of 1995 HOT BOAT
august of 1997 HOT BOAT
"THE ONLY PERFORMANCE BOATING MAGAZINE THAT MATTERS"
it was in august of 97 that i knew something was up. the article
"readers pick the hottest boats they've ever seen." the boats in order
1.VOODOO CANOE 20 ft.sanger
2.howard arnesons 46' ft turbinepoweredskater
3.MADNESS ron braaksma's top fuel hydro
4.eliminator 25 ft. daytona
5.MISS BUDWEISER
6.fountain powerboats 38 ft. fever
7.cougar's 23 ft. mtr
8.talon marine's 525 sc powered t-22
9.ultimate warlock's 25 sxt
10.baja's 322

RiverDave2

01-19-2002, 11:23 PM

Originally posted by LVjetboy:
Thanks for the comments guys. That tower park run sounds like it'll be a great time...and I'd love to meet everyone. You too RiverDave...we're still friends right? http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
jer
***boats response: "Uh Yeah... We'll get right on that"
What the people at ***boat are saying when they read the e-mail. : "Looks like a huge display of inneficiency to us.. These guys are almost as devoted to there dying breed as Trekkies are to a TV show that happened 20 years ago.. Why won't they just leave us alone and go away.."
Ok, Ok..... I'm sorry, but you have to admit it was funny right?
LVJetBoy, I'm looking forward to hooking up with you guys this upcoming season! Any plans for Parker yet?
RD

LVjetboy

01-20-2002, 12:59 AM

I was thinking Tower Park and the Clasic Boat Beach Bash (say that one three times after cheap vodka)...not sure about Parker and OP6 yet? Wicky'll probably spank me http://free.***boat.net/ubb/frown.gif I also plan on spending some quality time at Powell and Mead...
http://users.lvcm.com/lvjetboy/Honey.gif
jer

LVjetboy

01-20-2002, 01:06 AM

LVjetboy

01-20-2002, 01:10 AM

Ooops. What the...? Too many windows and no view.
[This message has been edited by LVjetboy (edited January 20, 2002).]

Cas

01-20-2002, 08:20 AM

ummm, Jer, I think you've gone a little too far with your diet, You're looking a little pekid in that chair. Might I also suggest some sun screen, being that pale, you might burn....
"thinking about Tower Park" huh? that would be awesome to have you show up. You just might get the farthest traveled award.

RiverToysJas

01-20-2002, 08:31 AM

The Classic Boat Beach Bash will be held on Aug 10-11, 2002 at the Avi Hotel/Casino south of Laughlin Nv.
The RSVP form and official information will be available soon!
RTJas.

fat rat

01-20-2002, 08:59 AM

RiverDave, it was funny.......but true.

blownrat

01-20-2002, 09:06 AM

RTJas could you please inform us of this classic boat bash,would be great to attend. we hang out at mead 3-4 tims ayear. but spend every other awake moment at local lake here in colorado.

flat broke

01-20-2002, 09:37 AM

Blownrat,
The information on the Classic Boat Beach Bash is as follows. August 10th and 11th at the Avi Hotel/Casino in Laughlin. If you sign up with the Classic Boat Beach Bash group when you make your reservations at the Avi, you will get a discount bringing the rooms to $69/night for Friday and Saturday night and $19/night for Sunday night. We will be putting up a registration forum and additional information for the event shortly, but you will have to make your reservations at the Avi on your own. Just call 1 800 AVI 2 WIN and tell them you are with the Classic Boat Beach Bash. That will get you the discount and put into the group of rooms we have reserved for the event. An important thing to note is this event is open to all types of propulsion. If you have any questions feel free to email myself admin@liquidaddiction.net or Jason jason@rivertoys.com for more information.
Thanks,
Chris

LVjetboy

01-22-2002, 02:35 AM

Chris Davidson, Editor in Chief of HBM called me today about the Hot Boat survey deal we did. That call took me by surprise, as I didnÂ’t expect the head dude to call me, and Karen and I were just headed out the door for breakfast at IHOP http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif Almost let the machine answer thinking a telemarketer...now glad I didnÂ’t! IÂ’ll try to summarize the best I can from what I remember of the call...
No, he didnÂ’t say he was sorry about that whole misguided offshore thing and promise to do only small Hot Boats in the future. Nor did he ask if IÂ’d please consider as penitence a ten page Â“Hot Boat of the YearÂ” full color spread on the Drag-n-Jet with even hotter babes draped all over it...darn the luck http://free.***boat.net/ubb/frown.gif But he did have some interesting comments.
He said heÂ’s been with HBM since 1985 and was responsible for decisions on marketing and content. I believe he may be one of the Â“higher upsÂ” that GS referred to. I told him I was a subscriber since 1989. What he said about changes in the new boat market driving content was no surprise...following many of the comments in the survey thread and the one started by Bense468. Granted, Hot Rod does have a broader subscriber base compared to Hot Boat, which may give them more marketing flexibility. Interesting to me is he did specifically ask if we were planning on starting a new magazine. I said a couple people on the board seriously looked into that...and mentioned SteveÂ’s name (hope Cas doesnÂ’t mind). And I got the feeling Mr. Davidson was sensitive to possible magazine competition. I mentioned the void in coverage. He estimated startup costs, said how difficult it was for Hot Boat financially in the early years and then alluded to how Hot Boat now was very knowledgeable in how to compete in the marketÂ…as in with a potential startup magazine (my guess here)? Anyway, I got the feeling that they do care on some level about what we the readers want, as subscription revenue is a significant part of income.
Bottom line is I believe we DO have a say in the future of Hot Boat magazine and the best way to make it happen is to let them know what you want to see and read about. I presented this to Mr. Davidson as a voice for the majority here, but your voices can make the difference.
http://users.lvcm.com/lvjetboy/Real***boat.jpg
Sincerely,
jer
[This message has been edited by LVjetboy (edited January 22, 2002).]

racingrascal

01-22-2002, 08:17 AM

Did he say they would do more jets? Or small "Hot Boats". Or is that where he gave the speach about where the market is today? We all greatly appreciate what you did! I think that it is great that someone took the time to make the phone call from Hot Boat.
Andy

Cas

01-22-2002, 08:27 AM

Good Job Jer!
I don't mind dropping my name, it's the truth. I looked into getting a magazine to print last year and spoke with Flat Broke about doing something.
Personally, I still think HB could reprint some of their early issues, if they still have them, with updating the advertising.
Did Chris Davidson leave an email address?
Steve

058

01-22-2002, 10:00 AM

There is alot of things HB can do without displacing their "bread & butter" More race coverage, interviews with race people [drivers, crewchiefs, owners, ect.] Project boat build ups, engine projects, articles on pumps, [I said that???] gearboxes and props. How about resort and/or local ***boating coverage? I would be a subscriber if there was something in there that would interest me, 30-40' boats are not my interest. The only thing they offer that I like is tech and reader's rides, does that say something?

01-22-2002, 12:51 PM

Great job, LV. I guess we should have known that the fear of another mag's competition would be most likely to get HBs attention. When we went through this topic 6 months ago, GS promised a full length tech article. His off-season is almost over, and I still don't see it. Just out of curiousity, are the vdrive and outdrive also bi***ing to HB about lack of coverage?

RiverDave2

01-22-2002, 12:55 PM

I think us Outdrive guys are perfectly happy with the amount of coverage.
RD

cyclone

01-22-2002, 01:47 PM

Originally posted by RiverToysJas:
The Classic Boat Beach Bash will be held on Aug 10-11, 2002 at the Avi Hotel/Casino south of Laughlin Nv.
The RSVP form and official information will be available soon!
RTJas.
Man the Avi Hotel is getting popular. I have to cover a pair of truck shows there in march and april. Guess I'll be spending some extra time in laughlin this year. Who was it that discussed starting a new magazine for hot rod boats?

Heatseeker

01-22-2002, 04:12 PM

Way to go LV!!! Maybe the possibility of a little competition will wake Hot Boat up to our neglect! Maybe they will work to find a way for more balanced coverage, without sacrificing (the almighty) profitability.
If the mag doesn't show some improvement soon(especially after recieving the Feb. issue today), they've recieved the last check from me.

HammerDown

01-22-2002, 05:03 PM

After my last issue, I've dropped HOT BOAT like a HOT ROCK...I'm done paying for something that can't keep my intrest! Let the big boat guys butter Mr. Davidson's bread. They obviously don't need my money.

Bense468

01-22-2002, 05:15 PM

Thanks Jer for your hard work. I think maybe cyclone can help us on this also. He has a few connections that might be usefull for anyone trying to start up a new mag.

77charger

01-22-2002, 05:20 PM

i quit buying there mag because of lack of coverage in real hot boats.In my opinion they seem to be competing with powerboat mag.When i first saw a hb mag i was thrilled to see hopped up jets,i/os,and v drive boats under 23 feet with big bad motors now its 25'+ boats with covered engine hatches and off shore race or poker run coverage.I feel let down.at least we have the jet forum here.Gee i wonder how many people use the offshore-ocean liner board.

Cas

01-22-2002, 08:04 PM

cyclone,
I looked into it quite a bit last year. A friend of mine is a publisher/printer here in No CA. He puts out a couple of golf magazines amongst some other things. Based on what he said, there's no way I could afford to get something like that started on my own. The other big question was just how many copies need to be printed? 100? 200? 500? 10,000? who knows? Sure, people in here are frustrated about the lack of HB articles about the boats we use but we are only talking 100 people, probably less. There's no way that would cover the costs of putting a new mag together. I'm sure there are 1,000's or 10's of thousands that would like a new mag but now you have more $$ to spend in advertising.
Anyway, I could go on and on about the negatives but the bottom line is, I love a good challenge so I'm still real interested in getting something together.
Steve

DEL51

01-24-2002, 01:29 AM

LV, EXCELLANT JOB! Thank you for your efforts!I am wondering if an establshed high performance magazine publisher would have the high start up costs,i.e.CAS.What if argus publishing,(super chev,PHR)were to attempt a start up.LV, Would you consider compiling some informtion off these posts and your survey data, and sending it to some other established publisher? Family and performance boating have not touched jet/v-drive setups.Maybe if we approached them, coverage would begin? Great Job!

LVjetboy

01-24-2002, 05:38 AM

That's something I hadn't thought of. If my campaign for Hot Boat goes nowhere...I'll certainly check into that. Thanks for the idea Del51.
jer