EDITORIAL

Diversity in design is the name of the game.

Whenever we post a boat review to social media, we get the inevitable negative comments.

This proves that there’s a lot of misguided people in the world who think that the kind of boating they do is the only kind. Any boat presented that isn’t suited to what they like to do on the water must be crap. Captains Obvious, all.

We show a bass boat, and immediately some naysayer chimes in about how crummy the boat will run in 3-foot seas. Well yes, Captain Obvious, you’re probably right, but the open-water cruiser that will prove comfortable in 3-footers will make a poor boat from which to catch fish from among the lily pads.

We show a dayboat with plush seating, plenty of power and a custom paint job, and one of the first few comments will likely be a complaint that the boat’s no good because it doesn’t have rod holders or outriggers. Helllooooo! Not every boater fishes.

Pontoon boats, bowriders and center-consoles often suffer the same indignity at the words of these myopic mariners. We can count on at least three commenters to decry these boat styles for not providing a cabin. “All that money and no cabin! That’s ridiculous! I would never buy that!”

Nobody says you have to, madam or sir. There are plenty of cabin boats from which to choose. And flats boats. And watersports boats. And PWCs.

And go-fast boats. And gas, diesel and electric, and a dozen more types that space precludes me from listing.

In fact, boats might be available in more different sizes, shapes and configurations than any other type of recreational equipment. The water-skier on a small inland lake likely values his boat as a cornerstone of lifestyle as much as the coastal cruiser values hers. The location is different. The use is different. The challenges are different. But the love of getting out on the water in a boat ideal for its circumstance binds the two inextricably.

The water is the tie that binds.

The water-skier on a small inland lake likely values his boat as a cornerstone of lifestyle as much as the coastal cruiser values hers.

HAVE A BALL Welcome to our Adventure Issue! Among the themed content, you’ll find Quick Study (page 42), which shows how to haul an anchor—even one that’s stuck.