I'm about halfway through grinding out an item for the next issue of a regional
boating magazine. Late last week, I had the chance to try out a new 48 footer.
(Brand name withheld for reasons soon to be obvious).

With the photos back from the processor, my notes carefully reviewed, and
statistics checked, I began trying to create an interesting "snapshot" of the
boat.
I was uncertain about a measurement I had written down, so I went to the mfgr's
website to double check the number. Just for grins, I read a few reviews on the
same boat from the high dollar national mags. The mfgr had posted the reviews
on the corporate website. Ai, yi, yi!

Two of them used almost identical verbiage and phrasing to describe the
engines. Either that was the most remarkable coincidence of all time, or
somebody is simply rehashing press releases. Several of the photos used in
competing publications are identical. It would be possible to write some of
those articles without ever setting foot on the boat, (not saying that anybody
did).

One of the reviewers (a licensed master) described the trolling valves as a
fall back, mechanical control system redundent to the standard electronic
engine controls. Oh, my.

Little wonder so many boating writers have mixed reputations. I suppose that by
current standards, (in most occupations), if you make a solid effort to do a
good job you're guilty of working too hard.