I'd like to introduce myself

B

Bill Prince

New Member
Apr 24, 2007
9
Hello!

Many thanks to Jim Maier for allowing me into your forum. I am the publisher of Classic Yacht magazine, available free online at classicyachtmag.com. I publish Classic Yacht as a labor of love during my free time "for those who love great boats". I'm a 33 year-old mechanical engineer and yacht designer by day. I worked for the naval architecture firm that consulted on the 63' Sundancer hull in the 1990s and my family owns a 2004 Sea Ray 185 Sport.

I launched Classic Yacht magazine as a way to highlight great boats, many from the 1970s and '80s that don't get a lot of press in the paper magazines anymore. A good example of this is the story in the Spring issue about the 23rd fiberglass boat Chris Craft ever built, a 38' Commander that has enjoyed a complete restoration in Australia.

We're an online magazine, not a forum, so we present stories like a traditional print magazine. I am interested in finding someone on your forum who has modernized or restored a mid-to-late '70s Sea Ray, perhaps one of the lesser-known models, to possibly feature in an upcoming issue.

I invite all of you to subscribe for free to Classic Yacht, and I hope it will change the way you think about boating magazines. I hope you'll find Classic Yacht enjoyable and informative. I've not assumed I can jump into your forum without first introducing myself, but I hope I'll be welcome to participate.

Cheers,

Bill Prince
Publisher
Classic Yacht magazine
 
Hello Bill and Welcome. :thumbsup:

I am old enough to remember a lot of the older watecraft having boated on Lake Erie with my dad back in the 50's. And I love classic boat shows too. They have a real nice show on Lake Norman here in Charlotte every fall that I try to get too. I took a quick look at your on line magazine and it looks interesting.

Hopefully some of the others here can help you out.
 
Welcome Bill...
If you're OK with Jim, you're OK with us.... :smt001 :wink: :smt001
 
Welcome to the board Bill, thanks for sending the email prior to. Again welcome to CSR!!!! :thumbsup:

Wesley
 
Thanks very much! I've had my fair share of fun aboard Sea Rays, mostly on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers from Minneapolis to St. Louis in my youth (hopefully I still have some "youth" left).

I'm going to use my two ears and one mouth in that proportion for awhile here. I'll be happy to reply to anyone who's got an interesting tale to tell about their boat that might be suitable for the magazine.

Cheers!

Bill Prince
 
Welcome aboard :thumbsup: Cool site.

Ok mods, who is going to move this topic to "Who's Who" :smt021 :lol:
 
Thanks, guys, for moving this to Who's Who.

Are there any big Sea Ray rendezvous scheduled this summer that might include some of the classic or '70s vintage boats?

Bill Prince
 
Bill, welcome aboard. I have tremendously enjoyed restoring my '83, and have worked with friends and family on other '80's Sea Rays, but nothing from the 70's.
 
Keokie, has your 260 restoration been original (aside from the drivetrain) or have you updated systems, interior, etc.?

Bill Prince
 
I enjoyed your online magazine a lot. I'm forwarding the link to my brother in law in Mass. for him to enjoy as well. I tried to check your profile for your location, but there was no information; I'm guessing you are on the East Coast? If so, I'm not sure if you know about the Port Townsend Wooden Boat School (Washington state). There is also a huge rendevous of classic and wooden boats in Victoria B.C. every summer which is held on the docks and public is welcome on some boats. It is amazing!
Anyway, glad to find you here and again, loved the magazine.
 
Bill,

Other than the drivetrain, I have copied original as much as posible. I like the boats the way Sea Ray designed them. Even the changes I made (teak deck hatches, teak instrument panel, for example) were intended to match Sea Ray's design cues.

I have added a number of systems as well, such as a vertical windlass, GPS, Stereo, 3-stage battery charger, VHF, pumpout head, etc.

The boat has been a labor of love. I have really enjoyed the project.
 
That sounds great. I firmly believe that a well-maintained or faithfully restroed boat is worth more at selling time than something that's been screwed up.

I just returned from the Keels & Wheels Concours in Seabrook, TX yesterday. There were a number of classic Chris Crafts, Cruisers Inc. and Donzis (no old Sea Rays...maybe in a couple of years). The featured marques this year were Ferrari and Riva, so there were plenty of those to go around.

Subscribers to the magazine are going to be seeing a photo gallery of boats and cars arrving in their inbox in the next say or two, so if you're not a subscriber yet and want to see all the eye candy, subscribe for free at www.classicyachtmag.com.

Thanks for the continued input, guys!

Cheers,

Bill Prince
Publisher
Classic Yacht magazine
publisher@classicyachtmag.com
 
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