10 Years Ago - July 2003

Published in the July 2013 Issue July 2013

I have a scary thought for all of you. It’s been 10 years since July of 2003. Let that sink in for a second and now let’s figure out a way to recapture youth. A bigger outboard maybe?

In July of 2003, Princecraft regaled the cover of PDB and made boating look really fun. Is there a random manatee featured? Sure. But what’s a cover without a round mammal floating around? I especially like the font that was used for the word magical. Nothing like a “G” that resembles a circle with a squiggly tail. I would more clearly outline that euphemism, but this is a family publication.

Letters To The Editor These letters were full of great information and were obviously relevant to what people wanted to know because they took the time to write in. The last letter to the assistant editor I got went something like this: “Avoid glowing praise. Stay away from phrases where it makes the product or boat sound like not only the best option, but the only option.” Wait. That was an email from the editor to me about doing my job better. Oh snap. I have so much to work on.

Top Stories:

Angling Edges Dan Armitage has been giving good fishing advice to PDB readers for well over 10 years. Amazing. This story was on the importance of a sharp hook because it’s the primary link between you and the fish. My favorite part? The photo of the fish lying next to loaves of bread that accompanied the story. It seems like a lot of good has come to the world when you think about stories that involve fish and loaves of bread.

What’s Cooking Up North? Here the cover photo leads into a beautiful story about a family that owns a Princecraft in Canada. The best line was, “The Princecraft boat is as much a part of Canada as the maple leaf on the flag.” But I was IMMEDIATELY suspect when I noticed one of the family members was wearing a Chicago Cubs t-shirt, since that’s our editor’s favorite team. We let Canadians play in our baseball league and there own countrymen don’t even cheer for them? I don’t think so. After some investigating, it turned out he really is a Blue Jay fan and was essentially bribed into wearing a Cubbies shirt. Now you know how we roll around here.

The Magical Manatee Connection Let me tell you, this article includes an amazing photo of a pontoon floating over a mother and baby manatee. It’s full of great information about the eating and mating habits of the manatee. Did you know that the manatee can’t survive in water temperatures below 68 degrees? Neither did I. Not a whole lot of boating information, but hey,

I’m intrigued.

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