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| Originally Posted by coismov I believe that more critical media coverage would not only push the industry forward, but also possibly weed out some of the lesser quality builders and designers. |
We've been doing this on a subliminal level all along. There are some boats we don't cover. The reasons are valid... and varied. I won't expand on this. But in some cases, the quality is questionable. In others, integrity comes into question. And in extreme cases, the downright arrogant, unpleasant attitude of a builder isn’t worth the aggravation.
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| Originally Posted by coismov I wonder if there is any way to objectively critique custom yachts, from design to build quality, while still maintaining the level of respect that (most of) these companies have earned? |
In a sense, you answered your own question. The respect these builders have earned is because they are producing products that boggle the mind on multiple levels. The entire industry is producing yachts, both custom and production, that is light years ahead of the early 90's. In some respects, there are certain things that remain constant, such as the suppliers and components used to bring about the end result.
We have to keep in mind, these boats are partially the sum of their parts. The remainder is the builder's engineering and attention to detail their workforce exhibits. The multitude of variables and decisions in a build is absolutely daunting... and that's just one day in the life of a builder. You, me & Dupree would be hard pressed to do a better job... and it might come out looking like a Chinese Junk.
Boats keep getting better because we continue to build on the past. But... every boat has flaws. Some are just better concealed than others! By and large, the flaws we see are minor and hardly worthy of mention. I'd like to think the reviews we do at YF are more like "Features". Simply a way to go onboard and get a feel for some of these magnificent builds.