How would you rate this site?

[rusty]

What do you think of this web site? We have had quite a bit of interest, but not much activity lately. We really want to create something that has value to the boating community.

Please fell free to give us your ideas on how we can improve!

[Jack Tyler]

Functionality seems top-notch. There's more potential diversity in how visitors can contribute, learn from and 'supplement' (pics, icons, polls, etc.) site content than I've seen anywhere else.

OTOH its main strength may be its may weakness, namely the complexity of moving around in and conceptually understanding the site, given the site's breadth. Perhaps that's what Rusty will be tweaking next week.

Final thought: to the extent the topic list is going to be amended, I'd like to suggest topical areas which were most heavily favored - by contributions, not just viewing - in the once-impressive Sailing Forum on Compuserve, the current Sailnet Discussion Board, the All Sailors section of the Catalina Owners site, and my own interpretation of what the Cruising World's BB seems to cover most frequently:

1. Boats: boat choices for different uses, boats built by different model/mfgrs, buying used boats vs. new boats...well, you get the idea. While it may seem far afield from a site dedicated to NW cruising, perhaps in fact it's locked in tightly: boat features suitable for NW cruising, boat mods that maximize comfort & safety in these waters, etc.
2. Boat gear: again, this could be slanted to NW cruising/Wx/seasons/etc. altho' participants seem to have a way of determining what the content needs *really* are. <g>
3. Cruising areas
4. Web site referrals & resources: These may be tangential to the Pacific NW (or maybe not) but are likely to be consistent with sailors who are web savvy and trying to learn & meet needs via the web.
5. Seamanship

Hope that's of some help, Rusty. Good luck on the 'rewrite'.

Jack