Alan Jones-Executive Editor Of Boating World Magazine

For those that read Boating World magazine, you are undoubtedly familiar with the writing of Alan Jones. If for some reason you haven't gotten around to grabbing a copy, shame on you. It's a no-brainer that Alan does a great job in his role of executive editor of one of the top boating magazines (at least that's what he tells me). In my humble opinion, it is his irreverent sense of humor that forced me and countless others to become loyal readers (at least that's what I tell him). For some reason that defies all logic, Alan was sympathetic and agreed to answer a few questions for me. During our exchange of numerous e-mails, it was obvious that his reputation for having a great sense of humor was well deserved. Yet it never hid the simple fact that this guy is head over heels in love with boating. But I must warn you in advance that while reading this you exercise extreme caution  because his enthusiasm is highly contagious!

What possessed you to become a writer/editor?

I've always had a knack for creative writing starting in fourth grade:” Please excuse Alan from class, he is having brain surgery today." Signed Mom. Actually I have always enjoyed writing and while at the University of South Florida I took classes like journalism, public relations (lots of writing) and photography - all of which have helped me.

What exactly does an editor do?

My title is executive editor and since I work out of my house that means I have to wear a tie with my bathrobe when I go to work in the morning. Actually I am more of a writer than an editor and usually contribute 3 or 4 stories a month. I also help Ryan (Ryan McNally is the  Editor-In Chief) and others generate story ideas and often proofread other writers stories for accuracy. Almost everything is done by email or telephone. I also travel a lot and attend many press events and boat dealer meetings, in addition to travel features and boat tests. For you young married writers out there, always remember three things when you go on a road trip.

1. Always call your wife before you start slurring your words.

2. Tell your wife you had a hot dog for dinner.

3. And never, repeat never, whistle while you pack.                

I want a complete breakdown of every moment of your career. How, when, where, what, why, etc. Were you born with a silver typewriter in your mouth or did you work your way up in the cut throat world of journalism?

On my bio it mentions that I was a sports writer for the Clearwater Sun during college and that was true. What I don't say is that I was actually what they call a "stringer" which is about as low as you can go on the editorial food chain. I got $20 a story with no expenses. A typical night would be: drive 30 miles to cover a high school basketball game, drive 20 miles to the newspaper, write my magnum opus, and listen to my editor use the word "behoove" a lot, as in "Alan, it would behoove you to learn how to type faster" or "It would behoove you to learn the English language."  Drive another 20 miles home and get back at 2:00 in the morning. But when you read the paper and see your byline for the first time, it's pretty cool. But looking at the other writers with their Johnny Winter tans and the pressure they were under, I decided that wasn't for me. Although I kept my toe in the writing waters by occasional freelance work, I accidentally got into the airline business for the free flying and worked for USAir for 15 years. I really enjoyed it and worked my way up to station manager in Key West, where I was able to get out on my boat an average of five days a week. It got less fun when they got into their corporate squeezing mode due to financial problems and when the editor of Boating World Magazine (who I knew from previous freelance work) threw me a couple of stories and then told me that I could actually make a living doing it, I quit.  I'm now on my fourth Editor-in-Chief, Ryan McNally, and have now been with Boating World for eight years now. In a nutshell, I love it. They have been a great magazine to work for.

One major reason why boaters buy Boating World is to read the boat tests. Do you really test the boats or do you just call up a builder and tell them to send model such and such with a couple of good looking bikini clad babes and party all day? We are all friends so you can be honest. 

Everything I write about - right on down to the two-paragraph First Impressions - I have actually left my butt imprint on the seat. Unfortunately, most magazines test boats at dealer meetings and press events where you can get on the boat, but for a limited time only. Although you can run the performance numbers and get an idea how it handles, you really can’t get a true feel for the boat, in my opinion. So I’ve always tried to use a boat as it was intended, and often, I spend a long time on a boat. This year I reviewed two boats for our five-page-long Boat of the Month piece that was 600 and 1,000 miles long respectively. The first was a Glacier Bay 3470 catamaran that I took from Fort Lauderdale to Charleston, South Carolina and the later was a Godfrey Hurricane Sundeck 260, which is a deck boat that we ran from Alton, Illinois (north of St. Louis) all the way to Fort Walton Beach in the Florida Panhandle. Keep in mind these were boat tests, not feature stories. The other day I tested the Boston Whaler 320 Outrage with the new Mercury Verado outboards on a really macho run. We shoved off from Daytona Beach at 0h!-five-hundred and ran 155 miles offshore to a twenty-foot long, anchored weather station, then fished for five hours and ran 155-miles back - all in one day. It was worth it too, the first fish we caught was a 48-pound dolphin and on the way in we nailed a 55-pound yellow fin tuna. That’s how I like to test boats.

After all these years of "testing", you must have had quite a few, let's say embarrassing situations or mishaps. I need details. Are these a by product of your work or intentionally created in the name of product evaluation?

That has never happened to me because I’m an expert boater….yeah, right. The truth is that if you spend enough time around boats, you are going to screw up.  This is why I always include my foul-ups in my articles because I think the average boater can relate to that. The bad thing about writers is that we spend a lot of time at the same events and, invariably, when you make a mistake, it’s in front of a dozen of your peers. Of course we never rib each other, because we wouldn’t want to hurt another writer’s feelings. As they say on the Internet…”lol.”

Here’s a good one. One of the first boats I ever tested for a magazine was a luxury pontoon boat. Well, I had my reporter’s notebook with the spiral spring at the top and put my pen through it and jammed it in my back pocket. And I proceeded to sit in every seat on the boat to test them out. After about an hour, I noticed that there were blue ink marks on every seats and I thought, ”Hmmm, that’s odd.” Then I noticed it was MY deployed ballpoint pen that was “grafitti-cizing” the pristine white upholstery. I about died. It was then that I found out that spit – even when vigorously rubbed with an index finger – isn’t very effective in removing indelible ink stains. Seriously, in 40 years of boating I’ve done it all: gotten lost, run aground, forgotten to put in the plug (it was my wife’s fault), and botched numerous docking maneuvers….just like every other avid boater.

Obviously there are a lot of publications out there. How competitive are you with your rivals on and off the water. Do you pull each others drain plugs or do you actually get along?

We actually get along very well. You tend to see the same dozen guys at every event and these tend to be your “hangin'- around-with buddies.” All except that Randy Vance guy (just kidding, he’s a friend). (Alan is of course referring to Randy Vance that we interview previously). Most of these writers are representing magazines, and if you are a jerk, you will stand out like a sailboat at an SKA fishing tournament (obligatory marine reference).

I'm guessing that you have tested somewhere between 100 and a million boats over the years. I'm sure that has given you a chance to develop some opinions. If someone called you up and said, "Alan, I need you to design the most perfect boat in the world" Would you: a: tell me never to call again? b: change your number? or c: let us in on what you think such a boat would be like?

You probably know what my answer will be: There is no such thing. Maybe if everyone were the same, you could design the perfect boat. But just go to a bowling alley and look at the balls in the rack and you will see a study in human variance. For me, I need more than one boat. I need one boat to go offshore and a smaller one for kicking around inshore. I like cuddy cabin boats because I enjoy sleeping on the water, but I want something small enough to trailer because I like to explore. As far as the features, I feel like Andy Rooney sometimes. You know, like, “You know what I hate.” Here is the short list of things that make me cranky: not enough cup holders (or none at all), windshields that don’t shield you from the wind or that impair my vision. I don’t want to get off on a rant here (apologies to Dennis Miller) but I owned an old 1968 Stamas 24 cuddy for 12 years that had two windshields that you could flip up and they were great. When you needed protection, you secured them down, when you wanted a breeze or wanted better visibility like when looking for birds, you flipped them up. Nobody makes them like that anymore, not even Stamas. Why? Because they don’t look cool enough I suppose. I guess you could say that “form over function” is my biggest beef. 

When I go out in an individual’s boat sometimes they are a little intimidated because I get to test all the latest and greatest boats. They frequently apologize because their boat isn’t new and is maybe a little rough around the edges. I’m not a snob, I tell them not to worry; if it floats and it moves it’s a damn good boat to me.

After spending so much time on the water for work, do you still feel like going boating on your off hours or do you have a list of excuses that you keep at the ready so you can get out of that cruise with the in-laws?

Actually, it’s just the opposite; I wish I could do more boating. The one thing that this job has done for me is to expose me to all different kinds of boating and fishing, and there just aren’t enough days in the month to scratch every itch. My newest favorite thing to do is to go boat camping without knowing where I’m going to set up the tent each night. It’s a great adventure to try to find the perfect spot. It gets really interesting when you haven’t found a suitable spot and its getting dark. When I go on fishing trips to places like the Everglades, I like to play a little game: I only take staples for food, like potatoes or beans and rice, and if I don’t catch fish, which happens all too often, I pay the penalty.

When you're not on the water, you're probably writing about being on the water. Do you find yourself walking around mumbling incoherently, unable to come up with story ideas? How do you keep the magazine and specifically your writing fresh issue after issue?

It is hard to keep it fresh, especially with boat reviews. I see some writers who seem to use a computer program to crank out a boat review. That can happen when you focus on the technical aspects like construction and such. At Boating World, we try to convey to the reader what it is like to sit in the seat and use the darn thing. I think one of the tricks is to tell a story along with the boat review, which is hard if you only spend a limited time on a boat. That’s why I like to use a boat like it was designed to be used, it’s not only more fun, but it keeps the writing fresh. Also, if you view writing as a chore, it probably won’t be very good, but I actually enjoy the process. Boating World is great to work for because they encourage the use of humor, even if it’s a little off the wall. I really enjoy writing my monthly fishing humor column. I figure if I can make myself giggle, I’ve done pretty well, because I’m my own toughest critic. 

Am I right about this guy or what? The most annoying part is that he makes it all look so easy. So go find a comfy chair and start enjoying Alan's work in the latest issue of Boating World. I guarantee you'll have a grin on your face before you know it. If you aren't already a subscriber, go to www.boatingworldonline.com  and do something about it!!

We have to put in the legal stuff.               

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