July 31, 2002

Some have wondered, "Pascoe surveys yachts, so why is he writing a book on outboards?" Easy answer there: As the prices of these boats continued to escalate in recent years, increasingly I am asked to survey outboards as people have become willing to pay me a reasonable fee. This continued to the point where nearly half the boats I did were outboards. And since outboard buyers are most often first-time buyers, such a book made sense to me.

This book is totally dedicated to blue water type outboard boats, not jet boats, I/O’s, pontoon boats, bass boats or mega yachts. You won’t be just reading part of it and disregarding the rest. Or paying for something that is irrelevant.  What I mean by "blue water" type boats are boats that are sea worthy for heading out into larger bodies of water, not just small lakes and protected bays, etc.

Buyers' Guide to Outboard Boats strives to be relevant to both the novice and more experienced boat owner by addressing the real world issues he faces based on the hundreds, perhaps even thousands questions I’m asked by customers when I do surveys for them. Many people want to totally simplify the matter by asking, "Which boat should I buy?" Ah, if life were only that easy! No one can answer that question since no one but the buyer knows completely what he wants and can afford.

Even so, I do my level best to lead the reader to his own answers. I do, of course, have my own opinions and I’m not afraid to give them. One of these is that I think it is unwise to shortchange quality on a product that is constantly sitting in water and frequently flying off the tops of waves with your life contained between its gunwales.

David Pascoe is the author of "Surveying Fiberglass Power Boats" (2001, 2nd Edition - 2005), "Mid Size Power Boats" (2003) and "Marine Investigations" (2004).

In addition to readers in the United States, boaters and boat industry professionals worldwide from over 60 countries have purchased David Pascoe's books, since introduction of his first book in 2001.