We are thrilled to present the 200th issue of Pacific Powerboat Magazine. D&B Publishing is also gearing up to celebrate another significant milestone next year—our 30th year anniversary in business, an incredible achievement! Much has changed since the release of our 100th issue, so we’re taking a moment to reflect on some key highlights and the journey that’s brought us to where we are today. To kick things off, we’re revisiting an article from the archives, penned by our late co-publisher and editor, Barry Thompson, when PowerBoat Magazine hit its 100th issue back in 2013.
PACIFIC POWERBOAT MAGAZINE
AT ISSUE 100:
Comments made by Editor and business partner at the time, the late Barry Thompson.
It only seems like yesterday that Doug Dukeson and I launched the first issue of NZ Propeller Magazine at the 1996 New Zealand Boat Show. The country’s first magazine totally dedicated to trailer boats, NZ Propeller Magazine proved an instant success.
The cover of the very first issue of Propeller Magazine.
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That first issue featured a Buccaneer 720 Elite on the cover and our first boat tests were the Buccaneer 720 plus a Bonito 685 Calais and an Alli-Craft 450. We also ran the first of our ongoing features on buyers guides with a look at twenty 5.5m GRP cabin boats and a story on the growth in sales of diesel sterndrives. We followed that over the years with the industry’s first engine shootouts on everything from 30hp through to 300hp outboards and compared petrol, diesel and outboard power on the same boats.
One thing we have prided ourselves on over the past 17 years is our well-researched and in-depth technical articles.
Interestingly, we had advertisers in that first issue, such as Buccaneer, Fi-Glass, DMW Trailers, L&B, Tohatsu, Rayglass, CSB Huntsman, Volvo Penta, Mercury, Stabicraft and Yamaha that are still with us today and in this 100th issue.
Boat tests have always been a strong point of the magazine, with many hundreds of trailer boat reviews to date. Many of those are already on our website for purchase, and in time, we hope to have just about all of them available to download. We have always tried to offer a mixed bag of boats in each issue and not concentrate on one particular style or size.
During the buoyant years pre the GFC, there were plenty of boats available, with local manufacturers and importers endlessly coming up with new models, so the choices were vast. That has certainly changed in recent years, with slim pickings in some areas, although the alloy boat market seems to keep producing new offerings more so than the fibreglass builders.
In 1998 we could see a gap in the non-trailerable boat market so we launched Pacific MotorYacht to cater for powerboats over 10m. This was at a time when the America’s Cup was in New Zealand and the big boat industry was riding a high. Initially a quarterly, this soon changed to a bi-monthly and was published on alternate months to NZ Propeller. With interest building for the magazines in Australia, we expanded our horizons in 2001 and started distribution across the Tasman. Sales were good but we could see the need for a specialist Australian edition. Along with experienced and well respected marine journalist Barry Tyler, who took up the role as our Australian editor, we launched Australian Propeller in May 2003. While we enjoyed some buoyant times, as the market got tighter so did the advertising returns and in March 2005, after 12 issues we decided to absorb it back into NZ Propeller.
200 ISSUES ON
Since releasing its 100th issue in 2013, Pacific PowerBoat Magazine (after the merge of Propeller and Launch & Motor Yacht Magazines) has continued to consistently provide extensive coverage of the power boating industry, including boat reviews, equipment updates, safety tips, destination guides, and buyer’s guides. Throughout its 200 issues, the magazine has reviewed well over 1,000 boats and published approximately 850 features across countless pages.
Since the 100th issue of Pacific PowerBoat Magazine was published in 2013, we expanded our content by including additional stand-alone magazines within each issue, targeting specific sectors of the marine market to include:
– Â Alloy Boat Magazine
– Â Pacific PassageMaker Annual
– Â RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat Magazine)
– Â PWC (Personal Water Craft Magazine)
We also embraced digital platforms, allowing readers to access issues on various devices, phones, ipads and computers, switching between PDF and text modes, and being able to receive notifications for new issues available. The PowerBoat website now stores current and back issues 116 in fact, past features and boat reviews which are now sitting at a count of 919.
We recorded the 25th year anniversary of D&B Publishing in May/June 2021 issue and celebrated at the 2021 Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show.
In late 2022, Barry, with over 50 years of marine publishing, negotiated a semi- retirement package with 26 year business partner Doug Dukeson, to enable him to kick back and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle, which he had been doing in more recent times, still as a contributor to PowerBoat.
Doug Dukeson and his wife Carla took over the helm of PowerBoat Magazine in April 2023.
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In May 2023, Holly Dukeson (Doug’s daughter) returned from her Europe adventures and joined the team, as Sales and Marketing Manager, bringing fresh new youthful ideas to the Pacific PowerBoat portfolio.
Sadly, tragedy struck the D&B team along with the rest of the marine industry when Barry Thompson passed away suddenly
on 8 September 2023. Barry, along with Doug, was a familiar sight at boat shows, factories, and international marine industry events.
His relaxed persona, wit and good humour were a testament to his humble nature, even though many would say that his industry and product knowledge surpassed most others in the marine industry. Husband to Soraja, father to Carl, Mitchell and Travis – long-time business partner of Doug Dukeson and mentor to so many, Barry left this world far too soon and the tributes and celebrations of his life, both in NZ and Australia, were a testament of the lives he touched.
Over the past 28 years, the D&B Publishing team have published Pacific Powerboat Magazine along with various annuals, including Alloy Boat Magazine, PWC Annual, Performance and Race Boat, Pacific PassageMaker, RIB Annual, several Boat Test Books and even an edition of China Yachting, a Chinese version of Pacific MotorYacht.
These highlights demonstrate Pacific PowerBoat Magazine’s commitment for almost 30 years to provide comprehensive coverage of the powerboating industry and its evolution to meet readers’ changing needs.
Today, Doug Dukeson runs the magazine alongside his wife, Carla, and daughter, Holly, making it a real family affair with a multi-generational team – along with their knowable team of contributors they are passionate and moving with the times to deliver a mix of digital and printed versions of your favourite power boat fix.
