The Pleasure of Print: A New Boating Magazine for the Pacific Northwest
This week, Floatplan sits down aboard a refit 1995 Tollycraft 57 with Craig Perry and Todd Feinroth, part of the team behind Nautical Northwest Magazine, to talk about the return of a high-quality print boating publication to the Pacific Northwest. They share how the magazine came to life, the vision behind the launch, and why the response from boaters, brokers, marinas, and marine businesses has been so strong.
Craig, a lifelong mariner who grew up at Skyline Marina in Anacortes, and Todd, a 30-year Seattle transplant with a background in venture capital and enterprise technology, explain how the magazine took shape. After connecting with longtime Northwest Yachting editor Norris Comer over a three-hour brainstorm at The Sloop Tavern, the vision crystallized: a free, advertising-supported publication covering the full spectrum of Pacific Northwest water life — from paddleboarding and scuba diving to sailing, power boating, and commercial maritime.
The conversation covers what sets the magazine apart: deeply reported human-interest stories (like Project 253, a program helping create marine industry career pathways for young people), coverage of remarkable regional achievements that go untold elsewhere, and a commitment to authentic, locally-written content at a time when many publications are leaning into AI-generated copy.
Just as important, it’s about the simple pleasure of print and having a real magazine to pick up, flip through, and keep aboard. Distribution is growing quickly, with 5,000 to 7,000 copies per issue reaching readers across multiple states and into Canada. One standout partnership: Kenmore Air, which placed the magazine in the seatbacks of all 25 floatplanes and across its passenger terminals, putting it directly in front of exactly the audience advertisers want to reach.
The episode also includes a preview of BoatsAndBrokers.ai, a new AI-powered boat search and listing platform Todd is developing to improve the experience for both brokers and buyers.
If you care about boating in the Pacific Northwest, the people behind it, and where the industry may be headed next, this episode is worth a listen.
Nautical Northwest Magazine
Instagram: @nauticalnwmagazine