Messing About In Boats – Magazine Archive

For 40 years, Bob Hicks shared his passion for boating with thousands of subscribers through his magazine Messing About In Boats, stating in the first issue:

“I like wooden boats. I like sailing wooden boats. I like rowing wooden boats. I like restoring and building wooden boats. I also like the old one lunger motor launches and mahogany speed boats. I’ve found wood/canvas canoes fascinating. I like the idea of coastal cruising in small boats. I think steam boats are great. I’m not a purist about wooden boats I just prefer wood to use and work on.”

Our kinda guy.

Messing About In Boats published their last issue in 2022, and a grassroots campaign raised enough money to digitize the entire archive and make them available to the public. Bob has generously allowed us to share these well-scanned digital magazines with members of Off Center Harbor. It’s a massive archive, so we will be releasing these over time and as completely as we have available.


Volume 1 (1983-84)

Volume 2 (1984-5)

Volume 3 (1985-6)

Volume 4 (1986-7)

Volume 5 (1987-8)