A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

[drewpster]

Please stop. We used to watch your show because it was interesting and informative. You did real boat repair and restoration stuff. Now you sell high end toys and show off your yacht. The people who liked your show work on their own boats. You think if I could afford and 57' Monterey I would grind my own fiberglass? Gimme a break dude. If you cater only to high end boaters your ratings are bound to fall. Guys like that don't care what you think or work on their own boats. I know you need to make money but come on! Remember the advertiser only pays the bill if people are watching. There are allot more of guys like me who work on their own boats that watch the show than rich yachting types wanting to see your new bow thruster. Show me some information I can use, and I will start watching your show again.

rant from an ex-fan.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

I thought I was the only one that noticed that show going downhill in a hurry.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

My opinion is the show has already gone too far downhill to do anything about. My guess is we are more likely to see that show disappear, than to see it correct itself. Seems on some of them early in the year, (haven't watched it since) were just aimed to sell a companies part. Quite aggravating, when the only thing I can here is how good a part is, as opposed to how to install it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

loved it at first, now it's just an infomercial.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

loved it at first, now it's just an infomercial.

Just like that Trucks! show. What a joke that is.

 

[JB]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

"This Old House" did the same, and now "Home Again" is doing it, too. They don't touch houses worth less than a half million anymore. Heck, all of the home improvement shows think we are made of money.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

i love Extreme Make Over Home Edition. but they are doing almost the same thing. the majority of us can't afford what they build, how can these people they build the for afford to live there.

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

Most of these shows are junk...if you've ever done any boat repair, home remodeling, etc you can tell at a glance.

they build furniture, stain, seal, etc. they do all this before the normal drying times because they are under a crunch to get it done...it may look good for a while (wait till you try to remove the decorations on the stuff they've built and they're all stuck)...

In a lot of these cases the workmanship is less than desirable..maybe to someone w/out any clue, but for those that know what good work looks like, you can tell that this work was not done in a "workmanlike" manner! That's why I stopped watching....it's all for the novice that don't have a clue, decide they can go do a project and then wind up really messing it up!

ps...a lot of the cooking shows are the same way...my wife has made a lot of the dishes they do...and for the most part they all SUCK!

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

Norm Abram is one of the ones who I felt really knew what he was doing. Many others just follow a script.

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

Norm is a craftsman....does quality work....however the only downside is he has tools to do even the smallest task that most of us don't have...we can't justify to buy for 1 project....

I'm a woodworker and love what he does...but on most peoples budget you have to improvise......take nothing away from Norm....the man knows how to do woodworking...but I would like for the shows to get back to the average Joe!

 

[jenoble01]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

I don't how many here watch the auto shows on Spike TV on weekend mornings. I used to really enjoy Trucks before the new hosts came along as he did stuff that interested me. Now it seems that they throw mega bucks into all the projects on all of the shows. What happened to the old shows that used to be on the Former TNN(now spike) like Shadetree mechanic and those type shows. Horsepower tv is another one I used to enjoy, now it seems like the same show plays week after week. I mean how many mustangs or cameros are you going to do the same thing to. Now it seems if you watch one show, you've pretty well seen them all.

 

[chuck_050382]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

The old host from trucks has a show on espn called Gearz.

its more like the old Trucks!

 

[j442w30]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

I used to really enjoy the old saturday morning lineup on TNN, shows like the original Trucks, Shadetree Mechanic, and horsepower TV. I really do not like what it has turned into the "PowerBlock" I do not like the new hosts of Trucks, Horsepower is ok, the MuscleCar show is pretty good though. None of the stuff these shows would do would be anything I would ever consider. Like lifting a truck or supercharging or adding NOS to a muscle car.

 

[JB]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

I think they are all into promoting the sponsors products and using all the megabux equipment in their shops. Even Norm Abrams, who is a really great woodworker, has about $100K in professional grade equipment in his 2,000 square foot workshop.

I nearly barf when the guys on Spike finish an "affordable" project using many $K worth of equipment and say, casually, "That will only cost you X thousands of dollars."

We need Shadetree Mechanic back, and a boat maintenance/restoration show at the same level. When was the last time John G. replaced the transom and deck in a 30 year old runabout for a few (very few) hundred bux?

How about the original "This Old House" where Bob Vila repaired modest houses owned by mainstream people? Today they start out with budgets of hundreds of thousands of bux, NOT including the stuff donated by sponsors.

Boy!. The more I think about it the madder I get.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

As Haut would say, BIG TV.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

As Haut would say, BIG TV.

HMMMMM.......

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

There is a show on PBS that has this guy doing/making stuff all by hand tools, no power at all. Can't think of the name, but now he is a craftsman for sure.

 

[Mike722]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

The wood wright. I always wanted Norm to come to my house and build something with my tools.

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

There's a good show up here on H&GTV called "Holmes on Homes". Host, Mike Holmes does a weekly hour show on a "rescue" of people who's homes have been ruined or robbed by shady contractors. The gammut of homes he works on run from very modest to higher end. I don't know how his show is financed but I think the Ontario New Home Warranty & Insurance companies are involved along with the usual product endorcements by DeWalt etc. What differs with this show is that the host is an actual contractor, very professional, great crew and truly cares about his clients. It's definitely worth a watch if you can.

I've only seen net versions of Ship Shape TV, probably the earlier ones. I can see how these grass roots shows end up, with a little success, falling prey to the corporate sponsorships and their undue influence over their programming. We've all seen it with the boat magazines too. It's sad, but maybe something else will pop up in it's place.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: A message to Ship Shape TV and John G.

There is a show on PBS that has this guy doing/making stuff all by hand tools, no power at all. Can't think of the name, but now he is a craftsman for sure.

That show still around?? I have been looking for that for years. Dad and I used to watch it quite a bit, as we are partially what yall described as craftsmen (not carpenters as I accidentally typed), from everything from fine furniture, up to a few houses, and anything in between. I thought that show had disappeared.
We like Norm Abram a bit too. Especially the reruns of older shows, or the old ones you can get on VHS at the library. But then again, we do a lot of that stuff, and have a large shop, and many many pieces of high end woodworking equipment.