ON THE WATER -- A report for the consuming boater

Paul Clinton

Need to know how to install a new main halyard without climbing the

mast? Or how to avoid seasickness? How about changing the oil on a diesel

engine?

Boaters seeking answers to those questions and others have been

turning to Scott Leigh’s Dockside magazine since the Newport Beach

resident founded it in 1993.

Leigh, an avid boater himself, opened shop in a Westside Costa Mesa

office complex to provide tips, reviews of new equipment and other

articles geared to boat owners.

The free magazine can be found at boatyards, yacht clubs and marine

supply stores from Baja to the Canadian border. About 94% of readers of

Dockside, according to a survey, own a boat.

The magazine is designed as a “Consumer Report” for boaters, Leigh

said.

Leigh, 51, founded the magazine as an offshoot of his Scott

Advertising, a firm he founded in 1990.

The economy and boating industry were on the rocks in 1993, but the

magazine found its niche, Leigh said.

“The magazine was probably started at the worst possible time,” Leigh

acknowledged. “A magazine is an ongoing creative process. You can change

it, fix it, make it better.”

Those changes included adding the Northwest in 1995 and Northern

California in 1996.

Leigh has visions of taking his magazine to the next level. He is now

working to get it put on newsstands, where it would no longer be free.

He also hopes to launch other regional editions of Dockside geared

toward other centers of leisure boating, including the Gulf Coast and

Florida.

Also on his plate is a recurring feature Leigh hopes to launch next

year. Leigh plans to buy a boat and allow his editors and writers to

refurbish it with new equipment. The project would be serialized in the

magazine so readers can follow each repair.

Leigh, an editor-publisher hyphenate, began his career as a manager

and marketing man for a chain of West Coast restaurants. After 15 years,

Leigh formed his own company.

“I’ve always liked advertising,” Leigh said. “I like working for

myself.”