Our friend Jerry Culik found this great resource. It’s a digitized archive of Messing About in Boats, the beloved unconventional boating magazine published by Bob Hicks. Publication ceased in 2022. Off Center Harbor is making the archive freely available (currently no subscription needed) on their website. It’s a work in progress, currently not as complete as the one on the Internet Archive, but it is better organized in what it does have. It starts with Volume 1, Number 1 and goes sequentially through Volume 5, Number 24 (May 1983 through May 1988). The Internet Archive version has a greater range with significant gaps in coverage.
The interface feels as if you’re reading a paper magazine. You can’t search it electronically, though you can get to specific issues through the table of contents. It works best on a desktop, laptop or a tablet rather than a phone. If you have a tablet that can be mirrored to your TV, that could be a very comfortable way of reading while ensconced in your recliner, drinking your favorite hot beverage on a cold winter’s day.
You can find the archives at: