About Skipper Bootshandel

Skipper Bootshandel

Skipper Bootshandel is a German monthly watersports magazine published by the MuP Verlag GmbH of Munich. First issued in 1978, it is one of the leading practical lifestyle magazines for passionate motorboat and sailing enthusiasts, covering motorboats and sailboats with a focus on detailed boat tests, technology, cruising grounds, and the maritime lifestyle. Since August 2016 it has appeared merged with the former Bootshandel-Magazin, combining the two brands' editorial teams and readerships into a single title distributed across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries, with the merged magazine carrying both names and both traditions forward.

Overview

Skipper Bootshandel appears twelve times a year as a print magazine, complemented by the portal skipper-bootshandel.de and the skipperonline.de platform, with e-paper and app editions for mobile reading. The editorial program centers on boats, cruises, and technology: comprehensive test reports on new motorboats and sailing boats, tow vehicles and trailers, and maritime equipment form the core, serving beginners and professionals alike. Technology coverage addresses boat electronics, engines, and onboard systems, while practical tips and tricks from the workshop give readers hands-on guidance for maintenance, outfitting, and seamanship on their own boats throughout the season.

Beyond the boats themselves, the magazine covers the maritime lifestyle: reports on attractive cruising grounds and destinations in Germany and abroad, fishing reports, and lifestyle and accessories. The large used-boat market is one of the magazine's signature features, offering readers one of the largest marketplaces for pre-owned boats in the German-speaking world. Articles from the sister magazine Rute&Rolle, the MuP fishing title, extend the coverage into angling, giving the magazine's fishing readers dedicated content from a specialist editorial team.

The readership is the watersports enthusiast aged thirty and above with a higher household income: motorboat and sailing fans, anglers, and the boating trade's customers. The magazine positions itself as an important link between the trade and the consumer, covering the world of boats with the exception of multimillion-euro luxury yachts. The cover price is 4.90 euros, and the magazine is sold at newsagents across Germany and in selected European watersports regions, as well as by subscription, with the next issue's on-sale date published in advance for readers and retailers.

History

Skipper was first issued in 1978, establishing itself as the practical magazine for motorized watersports and as a link between the boating trade and consumers. The MuP Verlag of Munich, a specialist publisher for special-interest magazines, developed the title into one of the leading watersports magazines in the German-speaking world, with the skipperonline.de portal extending the brand digitally and the magazine's test journalism becoming its trademark. The title's longevity reflects the loyalty of its readership and the enduring appeal of its practical approach.

In May 1998 the Bootshandel-Magazin was founded in Berlin as a trade journal for sailors and motorboaters, distributed across the German-speaking world. On August 1, 2016, the MuP Verlag took over the Bootshandel title and merged it with Skipper into SKIPPER Bootshandel, with the last standalone Bootshandel issue appearing on July 27, 2016. MuP's managing director Christoph Mattes described the two strong brands as complementing each other perfectly, with the merged title offering more topics, more pages, more service, and more watersports enjoyment, and the publisher committing to expand its offers for readers and advertisers in the combined title.

Since the merger, SKIPPER Bootshandel has continued as the combined monthly, with the editorial teams of both magazines contributing. The editor-in-chief is Peter Marienfeld, with Christoph Mattes as publisher. The IVW-reported sold circulation for the first quarter of 2025 was 5,920 copies, with subscription and newsstand sales of 2,103 copies, figures that reflect the title's position as a specialist magazine with a loyal, defined readership of committed watersports enthusiasts.

Coverage and Content

Boat tests form the heart of the magazine: detailed test reports on new motorboats, sailing boats, tow vehicles, and trailers, examining design, technical data, and the boats' strengths. The tests serve both newcomers choosing their first boat and experienced owners comparing models. Technology coverage addresses engines, electronics, and onboard equipment, with practical tips for maintenance and operation, and the magazine's workshop tips give readers hands-on guidance for their own boats, from winterization to troubleshooting.

Cruising-ground reports take readers to attractive boating destinations: the German coasts and lakes, the Mediterranean, and watersports regions across Europe. Fishing reports and the Rute&Rolle sister-magazine content serve the angling readership. Lifestyle coverage addresses accessories, clothing, and the maritime way of life. The news sections report on the watersports scene: new products, industry developments, and events, keeping readers current on the market and the community.

The used-boat market is a defining feature: one of the largest marketplaces for pre-owned boats in the German-speaking world, from small inflatables through motorboats of all sizes to sailing yachts. For buyers and sellers alike, the market section makes the magazine a transactional medium as well as an editorial one, and advertisers from the boat trade find in it a direct route to purchasing readers actively looking for their next boat.

Organization and Ownership

Skipper Bootshandel is published by the MuP Verlag GmbH, Nymphenburger Strasse 20b, 80335 Munich. The publisher is Christoph Mattes, and the editor-in-chief is Peter Marienfeld. The MuP Verlag's portfolio includes special-interest magazines for watersports and fishing, with Rute&Rolle as the sister title contributing angling content. The business model combines newsstand and subscription sales with advertising from the boating industry, brand manufacturers, and lifestyle companies, which find in the magazine an optimal environment for their brands, products, and services, and with the used-boat market as an additional revenue stream serving both private and trade sellers.

Digital Presence

The portal skipper-bootshandel.de and the skipperonline.de platform extend the print magazine digitally, presenting relevant topics to thousands of unique users. E-paper and app editions guarantee mobile reading anywhere and at any time. The digital presence serves both the editorial content and the used-boat market, giving the transactional features an online home alongside the print marketplace, and the portals keep the brand present between the monthly print issues, serving readers planning their next season on the water.

The Boating Trade's Consumer Link

Skipper Bootshandel's positioning as the link between the boating trade and the consumer defines its editorial character: the magazine writes for buyers, not just dreamers, with tests, prices, and market information that support purchasing decisions. The trade finds in it a direct channel to the buying readership, and readers find in it the orientation they need in a market of many models and options. This transactional role, anchored in the used-boat market and the test journalism, has sustained the title since 1978 and through the 2016 merger into its current form.

The Practical Magazine of Watersports

Skipper Bootshandel has served German-speaking watersports enthusiasts since 1978: a monthly magazine that combines the practical test journalism of the boating press with the lifestyle coverage of the maritime world. Merged with the Bootshandel-Magazin in 2016, published by Munich's MuP Verlag, it remains the link between the boating trade and the consumer, and one of the leading watersports magazines in the German-speaking world, with its boat tests, cruising reports, and used-boat market as the pillars of the offering and its portals as the digital extension into the next decades of boating.