![](https://www.cruisingworld.com/uploads/2021/09/crw0219_fea4_boty91-hero-1024x512.jpg)
Besides the obvious numbers used to describe a sailboat — length, beam, draft and sail area — CW‘s Boat of the Year judges sometimes rely on sail area/displacement and displacement/length ratios, as well as decibels for sound while motoring, to compare similar vessels. One caveat, because sailboat design and building materials change over time: The design ratios work best when looking at boats of a similar era rather than comparing, say, a 1975 cruiser to a modern boat of similar size.
Let’s start with displacement/length. Displacement is a measure of how much water a particular hull form displaces, and length is, well, length. In general terms, the lower the D/L ratio is, the less water is being displaced for a given length, which would indicate better performance. Performance, though, often reflects speed, but not necessarily comfort underway. Long-distance cruisers might get there fast on a boat with a very low D/L figure, but they might not get much sleep along the way because of the boat’s lively movement in a seaway.
Sail area/displacement is a ratio that affects how much horsepower a particular sail plan has to push a vessel. Most cruising boats today will have an SA/D number in the high teens and low 20s, with the higher the ratio indicating a more powerful rig. Again, the numbers can deceive. The trend today is toward sail plans with non-overlapping jibs. Boats sail just fine upwind, but the minute you bear away, the relatively small jib quickly becomes ineffective. This, in turn, has been a boon for the suppliers of colored sails, such as code zeros and cruising spinnakers.
![Decibel measurements](https://www.cruisingworld.com/uploads/2021/09/crw0219_fea4_boty92.jpg)
Lastly, our BOTY judges measure the sound or decibel levels aboard every boat when motoring. Why? First, it’s hard to sleep on a loud boat, and if the crew can’t stay rested, it can lead to all sorts of other problems. Second, silence doesn’t come cheap. Besides a lack of proper sound insulation, rattles and creaks caused by poor construction can all contribute to the din. To put things in perspective, 50 db is equivalent to a quiet conversation at home, and 60 db is akin to background music at a restaurant. Noise in the upper 70 db range can be considered annoying; above 80 db, noise can become harmful after long exposure.
![Specifications](https://www.cruisingworld.com/uploads/2021/09/screen-shot-2018-12-07-at-2.25.21-pm.jpg)
2019 Boat of the Year Specifications
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![Seatrial results](https://www.cruisingworld.com/uploads/2021/09/screen_shot_2018-12-07_at_1.58.02_pm-1024x517.png)
2019 Boat of the Year Sea Trial Results
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Throughout the year, Cruising World publishes and posts online full-length reviews of the sailboats that took part in Boat of the Year testing, as well as other new models the editors have a chance to get aboard and sail. Check out the extensive archive of sailboat reviews at cruisingworld.com/sailboats.