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At a press conference held on the bow of a catamaran at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, Cruising World editor John Burnham announced the nominees for our annual Boat of the Year (BOTY) awards.
The judges nominated 26 boats in six categories: small production cruisers, midsize cruisers, multihulls, full-size production cruisers, full-size cruisers and a special-purpose category called, “Nothing quite like it.”
Burnham addressed the boat manufacturers and journalists onhand for the ceremony, commenting, “This year we have something for everyone, ranging from motorsailers and a 39-footer that fits in a shipping container to entry-level 30-footers and million dollar voyagers.”
BOTY winners will be announced in the January issue of Cruising World, available on newsstands in mid-December. This year marks the 12th anniversary of CW’s BOTY contest.
Shortly after the Cruising World announcement, Sailing World associate editor Tony Bessinger announced nominees for SW’s BOTY awards.
“This may be be the biggest Boat of the Year event the magazine has ever held, with 19 entries, and it’s a great lineup,” said Bessinger. “Our smallest is a high-tech, foil-borne Moth class dinghy from Australia, the Blade Rider, our largest, the Beneteau First 50, designed by Philippe Briand. Our judges will be going through the boats from stem to stern dockside during the U.S. Sailboat Show, then putting them through their paces out on the Chesapeake the following week. To be able to test so many boats in a relatively short time span is an incredible opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Winners of Sailing World’s 2007 BOTY awards will be announced in the January/February issue of Sailing World. (A complete list of all BOTY nominees follows this story.)
Two independent judging panels evaluate and test boats for the BOTY contents. The Cruising World awards focus on production boats laid out and equipped for coastal and offshore cruising and voyaging, while the Sailing World awards focus on boats designed and built with racing in mind.
Any sailboat model introduced to the North American market between the 2005 and 2006 Annapolis Boat Shows is eligible, and builders may enter boats in both contests. In order to determine the nominees, judges scrutinized preliminary entries at the Newport Boat Show and during the opening days of the Annapolis show, evaluating the boats in terms of design, construction, seaworthiness, performance, purpose of the boat, fitness for the use intended, and cost.
Cruising World Boat of the Year Nominees
Small Production Cruisers
Bavaria 30 Cruiser
Catalina 309
Dufour 325
Midsize Cruisers
Alubat Ovni 395
Maestro 40
Malo 40
Najad 440
Multihulls
Broadblue 385
Lagoon 420
Leopard 46
Nautitech 47
Seawind 1160
Full-Size Production Cruisers
Bavaria 46 Cruiser
Beneteau 49
Hunter 45 CC
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 Performance
Moorings 51.5
Full-Size Cruisers
Amel 54
Beneteau First 50
Hallberg-Rassy 48
Passport Vista 515
Trintella 50
Special Purpose (“Nothing Quite Like It”)
Alerion Express 38
Far Harbor 39
Island Packet SP Cruiser
M-42
Sailing World Boat of the Year Nominees
Beneteau First 10R
Beneteau First 50
Corsair Sprint 750
e33
esse 850
Flying Tiger 10M
Grand Soleil 37
J/124
J/92-S
Maestro 40
Nacra Formula 18
Open 5.70
O’pen Bic
Pixel
Raptor 16
Salona 37
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 Performance
Blade Rider
X-35
