Boat Of The Year Award Nominees Announced For 2016

Annapolis, MD (October 9, 2015) – Cruising World and Sailing World magazines announced today the nominees for the 2016 Boat of the Year (BOTY) awards at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md. The annual awards recognize and honor the best and newest sailboat models introduced to the North American market.

Nominating panels consisting of each magazine’s editors examined the new sailboat models before the start of the show. The nominated boats will move on to the judging round, during which the boats will be inspected and sailed by teams of independent judges for each magazine.

“The 20 nominees for our 2016 Boat of the Year competition represent a vast and impressive collection of performance cruisers, long-distance voyagers and cruising catamarans,” said Cruising World Executive Editor Herb McCormick. “This year, especially, our independent panel of judges will really have their work cut out for them.”

The Cruising World judges will focus on production boats laid out and equipped for coastal and offshore cruising and voyaging, while judges on the Sailing World panel will concentrate on boats designed and built for racing and performance sailing.

The 2016 BOTY winners will be announced in the January issue of Cruising World and the January/February issue of Sailing World — both set to hit newsstands in mid-December.

“Diverse is the term that best describes our field of 13 nominees,” said Dave Reed, editor of Sailing World. “We have new raceboat models that will cater to every type of performance sailor, from our dinghies to the impressive crossovers and our two foiling catamarans. Sailboat design is so evolutionary, and I think this year’s new boats are really pushing the evolution much further.”

The Cruising World 2016 Boat of the Year nominees are:

Midsize Cruisers
Dufour 350
Dufour 382
Hanse 315
Marlow-Hunter 31

Performance Cruisers
Dehler 46
Grand Soleil 43
Italia Yachts 13.98
Salona 41
X-Yachts Xc-45

Full-Size Cruisers, Under 50 Feet
Azuree 46
Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk III
Oyster 475

Full-Size Cruisers, Over 50 Feet
Beneteau Oceanis 60
Jeanneau 54
Passport 545

Cruising Catamarans
Bali 4.3 Loft
Bavaria Catamaran Open 40
Fountaine Pajot Ipanema 58
Leopard 40
Voyage 480

Sailing World’s performance-oriented models for Boat of the Year Nominees are:
Melges 14
RS Quest
Nacra 15
FarEast 28
Whisper Catamaran
Seascape 18
Salona 41
Italia Yachts 13.98
Dehler 46
Grand Soleil 43
X-Yachts Xc-45
Hanse 315
Gunboat G4

The 2016 awards mark the 32nd anniversary of the BOTY awards for Sailing World and the 23rd for Cruising World.