2011

2011 Best Boats Cruising Multihull + Accommodations: Discovery 50

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 12, 2011

John Charnley, founder of Discovery Yachts, is a circumnavigator whose vision of the ideal world-girdling yacht metamorphosed into the Discovery 55, a fast, strong, attractive and practical cruiser. It has now evolved yet again into the Discovery 50 catamaran, which is—not surprisingly—fast, strong, attractive and practical. Designed by Bill Dixon, who is known more for large high-end

2011 Best Boats Most Innovative Rig: Radical Bay 8000

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 12, 2011

No, the idea of putting a parallel, or biplane, rig on a catamaran is not in itself novel. Those with long memories will recall Crossbow, a 60-foot biplane cat that set a sailing speed record (36 knots) back in 1980. Younger sailors will refer to the ill-fated 120-foot Team Phillips that Pete Goss put together for The Race in 2000. A few adventurous souls have also installed such rigs on smaller

2011 Best Boats Performance, 30ft & Under: X-Treme 25

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 12, 2011

This boat, in a word, is clean. While there’s nothing knockout innovative about the Lutra Studio-designed X-Treme 25, it perfectly fulfills its design brief as a make-no-bones-about-it sportboat that can test sailors of all ability levels.The sexiest thing about this speed machine is its distinctive hull form. A modest chine runs forward from the transom to the chainplates and the forward

2011 Best Boats Best Dinghy: Topaz TAZ

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 12, 2011

Although it can be easily singlehanded, the 9ft 8in TAZ, from Topper International, can handle an adult and child, making it ideal for training or parent/offspring daysails.Better still, this is a boat with a Bermudian rig that both prepares beginners for the rigs they will be handling as adolescents and adapts to their needs as they develop as sailors. Specifically, the basic rig flies a

2011 Best Boats Cruising Monohull Under 50ft: Presto 30

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

One thing we particularly like about this boat is that it reminds us there are many different ways to go cruising. A shoal-draft sharpie based loosely on a boat designed in 1885, the Presto 30 is a very modern reinterpretation of a very traditional archetype. A simple, trailerable, beachable boat that is fast, fun and easy to sail, it also has an enclosed head, a dedicated galley and enough berth

2011 Best Boats Performance, 30ft+: Beneteau First 30

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

No Volvo 70 designer has been more successful than Juan Kouyoumdjian, so it should come as no surprise that Juan K’s first foray into production monohulls has produced a boat that resembles a miniature VO70—but with a cruising interior.The First 30’s performance pedigree starts with her hull form: hard chines run from either side of her wide transom and carry forward to the boat’s max

2011 Best Boats Daysailer: C.W. Hood 32

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

This year, we decided to create a special category for the elegant daysailer. These boats don’t fit in the cruising or performance boats categories, and it’s a shame to leave such beautiful crafts unacknowledged. There was a strong field this year, but our judges were unanimous in electing the C.W. Hood 32 as the one that stood out above the rest. With its long, lean hull, sweeping overhangs,

2011 Best Boats Green Award: Hunter 27e

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The ELCO company introduced its first electric boat motors at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. And now we’ve seen the re-introduction of ELCO electric motors on a Hunter 27 at the 2010 Annapolis boat show. In the intervening 117 years considerable changes in electric motor and battery technology have radically transformed the efficiency and

2011 Best Boats Deck and Cockpit: J/111

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

There’s a lot to like about the new J/111—an aggressive rig, racy good looks, a hull form that loves to be driven—and tying it all together is one of the best production-boat cockpits we’ve seen. J/Boats has had decades to improve on the simple trench it carved out of the aft deck of the J/24, and it hit the ball out of the park on this one.The primary winches are well placed for tending

2011 Best Boats Flagship Multihull: Gunboat 66

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 11, 2011

Opulent luxury meets speed-freak performance in the Morrelli & Melvin-designed Gunboat 66. Constructed in South Africa out of carbon fiber, the Gunboat has a saloon that offers close to 360 degrees of visibility and appears to be crafted of acres of perfectly matched solid hardwood. In reality all the luscious furniture is carbon and honeycomb with a hardwood veneer. The result is a featherweight