Best Boats

Best Boats 2012: Farr 400 One Design (Performance 30ft and Over)

by David Schmidt, Posted November 17, 2011

The Farr 400’s all-carbon construction, powerful sailplan and excellent deck and cockpit layout make it a convincing successor to the aging Farr 40. The 400’s lifting keel and two-part carbon mast (supported by EC6 standing rigging) also allow for cost-effective shipping in a 40-foot container, facilitating international competition.

The best of the rest

by Sail Staff, Posted February 4, 2003

Each of these boats deserves to be recognized for a specific feature, design, or construction technique that was particularly innovative and/or well executed.Island Packet 486's nav stationAny offshore navigator would love to call this nerve-center nav station home. There's room to mount every imaginable electronic gadget, the varnished teak chart table is big enough to unfold a

2004 Best Boats

by Sail Staff, Posted September 18, 2006

The fall boat shows in Newport, Rhode Island, Jersey City, New Jersey, and Annapolis, Maryland, gave us plenty to think about as we got our Best Boats program under way. We had advance warning of 55 new models making their way into the boating marketplace; this is a phenomenal number for a relatively small industry. Boats being what they are, there were a few no-shows, but there were more than

Best Boats 2007

by Sail Staff, Posted November 27, 2006

SAIL’s Best Boats program is designed to seek out and acknowledge true innovation and forward thinking; the awards are based on firsthand knowledge of the new boats we see at the shows. SAIL editors Peter Nielsen, Bill Springer and Kimball Livingston, and editor-at large Charlie Doane combed the docks at the fall boat shows and have given Editors’ Choice awards for innovation and overall

Best Boats 2006

by Sail Staff, Posted April 11, 2007

I needn’t point out that sailboats don’t evolve as quickly as electronics, but incremental changes over the years have gone a long way toward making boats safer, easier to sail, and more comfortable to live on. Each instance of applying fresh thinking to common problems—think staying out of the weather, or stowing the main—can claim a little credit for pushing the evolution of sailboats

Best Boats 2008

by Sail Staff, Posted December 20, 2007

There was a lot to see in this year’s Best Boats fleet. Multihull designer and guru Chris White, monohull designer Jeremy Wurmfeld, and I combed the docks at the Newport and Annapolis sailboat shows in search of boats worthy of SAIL’s Editors’ Choice awards for innovation and overall excellence. We walked the docks, familiarized ourselves with the fleet, and spent lots of time debating the merits

Evolution, not Revolution

by Nigel Calder, Posted November 12, 2008

October’s Annapolis Boat Show opened as Wall Street experienced one of the biggest sell-offs in history. With the scary economic news, it was easy to think that many people would put off investing in a new boat. That idea went out the window as VIP Thursday appeared to be more crowded than ever. Instead of panicking, sailors seemed to be turning to sailing, much as they did after 9/11—as a

2012 Best Boats Winners

by Sail Staff, Posted November 21, 2011

Among this year’s 2012 Best Boats Award winners are a cat with two cockpits, another cat with two tillers, a variable-displacement daysailer and a pair of red-hot raceboats. Clearly it takes more than a little bad economic news to keep the boatbuilding industry down!

Best Boats Nominees 2008

by Bill Springer, Posted August 3, 2011

During years of keeping my finger on the pulse of the new-boat market, I’ve seen boats get bigger and more complicated. I’ve seen construction materials and techniques evolve to produce lighter and stronger hulls. And I’ve seen the word “daysailer” used for everything from a 15-foot trailersailer to a sumptuous cruising boat measuring well over 40 feet. As this year’s fleet of new boats shows,

Best Boats Nominees 2009

by Bill Springer, Posted August 4, 2011

With foreclosures, credit woes, and skyrocketing oil prices painting a gloomy economic picture recently, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see so many new boats being introduced this year. And it makes perfect sense that boatbuilders should compete that much harder for our business. As they say on TV, “when [builders] compete, you win”—in this case you get better, more innovative, more