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December 11, 2012Motive 25RBoat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
The slick Motive 25R was a showstopper at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis (and the Newport International Boatshow where it was named best-in-show). In the BOTY fleet, it was certainly the most unique and most intriguing. According to Motive Trimaran founder Pete Ansel, a special-effects-specialist-turned-boatbuilder, the concept of the Motive 25R is based on the popularity of "raiding" (adventure racing/camping) in Europe, the desire to have something with the performance of a Weta Trimaran and trampoline space on which to sleep.
Ansel also says the design emphasis was on "easy performance," so to achieve this there’s no boom to have to deal with, it has simple sail-control systems, and a clever way to remove the amas for trailering. The judges, however, couldn’t overlook two serious construction issues that appeared during the test sail: The center hull’s deck wasn’t cored so it flexed underfoot and creased beneath the gennaker winch when it was loaded (preventing them from flying the screecher), and the four synthetic cables between the main hull and the amas regularly dragged through the water (the angle of these, said designer Jeremy Wurmfeld, would be adjusted).
The judges also felt that the rig (which did not have a mast rotator, which is important on multihulls) was too short, and as a result, the boat was underpowered. “This is one of those boats that’s great in concept but needs a lot more time in development and workup,” said Greg Stewart. “It wasn’t ready.”
We hope to see a finished version for BOTY 2014 because the potential for something very cool is there in the waiting.
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December 11, 2012Ker 40 by McConaghy BoatsBest Handicap Racer
Photos by Walter Cooper
The Ker 40 was designed strictly for IRC racing in overseas fleets (1.188), and in order to reduce the higher cost of a custom IRC build, McConaghy Boats offers the boat as a semi-custom option. The hull and deck are essentially fixed dimensions, but the interior and deck layout can be customized to suit the owner's racing agenda, including options for wheel versus tiller, and winch pedestal or not.
The judges sailed Catapult, built for East Coast owner Marc Glimcher, which has a schedule of primarily distance races, so the boat was set up to go offshore with nav station, berths, etc. The judges were most impressed with the quality of the build coming out of McConaghy's operation in China, as areas of clear coat interior exposed good attention to detail and finish. The boat, the judges said, was well balanced, and the high-aspect sailplan delivered plenty of power in the light-wind testing conditions. Base boat price is $318K.
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December 11, 2012Rondar K1Boat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
Rondar president Paul Young told our Boat of the Year judges that nearly 100 of these 15-foot singlehanded keelboats have been sold in England, with the typical buyer being middle-aged and preferring to "not end up in the drink every time they go sailing." That's a pretty specific ask for a narrow and lightweight (286-pound) dinghy, one that's accomplished with a 137-pound bulb attached to a lifting keel. To keep it interesting, they designed a clever jib-pole system that the judges said was easy to deploy for wing-on-wing sailing. They liked its upwind performance, but off the breeze, said Chuck Allen, "it was nothing special." Fellow panelist Tom Rich said the boat was fun to sail, and lively, but its $15,000 price tag would be a barrier to one-design class development.
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December 11, 2012J/70: 2013 Boat of the YearPhotos by Walter Cooper
Given the immedate success of the J/70, with hundreds of boats sold before the first was built, it was a foregone conclusion that the J/70 would end up among the judges' favorites. With their latest sensation J/Boats has its first ramp-launchable sportboat and a polished set of class rules in place before the first big regatta (Quantum Key West) in January. The judges all agreed it delivered the excitement of a small sportboat, and the stiffness and handling of a bigger boat, which should appeal to a wide range of sailors.
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December 11, 2012Harbor 30Boat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
The Harbor 30, from California's W.D. Schock, turned out to be a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing. The model our judges sailed was somewhat of a "de-tuned" version, sans optional asymmetric spinnaker and other features one might add for beer can racing. It wasn't quite finished at the factory, either, said the dealer, because it had to be rushed to the U.S. Sailboat Show, and the judges picked up on a few interior finish details that might otherwise be sorted at commissioning.
They were ready to dismiss it at the dock, but once they trimmed the sails and put the bow down, they were all impressed with how well it sailed. "Easy, and surprisingly, quick," is how BOTY judge Chuck Allen put it after his turn on the helm. It's a pretty boat for for some casual weekend cruising, and set up well for shorthanded and family sailing.
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December 11, 2012Dufour 36 PerformanceBest Crossover
Photos by Walter Cooper
For an owner seeking a sharp-looking raceboat to take off on for the weekend, the Dufour 36 Performance, selected as the Boat of the Year's Best Crossover, has everything to make that a reality: The cockpit is set up for racing, and even with an aluminum rig package, the boat was lively and quick. The interior, and even some of the more subtle cruising details, are so well thought out that you quickly forget you're sailing a dual-purpose boat.
There were several strong candidates in the Crossover category, but the Dufour 36 had all the right traits: excellent build, great speed and handling, and a respectable price tag for the quality ($225K). Most definitely, the best value of the fleet, the judges agreed.
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December 11, 2012C&C 101Boat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
The C&C 101 is billed as a return to C&C’s racing roots, and for this they tapped young in-house designer Tom McNeill. Teased by dying winds and a shortened test sail, the judges sailed the boat on two separate days so as to give it a fair test.
Short-tacking up the shoreline of the Naval Academy, the boat accelerated quickly out of the tacks, and was responsive on the helm to subtle course changes, characteristics the judges liked. The build quality and interior were positives as well, but there numerous issues of which the judges were critical, including the mainsheet system, which was difficult to trim, and the cockpit ergonomics, which while wide, and open, were not comfortable (the floor being too low, for example).
The judging panel from our sister publication, Cruising World, however, found no such issues and were most impressed with its entry-level pricing—$175K—bestowing the boat with their Domestic Boat of the Year award.
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December 11, 2012Bavaria B/OneBoat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
During dock inspections of the Bavaria Yachts-built B/One, the Boat of the Year judging panel was impressed with the superb quality of the build from Bavaria Yachts: tight, clean, and absolutely barren inside the boat. Inside is a white-painted cavern that can accept a drop in V-berth module. The layout is straight-forward—really, how else can you make a 20-foot sportboat any different with the control lines?
The B/One shares many similar design traits of the Farr 400; lots of volume from stern to rounded stem, and a nice chine return toward the transom. White, simple, and priced to move at $38,000, the judges wanted to love this boat and hoped it would give the J/70 a run for its money, but in the end, it didn’t blow them away. It felt sticky, they said, and the rudder (a rectangular, aluminum cassette foil) was stiff. “It had the responsiveness of a boat twice its size,” said judge Greg Stewart. But that said, it was very stable and would appeal to the sportboat buyer looking for something a little more forgiving.
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December 10, 2012Audi Melges 20: Miami Winter SeriesPhotos from the first event of the Miami Winter Series, Dec. 7-9, 2012.
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November 28, 2012Calamities of the Vendée GlobeThe nonstop solo around-the-world race has been called the "Everest of the Seas." Like Everest, the Vendée Globe takes prisoners. As the miles left to the finish diminish, so do the number of boats in the race.
