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Boat of the Year NomineePhotos by Walter CooperDuring 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.

During the week of Oct. 8, SW's Boat of the Year judges put 15 new models to the test on the Chesapeake Bay. The best of the best will be announced in SW's January/February 2013 issue, which will hit newsstands in mid-December. Photos by Walter Cooper.Click here to read more about the nominees.

Friday, June 15 provided plenty of sun and breeze for the start of the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race Start. Photographs from PPL Media.

Photos courtesy Black PepperRead Bruce Gain's blog about this 32-footer, "From France, a Coup de Coeur."