Boat of the Year 2018

From an impressive roundup of the latest and greatest innovations in sailing, we found four designs that sailed away from the competition.

A sailboat on the water.

Twenty knots of wind will make any good boat fun to sail, but to fully appreciate it, a taste of light air is required. When a boat is right, you can feel it, hear it and see the performance. It was with this understanding that our judges dived into our annual Boat of the Year sailing trials. Sailmaker Chuck Allen, naval architect Greg Stewart and boatbuilder Tom Rich powered their way through 10 new race boats over five days in Annapolis, Maryland, delving into the boats on land and drilling builders for details. Two hours (or more) on the water with each entry fueled long nightly discussions. The winners had to deliver on three basic criteria: design purpose, quality and performance. Four boats produced on all three counts, with one ultimately sailing away with the overall title. 

2018 Boat of the Year Overall Winner: HH66

Best Multihull: HH 66

The HH66 sailed away from the competition, clocking high speeds and high comfort to take the title of Best Multihull and 2018 Boat of the Year.

2018 Boat of the Year Winners

Cos Cob Harbor

Into the Dink

Riverside Yacht Club’s Dyer Dink frostbite racing scene is the hottest thing on the coldest of days on Connecticut’s Cos Cob Harbor.

Special Thanks

The 2018 Boat of the Year Team:

Judges: Tom Rich, Greg Stewart & Chuck Allen 

Highfield RIBs, the official RIB of *Sailing World*’s Boat of the Year

 Walter Cooper for photography