Best Boats

Best Boats 2012 Nominee: Herreshoff 20

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 9, 2011

The Herreshoff 20 is a unique new production boat based on an 80-year-old design created by Capt. Nat himself that was never built. In addition to serving as a sharp little daysailer, the Bristol Boat Company, which manufactures the boat, is also promoting it as a one-design racer and sail trainer.

Best Boats 2012 Winner: The BayRaider 20

by Adam Cort, Posted November 17, 2011

The BayRaider 20 may look traditional with her ketch rig and saucy sheer, but she is very much a modern boat, with features like a self-draining cockpit and a water ballast system to help tailor performance to your particular sailing needs.

Best Boats 2012: PT-11

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 9, 2011

The PT-11 is a semi-custom production boat with performance to spare. The boat also serves well as sprightly cruiser, capable of accommodating a refrigerator, watermaker and even a heating system without becoming overloaded. performancemultihulls.comSPECSLOD: 36ft, 1inLWL: 35ft 1inBeam: 28ft

Best Boats 2012 Nominee: Catalina 385

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 9, 2011

The latest in the new Catalina line that began with the 445 in early 2009, the Catalina 385 includes a moderate beam carried well aft for a spacious cockpit, modest freeboard for reduce windage and a comfortable, practical interior belowdecks. catalinayachts.com

Best Boats 2012 Nominee: Island Packet 360

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 9, 2011

The Island Packet 360 continues the company tradition with a look that combines the modern and the traditional, and a cruiser-friendly “Full Foil Keel” below the waterline and a Hoyt Boom on the foredeck. The result is a boat that works equally well for weekend cruising or a bluewater passage. ipy.com SPECS LOA: 36ft

Best Boats 2012 Nominee: Aquila RP 45

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 9, 2011

The Aquila 45 integrates IRC (International Racing Class) design features in a comfortably sized inshore/offshore racer-cruiser. Despite its high performance the boat is specifically configured to accommodate short-handed sailing. aquilasailingyachts.com SPECS LOA: 43ft, 8in Beam: 13ft 9in Displacement:

Bavaria Cruiser 45

by Charles J. Doane, Posted September 13, 2011

It wasn’t so long ago that German builder Bavaria Yachts was giving other mass-production sailboat builders a serious run for their money here in the United States.

Corsair Sprint 750 MK II

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 14, 2011

This fast folding-wing trimaran is in its second incarnation, with a revised deck plan and rig and larger amas to improve sailing satisfaction and performance. Not changed: the adrenaline rush that comes with double-digit sailing speeds! corsairmarine.comSPECSLOA: 24ft 4inLWL: 23ft 1inBeam (folded)

Best Boats 2012 Winner: The Passport Vista 545 CC (Flagship: Monohull)

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 17, 2011

Passport has been creating strong, beautifully detailed cruising boats at its yard in Xiamen, China, for 20 years and each new model evolves slightly from the previous one. Looking at the new Passport Vista 545 CC at Annapolis made us wonder if the factory locks a man inside the boat each night and gives him breakfast only after he has come up with some small improvement.

Best Boats 2012 Winner: The Com-Pac CP 23 Pilothouse

by Tom Dove, Posted November 17, 2011

Among the many large, expensive sailing vessels at this year’s Annapolis show, the crowd-stopper was this diminutive 23-footer with a tall pilothouse. Something about it—perhaps the proportions, perhaps the novelty, perhaps the accessibility— made people pause, do double takes and smile.