Boat of the Year ?

[GordMay]

Cruising World and Sailing World magazines have unveiled their nominees for their 2006 Boat of the Year Awards. The magazines, published by World Publications, announced the nominees for their respective awards Thursday — opening day of the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md. The winners will be selected by two independent judging panels. All nominated boats were introduced to the North American market between the 2004 and 2005.

Cruising World’s award is given to production boats equipped for coastal and offshore cruising. The nominees are: Hunter 31, Tartan 3400, Dufour 365, Bavaria 39, Impression 384 by Elan, Hallberg-Rassy 37, Delphia 40, Hunter 41 DS, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 DE, Hanse 461, Salona 45, Swan 46, X-46, Beneteau 523, Island Packet 440, Morris 42, Moody 49, Seguin 52, Hallberg-Rassy 62, Stevens Custom 53, Kanter Bougainvillaea 65, Broadblue 42, Gunboat 48, Jaguar 38, Lagoon 500, St. Francis 50.

Sailing World’s award is given to a boat designed and built with racing in mind. The nominees are: BigFish, Bruckmann Daysailer, C&C 115, Corsair Sprint 750, F16 Blade, Gunboat 48, Musto performance skiff, Reynolds 33, Rocket 22, RS Feva, Salona 45, Swan 46, Wyliecat 44, X-37, X46.

[Vasco]

Your chances of being named B.O.T.Y. with these mags are directly proportional to the amount of advertising you direct their way.

[jonarck]

And you know that the chances of being named BOTY is related to advertising spend is how?

It's always easy to make such cynical accusations (which may be true, but should always be supported).

[Wynand]

Nice to see two South African made boats on the list

[capt lar]

shame on you, vasco. just because a manufacturer supplies a boat, covers expenses and spends large sums of money in advertizing, why would you suspect there is some kind of business expectation and underlying understanding involved. i know when i spend advertizing dollars, i don't expect results. i continue to maintain advertizing accounts with publications that don't bring me contracts. after all, its only money
capt. lar

[Vasco]

capt lar & jonack,

Not having subscribed to or even read the two publications in question for at least ten years I may have been a bit hasty in my judgement. I apologise for this, especially after reading capt lar's admonishment of me. I hope, after my apology, that it was sincere and not tongue in cheek. capt lar, I am suitably chastised. Glad to see that you're one of a dying breed, those that don't expect a return on their investment or largesse in this life . By the way, if you have any of those advertising dollars left, they might be put to a better use, I have this bridge that's going for a song.

The reason I stopped subscribing to these mags (other than not winning the publisher's clearing house ten million dollar first prize) is that they no longer (to me) reflect the sailing community I belong to. If you go back and look at which boats have won this dubious award you might agree. A BOTY that costs over half a million dollars is nice but not of real interest to me. If I remember correctly, to spread the glory around to all the advertisers, they now have more than one BOTY. I guess the "contest" should be Boats of the year. I suppose it's become politically correct like my grandaughter's soccer league where they no longer keep score so that nobody loses.

On the other hand, I may just be a sore loser seeing that I have never owned a boat that won the coveted BOTY award.

[capt lar]

it is true that to keep everyone happy, there are enough catagories that all the major players win something and that , in turn, makes for more articles and more ads.
while i do subscribe, i do wonder what percentage of boat dollars are tied directly to new boat sales. when you look at all the used boats - the sale, upgrades, repair, taxes collected, marina fees, fuel, sails, benefits to associated businesses, i would think that new boat sales really does not represent a very large % of the industry over all.

i already own a bridge in new york, but would be interested in another - please forward photo.

capt. lar

[Vasco]

[capt lar]

i think that's the one i already own. damn.
how much ?

capt. lar

[Jeff]

I recently posted pics of the Gunboat 48 that I took at the Annapolis show on our site (which chronicles our planning and indecision). I'll be posting the Broadblue 42, Lagoon 440 & 500, Dolphin 460 and the St Francis 50 in the near future.

http://www.ittykitty.com (it's a long story)

j

[Euro Cruiser]

A friend who is on the staff at THE cruising periodical (the one you all know about) told me that one of the things they hate the most is when they are selected to go speak to some of the owners' associations. They speak at YC's, SC's, at boat shows, and a host of other venues...but attending owners' associations (he specifically mentioned Hunter OA's) was always painful. Why? Because they always had the same questions: Was my boat built well? Should I trust it offshore? Are the criticisms unfair? This was doubly hard on my friend because he does technical articles and so is associated more with the 'hands on' topics. How can he respond, demonstrate his hard earned knowledge, and not create a fuss? I sometimes think of his comments when seeing the ads and reading these BOTY reports.

He also described a visit to the Alachua County, FL Hunter factory (tho' I don't really mean to be picking on Hunter here). He and the Advertising rep split up when entering the factory, he heading off on a factory tour. Some of what he saw really bothered him but wouldn't bother the new owner because these things were hidden behind the liners. (Things like a big pool of catalyzed resin, left to kick...) By the end of the visit, he was not a happy camper; no doubt, he was thinking about that next HOA meeting and answering questions about how those boats were built. Out came the Advertising gal and she was just beaming. Once in the rental car, she burst out with a "Wasn't this visit GREAT! They bought a TON of advertising...!"

Vasco's comment certainly rings true for me: "...these mags...no longer (to me) reflect the sailing community I belong to." There are exceptions but, for the most part, the cruising they describe is moneyed, elitist, mostly written by North Americans, and a far cry from the way we experience this lifestyle. And as for the boats...well, here's Jeff to tell us about the $1.3M Gunboat cat. Not all that different from many of the other boats which are given coverage: heavily engineered, Super-SUV sized, overly complex, and sold in small numbers to unrepresentative (of the cruising community) buyers. Mags like CW certainly aren't talking to me. Thank goodness for pubs like Latitude 38.

Jack

[Lightfin]

Also USED TO BE a Cruising World subscriber, and Sailing a long time before that. Lost interest in them and let the subscriptions expire. Though I HAD NOT sent in a renewal request, Cruising World apparently sent my name to a collection agency saying I owed them money for subscription renewal. Received TWO threatening type notices before they gave it up. I'm not likely to subscribe to Cruising World again!

Would like to put in a plug for Latitudes and Attitudes though; enjoy both the spirit and content of most issues.

[Talbot]

I suspect the Broadblue 42 will not do as well as some of the others, because it is designed for more rigourous conditions. But a good boat in bad conditions.

Chum of mine was on one and came on watch wondering why there was a bit more splashing than usual to discover that they had an apparent wind of 40 kts, and were doing 20 kts through the water!

[Morski Krastavac]

Sorry, but I disagree... how would you explain Bavaria or Hanse...? Compared to Hunter, Catalina or Beneteay their advertising Dollars pale (at least in the US).

I had the opportunity to board the Hanse 461 last weekend. The interior is definitely an acquired taste but WHAT a boat... if money was no objeckt, I may just leave Grand Soleil behind for that little dinghi...)

[capt lar]

Bavaria or Hanse can not be compared to Hunter, Catalina or even Beneteau and their advertizing methods are not the same. I assume you would agree that you gotta sell a lot of Hunters to get the profit margin in just one Bavaria. While they may not spend their dollars the same way, you can believe they want recognition and they wine and dine as necessary to insure they are represented. This is not a conspiracy, its just capitalism - "an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market" (american heritage dictionary) - we know it as business. building and selling boats is a business. those that don't make a buck go out, and plenty of the best ones did.
My interests in boats have nothing to do with business, and I make sure it stays that way.
capt. lar