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New sailboats from top boatbuilders around the globe battle for this year’s coveted Boat of the Year title.
For the first time in the long history of Cruising World’s Boat of the Year contest, the 16-boat fleet of nominees was split 50/50, right down the middle, among monohulls and multihulls. After the dockside inspections were completed and every boat was put through its paces under sail, there was a clear overall winner: a sweet performance cruiser from a company that’s familiar with the winner’s circle, the J/40 from J/Boats.
In retrospect, it was only a matter of time. The cruising catamaran sector of production-sailboat manufacturing has been the fastest-growing segment of the marketplace for more than a decade, and its momentum shows no signs whatsoever of slowing down. Never before, however, in the nearly three-decade history of Cruising World’s annual Boat of the Year contest, has the number of multihulls come close to overtaking the roster of monohulls competing for top prizes.
The J/40 takes top honors as Cruising World’s 2025 Boat of the Year, celebrating J/Boats’ legacy of fast, innovative, and versatile cruiser/racers.
The well-told origin story of J/Boats, one of the major successes in American boatbuilding for almost 50 years, began in 1977. That’s when Rod Johnstone cobbled together a homemade boat of his own design in the family garage.
Once the standard for bluewater sailing, midsize boats are making a comeback this year with three strong contenders.
Versatile and performance-driven, this year’s 40- to 45-foot cruisers impressed with plush amenities and club-racing potential.
For offshore adventures, this year's large monos—Moody DS48 and Allures 51.9—offer distinct yet equally compelling platforms.
The Midsize Multihull category featured a fiercely competitive lineup from top builders in France, South Africa and Australia.
These two big cruising cats break from the charter mold, with features and performance tailored for true bluewater sailors.
Three cutting-edge multihulls, including the Neel 52 trimaran, showcase innovation and performance in this year's contest.
The Windelo 54 Yachting's innovative design and eco-friendly features earned it the Judges’ Special Recognition for 2025.
The 2025 Boat of the Year winner will be revealed right here, live, at cruisingworld.com on December 5, 2024, at 12:00PM Eastern Standard Time, and also in the January/February 2025 issue of Cruising World.
Get a closer look at some of this year’s standout contenders in the field.
Cruising World’s annual Boat of the Year competition is the recognized leader in inspecting, testing and rewarding the best sailboats introduced into the US market by boatbuilders the world over. Judging and testing for this year’s awards will take place during and after the Annapolis Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, which begins October 10.
Over the course of nearly two weeks around the Annapolis Sail Show, sailboats receiving official nominations will be thoroughly adjudicated by an independent panel of marine experts who, as a team, evaluate each nominated vessel in two stages: dockside during the show, and then in dedicated sea trials. The judges measure every spec, inspect every inch of rigging, unscrew every electrical panel to examine the wiring behind it, scrutinize every element of construction, and question every layout option. And then they sail it.
No other program puts boats through such rigorous trials. It’s a testament to the legitimacy of Cruising World’s Boat of the Year competition and the reason why you see our trademark blue triangle Boat of the Year logos proudly displayed on banners at boat-show booths worldwide.
Throughout the history of the competition, our judges have tested hundreds of boats, and in doing so, helped our Boat of the Year program earn its reputation as the gold standard of international sailboat awards. We’ve once again assembled a top-tier, non-biased judging panel based on their complementary backgrounds and skill sets, not to mention decades upon decades of combined experience, both in the industry and at the helm. If there’s a nit to pick, rest assured these experts will be all over it.
Over the course of his career as a sailor and yachting journalist, award-winning marine writer Herb McCormick has written hundreds of boat reviews and raced and cruised tens of thousands of miles, including the Newport Bermuda Race, the Sydney-Hobart Race, the Pacific Cup and the Transpac. His offshore resume includes a voyage to Antarctica, a successful transit of the Northwest Passage, and two roundings of Cape Horn. The author of five nautical books, he’s owned and maintained several sailboats, including his current Pearson 365 and Pearson Ensign. As a Boat of the Year judge, he concentrates on sailing performance, safety, and deck layouts.
Mark Pillsbury is a die-hard sailor who has owned and maintained a number of sailboats, including a Sabre 34, on which he lived aboard for 15 years in various harbors around Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. He has been involved with Cruising World’s Boat of the Year program in various roles for many years and has reviewed scores of new sailboats for the magazine. He is currently a Cruising World editor-at-large. As a judge, his purview is interior plans, systems and build quality.
Longtime CW contributor, editor-at-large and award-winning marine journalist and author Tim Murphy currently serves as education project manager with the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC). Having been involved with ABYC since 1998, Murphy supported the rollout of ABYC’s Marine Electrical Certification; designed and edited ABYC certification study guides as a contractor; and co-authored (with Ed Sherman) Fundamentals of Marine Service Technology, a marine-trades textbook for secondary and post-secondary education. Now a full-time staff member, Murphy has taken on the role of education project manager to oversee the creation of ABYC curriculum and certification materials, and other key responsibilities to grow ABYC’s technical education and content creation capabilities.
