Best boats

Lagoon 42

BEST

VX Evo

BOATS

By Nigel Calder, Adam Cort, Charles J. Doane, Zuzana Prochazka & Tom Dove

he Best Boats Class of 2017 might appear staid to some given the many radical innovations the boatbuilding industry has introduced of late, a kind of Thermidorian reaction, a la the French Revolution, following a period of redhot experimentation. What’s that, you say? You mean to tell me there are no lifting foils on this skiff? What kind of multihull has only one cockpit!

However, anyone who thinks the boatbuilders and naval architects of the world are losing their edge couldn’t be more wrong. The latest generation of boats may not offer anything as radically different as the innovations we’ve seen over the last few years—full-foiling performance in a production boat, for example—but they are still very much breaking new ground, whether it be in the form of a top-flight, cutting-edge electrical system; a fresh look at an American cruising classic; a “family” sailboat that provides boatspeeds in the teens; or a planing dinghy that may very well help a new generation learn the art of handling A-sails downwind. Oh, and for those in search of the strange and new, how does a beach cat that sails and rows equally well strike you? Kudos, again, to the boatbuilding industry.

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J/112e

Elan E4

PHOTO BY XXXX XXXXXX; ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF XXXX XXXXX

2017 T

Xquisite X5

SAIL M AG A Z I50 NE Solaris

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BEST LARGE MONOHULL 50FT AND ABOVE

Solaris 50 S

olaris has been building trendsetting yachts in Italy for some 40 years, so we were pleased to find one of its boats on offer here in the United States. The Solaris 50, designed by Argentinian Javier Soto Acebal, certainly has stunning looks. The sleek, low-profile deck dressed in acres of unblemished teak set behind a no-nonsense plumb bow is reminiscent of a luxurious Wally Yacht mixed with perhaps a touch of Nautor’s Swan.

What’s more, our judges found the Solaris offers substance as well as style.

For example, while the Solaris is a close-winded performance boat with a powerful rig, the easy-to-handle controls, thoughtfully laid out, allow a couple or an adept solo sailor to manage the boat with a minimum of drama. Similarly, although it makes a minimalist fashion statement, it has some nice cruising features, including a hidden liferaft locker, a hide-away bimini frame that can support a fully enclosed deck shelter when deployed, and a very usable dinghy garage hidden behind a fold-down transom; all of which makes it user-friendly and quite livable. In spite of the space given up to the dinghy garage and a large sail locker forward (which can also be configured as crew quarters), the boat’s accommodation plan boasts a sumptuous saloon, a magnificently spacious owner’s stateroom forward and a pair of generously sized aft cabins. The latter can be fit out with a full-size double or split single berths as desired.

Finally, our judges were impressed with the boat’s finish quality, especially given its aggressive price point, which in turn allows the boat to embody what the builder describes as a kind of “accessible luxury” at its best. solarisyachts.com

BEST LARGE MULTIHULL 50FT AND ABOVE

Xquisite X5 T

his dedicated cruising catamaran from South Africa boasts an amazing list of standard features— including all sails, electric winches, a genset, a watermaker, air conditioning, a huge 900-watt solar array and a washing machine, to name just a few—all for the remarkable price of $1.2 million, an extremely competitive sum for a boat that is so well fitted out. What most impressed our judges, though, was the quality of the boat and how well-thought-out it is.

Construction is top-notch, with the fully foam-cored hull and deck set in epoxy and vinylester resins.

All interior components and furniture are likewise foam-cored to reduce weight. To save pounds in the wiring department, the boat features a cutting-edge digitally controlled distributed power network that helped the X5 score another Best Boats nod in the systems department (see page 33).

Touring the boat in detail you’ll find a plethora of carefully considered features. The gutters on the coachroof, for example, lead into rain-catching water fills. Foot switches for the electric winches at the helm station leave hands free for handling lines. The touch-screen electronics have backup button controls for when conditions are snotty. The unique cantilevered bimini top over the helm is rock-solid and can be quickly folded away when desired. Solid handrails all around the deck allow for maximum security when moving around the boat. The belowdeck running-rigging network can be quickly accessed via removable panels when necessary. There’s even an overhead shower-head built into the targa arch so that you can bathe on deck in style.

All in all, our judges were unanimous in deciding this boat, which is billed as a turn-key luxury global cruising machine, more than delivers on that promise. xquisiteyachts.com

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