Pacific Yachting has awarded its first annual Best In Show honours to three products displayed at the recent Vancouver International Boat Show. Over the years many marine manufacturers and dealers have developed, promoted and sold products that improve our boating experience, and these awards are an effort to recognize some of these products.
The three award categories are: Best in Show: Powerboat, Best in Show: Sailboat and Best in Show: Equipment. Judges Roger McAfee, Zuzana Prochazka and Dale Miller scoured both the floating show at Granville Island and the main show at BC Place for the best of the best in boating “stuff” and found three worthy winners to take home the inaugural trophies.
In the powerboat category, the Cutwater 24 edged out tough competition to win.
“30 years ago a 24-footer was the size of most family cruisers and it’s good to see a boat that fits into that mold. This Cutwater 24 is a fully-equipped and affordable boat—great for new boaters as well as seasoned veterans,” said Roger McAfee.
In the sailboat category, the Beneteau Oceanus 55 took top honours, “thanks to its well thought out interior and its innovative modular design. It was really an impressive boat on the dock. There were other boats that impressed, but it was hard to top this 55-footer,” said Dale Miller.
Finally, the feature-laden Raymarine Dragonfly 7 was the best piece of equipment in the show according to the judges.
“The development of the Dragonfly technology to the point where a stand-alone unit, complete with transducer, can be purchased for around $250 is outstanding. It means that every boater can now afford to have this top flight technology on board,” McAfee said.
Pacific Yachting is looking forward to issuing the awards again next year, in a somewhat expanded form.