An almost grand slam in sailing
The winners of the European Yacht of the Year 2017 were revealed at the Boot Düsseldorf:
- Family cruising sailboat RM 970 (France)
- Fast cruising sailboat.. Pogo 36 (France)
- Special yacht Seascape 24 (Slovenia)
- Luxury sailboat Oceanis Yacht 62 (France)
- Multihull Overseas 4X (France)
Of the five sailboats awarded, four were built in France, the fifth coming from the drawing board of the French naval architect Sam Manuard. Considering all the sailboats nominated in the 5 categories, the French quota represented 70% of the pre-selected boats.
Construction sites of all sizes and all materials
A notable feature of the ranking is that it includes the entire range of French shipyards, from the small specialised shipyard to the leader Bénéteau. The various know-how and materials, as well as the various French regions are awarded by the European Yacht of the Year.
- The Fora Marine shipyard, builder of the RM 970 is made of epoxy plywood, recognized French know-how. It represents the rock pole of the nautical industry.
- Le chantier Structure, manufacturer of the Pogo 36 representative of the economic fabric of Southern Finistère, transfers knowledge from French ocean racing.
- The Seascape 24 if built in Slovenia, recalls French naval architecture skills.
- L' Oceanis Yacht 62 shows the interesting evolution of Bénéteau. The leader in French yachting wins with its new top-of-the-range line, in the Luxury Yacht category, more often reserved for Italian yards.
- L' Overseas 4X built in La Grande-Motte, is an example of French leadership in the multihull category. It also recalls that the French nautical industry is not exclusively on the Atlantic coast.
An international engine ranking
More than 250 new motor boats are introduced each year. Although French shipyards occupy a large share of the market, it is much less preponderant than in sailing, as shown by the list of successes from which they are absent. Only two tricolour units had been nominated, or 8% of this first selection. Italy, the Netherlands and Scandinavia account for most of the pre-selected yards.
The winners are:
- Less than 25 feet: Sting 610 BR (Poland)
- 25 to 35 feet: Marex 310 Sun Cruiser (Norway)
- 35 to 45 feet: Jetten Beach 45 (Netherlands)
- Over 45 feet: Absolute 50 Fly (Italy)
- Displacement boat : Bavaria E40 (Germany)
- Innovation Award: Volvo Penta Easy Boating (Sweden)
