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. – Full report