On Thursday, 29 November 2018 the Best of Boats Awards (BOB) were presented at Boat & Fun Berlin.
For the fifth time a jury of 17 international trade journalists honored the best motorboats in the categories Best for Beginners, Best for Fishing, Best for Family, Best for Fun and Best for Travel, having previously tested 550 boats in 19 countries.
”The Best of Boats Awards have established themselves as the biggest motorboat awards in Europe and in the world. As an international team representing 15 countries we are grateful to the large and small boatbuilders who made these tests possible. We are delighted that they have come here this evening together with their bosses”, said Stefan Gerhard. ”When we test these boats our focus is on the user. Thus, the BOB Awards are a seal of approval for boats that stand out from the greater market.”
Best for Beginners
The Best for Beginners category was won by the FALCON BR7. Accepting the award, Ari Kuikka of the Finnish company Bella Boats, which launched the Falcon model series, said: “We are extremely grateful to the jury. This boat offers beginners perfect handling and it is very robust. Bella Boats has been building fibreglass boats for some 50 years. Two years ago we launched the Falcon brand with alloy boats which have sold really well. That is why this award belongs to our design team, to whom we owe this innovation and who will continue to develop it still further.”
Best for Beginners Ari Kuikka (Bella Boats)
Best for Fishing
In the Best for Fishing category the BOSTON WHALER 170 MONTAUK impressed the jury. ”We are honoured and very proud to be holding this award on behalf of close to 1,000 workers at the Florida boatyard, who make sure our dreams come true by building these beautiful boats. It comes in time for the company’s sixtieth anniversary“, said Alessandro Lorenzon of Boston Whaler Europe, satisfied while commenting on the award.
Best for Fishing Alessandro Lorenzon (Boston Whaler)
Best for Fun
In the Best for Fun category the jury picked the JEANNEAU CAP CAMARAT 9.0 WA/CC. Jean-Paul Chapeleau, the general manager of Jeanneau/Prestige, and Armin Burchardi of Aquamarin Boote from Werder an der Havel, accepted the award. ”The boat is very versatile and one can do lots of things with it. I feel honoured that we have received this award“, said Jean-Paul Chapeleau, and Armin Burchardi added: ”We are proud that a boat from Jeanneau has won again. We believe in Jeanneau. It is an excellent make which we have been selling for 18 years. That makes us very proud”.
Best for Fun Jean-Paul Chapeleau (Jeanneau)
Best for Travel
The winner in the Best for Travel category was the BENETEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 35 which features 360-degree visibility and room for all the family. Mark Averhoff, an area sales manager at Beneteau, expressed his gratitude: ”We are very proud that the TRAWLER 35 has managed to continue the success story of its predecessors. There will be more models in the years to come. The trophy belongs to our design department.”
Best for Travel Mark Averhoff (Beneteau)
Best for Family
The Best for Family award was nominated to the PARKER MONACO 110. Chris Scott, the director of Parker Poland commented receiving the award: ”We are very proud of this award. This is one of the first larger boats we built, and it has been selling extremely well. I spent my holidays on a MONACO and can highly recommend it. I am confident that we will announce more surprises this year, as we are putting out other new products on the market“.
Best for Family Chris Scott (Parker)
About the Best of Boats
The Best of Boats Awards was launched in 2014 by boat journalists from many countries and different editorial offices which had and have two things in common: Their very large experience as boat testers and their particular interest in the practical needs of boaters.
