Awards ceremony at BOAT & FUN BERLIN.
The prizes in a total of six categories go to the Axopar 22 Spyder (Best for Beginners), the Quicksilver 705 Pilothouse (Best for Fishing), the Marex 330 Scandinavia (Best for Family), the Waterdream 52 California (Best for Fun), the Silent 60 (Best for Travel) and the Frauscher TimeSquare 20 (Best for Future).
The winners and jurors of this year’s Best of Boats Award
On the evening of Thursday, 11 November 2021 at BOAT & FUN BERLIN, a ceremony took place to present the Best of Boats Award (BOB). With numerous shipbuilders and trade visitors among the audience, the prizes were awarded for international motorboat innovations in a total of six categories: Best for Beginners, Best for Fishing, Best for Family, Best for Fun and Best for Travel. This year, for the second time, the special new Best for Future award recognised game changers in the boating industry.
Over the past months, the 16-member jury comprising international boat magazine journalists from all over Europe, Russia and the USA had examined and thoroughly tested the award entries. Despite difficult conditions due to the pandemic, this year’s BOB jurors tested around 250 boats to find the best boats in 2021. The assessments reached by the BOB jury took the needs of a wide range of boating enthusiasts into account, including beginners, families and amateur sportsmen and women. This was reflected in the composition of the practically oriented categories.
Best for Beginners – Axopar 22 Spyder
Following the success of the livestreamed virtual BOB Award in 2020, Daniel Barkowski, project manager for BOAT & FUN BERLIN, and BOB coordinator Stefan Gerhard were able to open the awards ceremony at hub27 in front of a live audience again.
The Best of Boats Award is recognised as a leading industry event, and in terms of countries competing and number of jurors is the world’s largest prize-giving event for motorboats.
The winners of the Best of Boats Award 2021
In the Best for Beginners category the Axopar 22 Spyder came out ahead of the other two finalists, who put in a strong performance. Jan Sjölund, editor of the Finnish magazine Venemestari, presented the award to Johan Holm, head of Sales of the Finnish company Axopar Boats. Accepting the award, he said: “We are overwhelmed to have received this award in the face of such strong competitors. This prize is the reward for our hard work on the Axopar 22 Spyder and proof that the team did an outstanding job. This model is not only ideal for beginners – it is also the perfect boat for experienced users and so fully covers both markets.”
In the Best for Fishing category the jury chose the Quicksilver 705 Pilothouse, a model suited to fans of both coastal and inland fishing. Alexis Flechier, Global Sales director of the US Venture Boat Group, received the prize from Stanislaw Iwinski, editor of the Polish online magazine Yachtsmen. “It is a special honour to receive this award from the international boat press – two times in a row in fact. With the Quicksilver model we are continuing to develop the Pilothouse series “, Alexis Flechier said.
Best for Fishing – Quicksilver 705 Pilothouse
Kerstin Zillmer, editor of the online magazine ’float’ from Berlin, and Jan Sjölund, editor of Venemestari, jointly presented the award in the category Best for Family to Espen Aalrud, head of Marex Boats from Norway, for the Marex 330 Scandinavia. “This award means a lot to us. It shows that the Marex 330 Scandinavia was thoroughly tested by experienced boating professionals. It not only proves to us that the boat is perfect for families. This award will also convince our customers. It’s approved.”
Best for Family – Marex 330 Scandinavia
The Best for Fun category was won by the Waterdream 52 California from the Netherlands. Waterdream CEO Bernhard van Oranje was delighted: “This is the first time we were nominated for this category. It is a fantastic success for such a new brand. The Waterdream has many great features, but above all it is 90 per cent recyclable. In this age that makes it really special.” The prize was presented by head boat tester Alfred J. Boer, who writes for the Belgian magazine Varen and the Dutch magazine Nautique.
The Silent 60 made by Silent Yachts of Austria impressed the BOB jury and won the Best for Travel category. Julijan Višnjevec, editor of the magazine Val Navtika from Ljubljana in Slovenia, praised its almost unlimited range. Franz Böse from Silent Yachts of Austria received the prize directly in Berlin: “We are very grateful for this award, as the Silent Yacht 60 is a very special boat. With it, many of our customers will be first-time owners who want to set an example with a boat powered by renewable energy.”
Best for Travel – Silent 60
This was the second time the Best for Future award was presented to a boating industry game changer for innovative technology in combination with new sustainability concepts. The award went to the electric boat Frauscher TimeSquare 20 from Austria. Stefan Frauscher from the shipbuilder Frauscher said: “Innovation is part of our DNA. It is time to re-think boat use. We are confident that this is the future and that the Frauscher Times Square 20 will be a part of it. Our electric boat is for anyone who loves riding boats and wants to be part of a development journey that focuses on energy and resource efficiency.”
