Two American Boats Take Honors as Best in Class at Newport International Boat Show

Newport, RI, September, 2012…The Hunt 44 Express Sedan from Hunt Yachts in Portsmouth, Rhode Island was named Best New Powerboat and the Motive 25R Trimaran from Motive Trimarans of New York, NY took Best New Sailboat honors at this year’s Newport International Boat Show. Raymarine’s i50 and i60 Instruments took the honors as the Show’s Best New Boating Product for the Nashua, NH company. The selections were made as part of the Show’s Newport For New Products program to recognize the best boats and boating products being introduced at the Show for the coming model year.

The judges said the Hunt 44 “pushed all the right buttons…the interior is well executed – airy and full of light”, yet “her overall look is solid, her hull design is solid, her interior is solid and her construction is solid.” The boat was named Best Powerboat 30’and Over and, ultimately, was selected Best in the full Powerboat class.

The Motive 25R Trimaran – chosen overall Best in the Sailboat class as well as Best Sailboat Under 30’ --was judged to be “a super clever design” that “looks to be very fast and fun to sail”. The Motive 25R was said to be “the brainchild of a perfectionist and built by an artist!”

As the Best Boating Product, the judges noted that Raymarine’s new series of boating instrumentation is “well done and easy to use.” With these instruments, “an iPhone or iPad can be more than a repeater, with the appropriate app, they can be used as a controller!”

In addition to the Class winners, two other entries were recognized as the “best” in their respective categories. The French boat Barracuda 9 from Beneteau was named Best New Powerboat Under 30’, and another French boat, the Dufour 36P won as Best New Sailboat Over 30’. And, new this year, the Peoples’ Choice award was given to the Metan VB SeaCraft 23 Center Console from Metan Marine in Union, NJ.

Newport For New Products spotlights the new boats and boating products that make the most significant contributions to the experience of recreational boating. Judging is done by an independent panel of boating experts and awards are given based on innovation, value to the consumer and aesthetics.

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