{"id":56842,"date":"2024-12-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=56842"},"modified":"2025-02-19T13:54:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T18:54:54","slug":"best-full-size-cruiser-40-45-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/sailboats\/best-full-size-cruiser-40-45-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Boat of the Year: Best Full-Size Cruiser 40 to 45 Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image disable-lazyload\" alt=\"J\/40 on the water\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-1839.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">J\/40<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<iframe id=\"gkstfcayky\" src=\"https:\/\/cruisingworld.dragonforms.com\/gkstfcayky\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you get into the category of cruising boats over 40 feet, all sorts of possibilities emerge. It\u2019s a platform that supports plenty of volume below for accommodations and stowage, and that\u2019s also large enough for a powerful rig to take you anywhere you wish to go. The key feature is versatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this trio of contestants in the 40- to 45-foot sector, there was also a strong emphasis on performance. All three of these yachts sport all the cruising amenities, but they also perform well enough that competitive sailing will be an option for the club-racing set. Indeed, this Full-Size Cruiser division supplied the judging team with some of the finest Chesapeake Bay sailing in the entire contest. And one very special boat was doubly rewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WINNER: J\/40<br>J\/Boats<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The judges couldn\u2019t quite get enough of the winner in this competitive Full-Size category, as Tim Murphy explained: \u201cFor pure sailing joy, this boat unanimously also earned its place as <em>Cruising World<\/em>\u2019s 2025 Overall Boat of the Year. We saw a big divide in the fleet between simple house systems and cutting-edge, complex power systems designed to run high-powered items, often without a genset running. Several boats in the 2025 fleet operated on multiple voltages, with complicated converters and inverters to distribute the power. But, as one of the judges pointed out, \u2018Sometimes it\u2019s nice to have just a red wire and a black wire.\u2019 The J\/40 delivers that systems simplicity in a boat that offers the widest assortment of fine-tuning adjustments to the ample sail plan, starting with the mainsheet in the cockpit sole, which is easily accessible to the helm. Whether cruising or racing\u2014and the J\/40 will handle both duties with aplomb\u2014the sailing experience will be exceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Mark Pillsbury agreed: \u201cDesigner Al Johnstone described the J\/40 as a cruiser-racer, and I\u2019d say that description is spot-on. It\u2019s a comfortable boat to be aboard, and when the breeze is up, you have all the tools readily at hand to drive hard or throttle back and enjoy the ride\u2014your choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finalist: Catalina 426<br>Catalina Yachts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Catalina 426 on the water\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0085.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Catalina 426<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>The second nominee from Catalina\u2019s refreshed \u201c6 Series\u201d left judge Herb McCormick feeling a bit nostalgic. \u201cCatalina Yachts was founded and associated with the late, great Frank Butler, who was a marine-industry legend,\u201d he said. \u201cBut both of these boats were designed and engineered by Gerry Douglas, who might be one of the more underrated American naval architects. This was a fine boat to inspect and sail, and Douglas\u2019 fingerprints and influence are all over it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Tim Murphy concurred: \u201cIn 1988, Catalina launched its first 42-footer, a popular design from which 1,000 boats were subsequently built. In-house designer Douglas used what he\u2019d learned from all those boats to create an all-new design in 2015, the Catalina 425. At the time, the charm of that boat was that it altogether avoided the trendiest trends of its day: the plumb bows, the hard chines, the drop-down transoms. In this 6-Series version, the updates include swept-back spreaders and refined interior treatments. Otherwise, the new 426 retains all the proven charms we loved so well in 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Pillsbury added: \u201cWe had a chance to try out the new mainsheet system on the Catalina 356, and it worked pretty well going upwind, once we played around with it a bit and got the hang of it. Rather than a single sheet and traveler, the 6-Series employs a double-ended mainsheet led to winches on the cabin top, located on either side of the companionway. Close-hauled, you can set one end of the sheet for each tack, so nothing needs to be adjusted when coming about. The 6-Series version of Catalina\u2019s popular 35-footer has a new Edson helm-station design called the Butler Pedestal. It\u2019s a nice nod to Catalina Yachts founder Frank Butler.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finalist: Dufour 44<br>Dufour Yachts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Dufour 44 on the water\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/CWBOTY2025_101524-0911.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Dufour 44<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Only the French could\u2019ve created the Dufour 44. In assessing the boat, judge Tim Murphy offered up a history lesson: \u201cIt\u2019s always fun to see which design features make their way into production boats from custom or thoroughbred race boats. A little over a decade ago, Sam Manuard introduced the \u2018scow bow\u2019 in the Mini Transat 6.50 fleet. The idea was to carry extreme beam into the hull\u2019s forward sections, providing buoyancy that kept the bow up in surfing conditions. The scow bow caught on in the Class 40 and IMOCA fleets too; since the 2018 Route du Rhum, no other design has won a grand-prix transoceanic race among the Class 40s. In the latest run of Dufours from Umberto Felci\u2019s drawing board, we see that concept applied to cruising boats. The exaggerated volume forward is used, in this case, not for ocean-surfing conditions as much as a stable sailing platform and room for one of the most spacious walkaround island queens in a forward cabin of a boat this size.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Mark Pillsbury was also taken by the boat\u2019s volume and accommodations: \u201cThe Dufour comes with a couple of interesting layout options. The boat we saw in Annapolis had the feel of a studio apartment, with a dining area to port opposite an inline galley, which works well for a cruising couple. A galley forward by the main bulkhead is also offered. An owner can also forgo separate head and shower compartments to either side of the companionway and instead replace the port shower stall with a desk for working aboard. I think that will be appealing to potential buyers, me included.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/boat-of-the-year-2025\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"18539\"><strong>Click here to return to the 2025 Boat of the Year main page.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Versatile and performance-driven, this year\u2019s 40- to 45-foot cruisers impressed with plush amenities and club-racing potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":56847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Herb McCormick","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_image":false,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[167],"tags":[282,2057,1412,459,2075,195],"class_list":["post-56842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-boat-of-the-year","tag-boty-2025","tag-catalina-yachts","tag-dufour-yachts","tag-print-february-2025","tag-sailboats"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}