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Hallberg-Rassy 400 takes top honors in Boat of the Year Awards in the US

09 Dec 2022

The Hallberg-Rassy 400 has won the Boat of the Year Award 2023 within Import Boat of the Year and shared Overall Winner in the Cruising World magazine from the USA.

The top prize was awarded to the Hallberg-Rassy 400 (Import Boat of the Year), an evolutionary cruiser with matchless versatility penned by naval architect Germán Frers. 

This annual award recognize and honor the best and newest sailboat models introduced to the North American market. Nominating panels consisting of the magazine’s editors have examined all nominees in detail, both sailing, on deck, under deck and in every detail. 

Of the Hallberg-Rassy 400, Cruising World Boat of the Year director Herb McCormick stated: As cruising sailors, we’ve long been enamored with Swedish builder Hallberg-Rassy, and that respect has been reflected in past editions of our Boat of the Year contest, where the company has enjoyed numerous successes. It’s oftentimes not easy for a company with proven results to change what’s already a successful formula. But this latest 40-footer is a yacht that has certainly evolved, and in doing so, it’s the 2023 Import Boat of the Year. Its versatile layout, with a variety of options, is unusual in a 40-footer, and it sealed the deal. This ain’t your old man’s Hallberg-Rassy. It’s a lot better. It just is.”

In ideal conditions on Chesapeake Bay on the US East Coast, the taut fleet of 17 contestants vied for top honors in the 2023 competition. Each entry got a fair opportunity to strut its stuff. This year’s entries arrived from nine different nations: Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Slovenia, Sweden, the United States, and Ukraine.

The 2023 Boat of the Year contest will be featured in full in a 20-page special report in the January 2023 issue of US yachting magazine Cruising World.