The 4 best sail boats from 2014 reviewed by Trade-a-Boat

It’s no easy thing putting together a list of the best sail boat reviews done by Trade-a-Boat in 2014. Do you go for the latest family cruiser from the big overseas producers, the high-tech sailing race machine? Or maybe a bespoke bluewater voyager only available to a few?

Our crew of sail reviewers, headed by the perpetually salty Kevin Green, reviewed more than 20 sailboats of every type in 2014, covering every base from a Box Boat

cat that tows behind your car to a

Clipper 70 round-the-world racer.

Forced to narrow our selection to just four, the pressure was on, so we went for those sailing yachts that have few equals, on our shores or anywhere else.

Yep, they’re at the upper end of the price scale but it’s what you get for those dollars that really makes you re-examine the question of value. What price on a sailing yacht that will take you to the far reaches of the globe in absolute comfort, such as the Buizen 52?

The Amel 55 ketch was another. Modern thinking from the traditional French builder that allows the big girl to be effortlessly sailed shorthanded via joystick.

Kevin Green also discovered a family yacht for the performance sailor in the Solaris ONE 42 during his Pittwater review, so that one had to go in. Then when we heard about the all-carbon Carkeek 60 Ichi Ban being danced around Sydney Harbour, well, the list was complete.

So here you have it: four of the best 2014 sailboats reviewed by Trade-a-Boat.

Four of the best sail boats from 2014

Amel 55 | The Amel 55 is a dedicated cruising sailing yacht with lots of innovative engineering, including joystick-controlled sail handling and protected central cockpit.

Buizen 52 | The antithesis of mass production of sailing boats can only be found in few places in Australia. Buizen Yachts is one of those rare places.

Carkeek 60 | The Carkeek 60 is the first of a new breed of sailing raceboats to reach our shores. It looks a winner even before it leaves the dock.

Solaris ONE 42 | A cruiser-racer with the credentials to be enjoyable on and off the race track made the Solaris ONE 42 sail boat an interesting new boat.

Have your say: What’s the best sail boat for 2014?

What's your favourite sail boat for 2014? Tell us what you think and leave a comment below.

We've made it easy for you. Here all the boats we reviewed in 2014: Trade-a-Boat reviews archive.