Sailing World magazine announced today the winners of the biggest annual honors in sailboat building, the Boat of the Year awards. Topping the list for 2008, the Laser SB3 was named overall winner. The Laser SB3, a 20-foot high-performance sportboat, was selected over 17 other new designs. The 2008 contest marked the 24th time the top magazine for racing has honored the best in boat design and building.

"One of the coolest boats was the SB3, our overall winner this year," remarked BOTY judge Chuck Allen, a former college All-American dinghy sailor. "The judges liked the boat's simplicity, legs-in style sailing, and strong one-design class rule."

The Laser SB3 is Europe's fastest growing one-design raceboat. Vanguard Sailboats (Portsmouth, R.I.) and its parent company, Performance Sailcraft Europe (England), introduced the SB3 to U.S. sailors for the first time this fall.