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X-Yachts X6

• By Cruising World Staff
• Updated: August 24, 2016

X-Yachts has long been known for its sporty racer/cruisers, but the new X6 is decidedly more yachtlike.

There are multiple saloon and cabin layout choices, and the raised coachroof allows for panoramic views. Outside, owners can choose from a variety of boom styles, biminis, amenities and even keel designs.

For more information, visit www.x-yachts.com.

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Danish delights: Inside the first X-Yachts X6^5

Lying alongside a blustery pontoon on the UK’s River Hamble, the first X6^5 presents an obvious step up for her Danish builder. Literally, in the sense of the boat’s imposing two metre high topsides, and figuratively, for a solid yard whose forte has been production cruising yachts with a turn of pace. The X6^5 promises fast passage times with the same lean, pretty lines as her smaller sisters, but she has a more muscular look consistent with her “mini superyacht” status.

That status rests in part on her size — at 20.1 metres LOA she is X-Yachts ’ biggest model to date — but also in the way she is designed and equipped: tender garage , hardtop bimini, generous hull windows, a flexible rig and endless options for customisation. She can be fitted out below to suit a couple with occasional guests, or for a crew.

Semi-custom can often be a casually applied description but in the case of the X6^5 it is a well-deserved epithet. Just look at her stunning carbon fibre wheel pedestals, cantilevered off the cockpit coaming; or the gorgeous laminated wooden wheel with its carbon fibre spokes. This theme is repeated throughout the boat, with carbon rig and bimini, custom moulded carbon fibre handholds and interior doors, which by themselves cost as much as a brand new performance skiff. None of these is a standard item.

“I am delighted with the way she looks,” says the owner of the first X6^5, “and I think the carbon internally mirrors the rig and the bimini, which are purely practical solutions to weight and strength.”

Yes, the hull comes out of a series mould but almost everything after that is up for discussion, from the finish to the configuration below decks. So, although hull No 1 was conceived with a large owner’s cabin forward, a double aft to starboard and two twin bunk cabins, hull No 4 will have a huge owner’s suite aft across the full width of the stern.

This meant building a new module for the deck mould and is part of what brought the bill for this boat to around €3.2 million ex VAT —compared to a standard €2.5 million. Niels Jeppesen, X-Yachts’ managing director and head designer, explains: “We raised the height of the cockpit above, creating a sort of bridge deck that gives a working and a guest cockpit.”

Similarly, this first boat’s snazzy carbon hardtop was built to the owner’s spec using bespoke tooling. This feature alone seals her credentials as a serious offshore cruiser: the bimini is studded with a dozen 110-watt solar panels — enough to supply 95 per cent of the boat’s hotel loads.

She is also cleverly fitted with concealed roller awnings, and you can choose between a capacious sprayhood that folds invisibly away beneath the coachroof teak or a fixed windscreen in the Scandinavian style. This is a boat that can make the most of a Med summer, but hungers for the challenge of an ocean crossing.

That Scandi feel continues below, where the finish is all walnut underfoot and pale nubuck leather from Sørensen. It has a chic, modern feel, with lots of natural light, white panelling, subtle indirect lighting and fine stainless steel work. There’s lots of room here, but don’t be fooled — there are unostentatious handholds exactly where they are required to get around when the boat is heeling under sail.

In the well equipped galley, the owner insisted on a snappy stainless steel worktop — seamless 6mm solid metal with a careful matt finish that almost seems to float. Naturally, there are all mod cons here and X-Yachts has fitted custom cupboard interiors to suit the owner’s crockery.

Jeppesen says that 95 per cent of clients opt for oak or teak joinery, but adds “we’re happy to deliver any sort of finish”. The Hamble-based design team will even produce a detailed 3D rendering of the interior to showcase your finish. “We’re willing to do what it takes to ensure the boat is precisely what the client wants,” he adds. Designers Guild is a key fabric supplier but it could be Loro Piana or Gucci if the owner so wishes.

After a night of 40 knot winds and biblical rain, our test day dawns bright and blustery. Beating into 16 knots blowing up the western Solent, the X6^5 makes an effortless 7 knots under just reefed main — a sublime North 3Di sail. Adding the inner jib, boat speed jumps to 8.5 knots and we hit 11 knots on a reach as the wind gusts up off Calshot Spit.

Sail controls are all handled via four electric Harken winches by the steering pedestals, and the below deck furlers are electrically controlled too, for true push-button sailing. The main is on a custom FurlerBoom, with more than a hint of Park Avenue to it. There is automatic boom levelling to ensure the sail rolls up smoothly, and horizontal battens to give the sail better shape for faster sailing.

Her semi-balanced twin rudders make for good handling, even as 30 knots bend her over on her ear. Stiffness is assured by X-Yachts’ trademark steel frame in the bilges, which also provides a very secure attachment point for the keel.

The rig is supremely tunable, thanks to the hydraulic backstay and forestay tensioners. The inner forestay and the gennaker can both be easily detached and lowered directly into the sail locker, and the mainsheet is fastened out of the way on the carbon arch over the cockpit. “I would sail solo and certainly the furling main helps with that,” the owner explains. “However, I opted not to put a self tacking track on the inner jib so it makes it harder alone!”

Though it gusts more than 30 knots at times, and the ride is exhilarating as we beat into the short Solent chop, the cockpit remains as dry as a bone. After the boat has walked sideways on to the pontoon using its bow and stern thrusters, I step back down to earth with only a light dusting of salt on my sunglasses.

First published in the August edition of Boat International

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X-Yachts X4-9 test: Danish yard strikes a tough balance with hybrid design

• April 11, 2019

The X4-9 is a stylish performance cruiser that is both manageable short-handed and can still win races, reports Pip Hare

Photos: Rick Tomlinson

The X4 9 is squarely aimed at the no-compromise sailor who wants it all. It combines a comfortable, stylish interior, with clean, beautiful lines on deck and can even be raced with a minimal crew. This is a tough balance to achieve, and so often compromise can lead to disappointment.

Setting out on one of the only blustery days of the summer, with a crew of four, I was intrigued to find out if this 50-footer could really deliver the whole package. Within ten minutes of leaving the berth I was glued to the helm, blasting upwind with a grin on my face. When a company has 40 years of design experience, hybrid does not necessarily mean compromise.

The X4 9 is the third model to launch in the new ‘Pure’ X range, following the impressive X4 3 and X6 5 that we tested two years ago. This popular new range aims to bridge the gap between the Xp performance and Xc cruising lines. Some 18 boats have already sold since the first hull launched early this year.

Hitting the sweet spot between comfort and performance is a tricky thing to achieve, but this boat appears to have it all. The stylish interior combines good looks and practicality. On deck the X4 9 cuts an equally subtle yet impressive figure. The pin stripes of a full teak deck run seamlessly from bow to stern with every piece of deck gear that may interrupt it recessed or covered.

Control lines – along with the sprayhood – are concealed beneath the completely uncluttered deck

Our test boat had twin carbon wheels on unobtrusive pedestals and carried a carbon rig and deep V-boom. No single item grabs the eye but the whole boat holds your attention. It’s a powerful yacht, yet one that can be simply managed solo using well laid-out electric controls – perfect for a greedy helmsman.

Leaving our berth in the Hamble River, the wind was gusting 18 knots, with grey clouds scudding across the sky. It was going to be a feisty day and I was interested to see how our small crew would cope.

Power on tap

Looking up the 20m (65ft 7in) mast, I sensed the effort of hoisting the mainsail but no sooner had those thoughts crossed my mind than the main was up and the self-tacking jib set. Our test boat had an upgrade to electric power for all four winches and so handling the 119m 2 sail area was effortless: without this option, a lot of huffing and puffing will doubtless be involved.

Gently pulling the wheel down we bore away and almost immediately began blasting along at over 7 knots, the X4 9 straining to go faster. The instant power didn’t seem to match with how easily all the sail appeared; it felt like we’d dropped the clutch on a high-revving engine and I half expected to see steam rising from the wake behind us.

A flush, uncluttered deck contributes to X4^9’s pleasingly clean lines

The wind was at the top limit for a full mainsail as we set off on a bouncy beat, which provided a dynamic and rapid ride. The X4 9 felt tender in transition from a standing start to being powered-up close hauled, heeling to around 20°, but once under way our angle of heel remained steady and appropriate for performance.

At a true wind angle of 44° the X4 9 stormed along at 7.5 knots giving a performance on the fast side of the cruising/racing spectrum. Helming from either position required only a light touch and even at maximum heel I felt completely secure standing against the single foot chock – even so, X-Yachts plan to offer a hinging steering ‘platform’ for greater stability on future models.

The low side deck only reached the back of my knees while standing and I wondered if this would be a compromise to comfort. In fact, it proved comfortable when heeled and felt natural with a great view of the sails and sea.

Ease of handling

The wind remained shifty and 20-knot bullets of breeze started to bully us as we tacked between shallows. Our test boat was fitted with an electric mainsheet traveller below decks, an optional feature I was hugely impressed by. The flat winder is effectively a captive winch system that drives the mainsheet car up and down the recessed track. The motor dropped the car fast enough to keep the X4 9 on its feet during the gusts and only required a light touch of a finger to power us back up.

The standard X4 9 package has a German mainsheet attached to a central point and no traveller. An increasing trend in cruising boats, this seems an acceptable shift from the barely effective coachroof travellers. However, given the ‘Pure’ X ethos is firmly grounded in a quality sailing experience, I was surprised that travellers are not standard. I personally struggle with the performance compromise when trimming a mainsail on vang and sheet alone.

I quizzed X-Yachts ’ founder and designer Niels Jeppesen on this and he responded that not all sailors actively use travellers and that, particularly on larger yachts, they can be dangerous for novice crews or guests. This is good reasoning but I feel the recessed and motorised solution to this problem is beautiful, practical and safe – I would pay the extra £7,000 to control the leech.

When we eventually capitulated to conditions, tucking in a first reef, the angle of heel reduced and our ride instantly became less twitchy with little effect on speed.

Article continues below…

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For my first tack at the helm I announced “Ready to tack?” and received the confirmation from our crew of three. Steering slowly through the tack, I anticipated a flurry of activity, but instead watched the crew get up, cross the cockpit and settle themselves into the cushions again as the self-tacking jib flopped over. Again, I was surprised by the performance versus effort relationship. There is little for crew to other than to sit back and enjoy the ride.

All four winches are set to the back of the cockpit leaving the seating area entirely rope-free. Despite the frisky conditions, the waves only reached halfway down the coachroof, leaving the cockpit totally dry.

Primary and secondary winches are of equal size and set well apart for simultaneous use. The bank of jammers and rope organisers are far enough forward to allow ropes to be taken to either winch in a sensible radius. Controls could be reached by the helmsman leaning around the wheel.

The standard package comes with a self-tacking jib, though all boats are engineered to take longitudinal genoa tracks. Of the 18 boats sold to date, none have chosen that option. Our North 3Di jib had a number of holes in the clew, which provided surprisingly effective twist control on the breeze – move the shackle up a hole to reduce twist, down to open the top of the sail.

For reaching, a well-placed padeye attaches to the toerail to create an outboard lead. When powered up reaching under full main, we achieved 10 knots of boat speed at 100–110° to the true wind. I don’t imagine you would use the jib much below 150° true, as the position of the jib car makes it difficult to fill or pole-out, wing on wing. We made speeds of 7-8 knots dead downwind under main alone.

Our test boat carried a 200m 2 asymmetric spinnaker on a top-down furler, which we set in the lee of the Isle of Wight. Off-wind sails are flown from a padeye on the stemhead, as the stainless-steel bow roller has no bobstay so cannot support significant load.

We carried the spinnaker in winds from 14 knots up to 20 knots, managing wind angles of between 130° and 150° to the true wind. Our boat speed peaked at 12 knots and steering was fun but quite a handful at the higher wind angles.

In the stronger breeze, the 2.4m deep rudder kept a good grip but needed active interaction, resulting in fun and energetic sailing. I hogged the helm downwind, enjoying the ride and eating up the miles.

A self-tacking jib on an X? It helps make a powerful boat easy to handle when shorthanded

Stowage taken seriously

Stowage on deck is in ‘the ends’ with both a cavernous bow sail locker and a lazarette cum tender garage. The transom drops down to create a bathing platform, revealing a garage 2.5m wide between the rams. This is large enough to stow a small inflated tender and houses access hatches for steering gear, rudder bearings and the mainsheet traveller system.

There is dedicated liferaft stowage under the starboard cockpit seats, which lift entirely off a flat bottom enabling the raft to be slid-out rather than lifted.

The garage is 2.5m wide between rams, but the test boat packed in a 3.2m RIB with deflated bow

The recessed sprayhood sits beneath a number of teak deck panels. To raise it, all panels must be removed, the hood erected, before the panels are replaced. It’s a multistep process, so don’t expect to be putting this up and down during a day on the water, but it’s a stylish solution to the problem of ugly and cumbersome sprayhoods.

Under the water, the X4 9 uses the T-keel of the Xp but has deeper sections and more rocker, like the Xc, for a more comfortable motion upwind. Topsides culminate in a substantial moulded toerail, and there is a gentle sheerline as the deck rises up to meet a blunt bow.

Strength and quality are cornerstones of X-Yachts build and design. Hulls are vacuum-infused, post-cured epoxy foam sandwich, with three watertight bulkheads. Rod rigging is standard.

Interior fit-out is understated but with a soft and welcoming feel

Below decks

Below decks the Pure X4 9 is understated but stunning. The standard finish of Nordic oak is earthy but not dark and no reflective materials have been used in proximity to LED downlights to eliminate any ugly pinpoints of bright light. Overall the effect is soft and welcoming. The saloon felt instantly comfortable, a warm space with room both to live and practically stow all that’s needed.

The eyecatching centrepiece dining table is surrounded by a U-shaped sofa. There is stowage under the seats, accessed either via lifting tops on gas struts or deep pull-out drawers. Lockers at head level surround the entire cabin. All bench and cupboard tops are fitted with ergonomic fiddles, which add to a secure feeling moving around under way.

Located forward of the heads is a dedicated navstation. When not in use, instruments can be hidden from sight behind a locker door and, if a chartplotter is required, an additional wooden structure can be fitted over the chart table at eye-level.

The L-shaped galley is spacious and ergonomic, with white Corian worktops including a stove cover, a double sink, the option for two fridges and space for a microwave and the ubiquitous espresso machine. Opposite the galley is the aft heads, which has an integrated shower.

The X4^9 can sleep up to six

Smart cabins

The owner’s cabin is forward, an area flooded with light from two separate full-size deck hatches and bed-level hull windows. The main feature of this minimalist cabin is the large island bed and thick mattress. The bed lifts revealing stowage beneath. The ensuite heads is a generous size and has a separate shower cubicle.

The X4 9 is available with either two double guest cabins or a twin and a double aft cabin arrangement. Our test boat had the latter as well as bespoke fabric pipe cots.

The twin singles can be converted to a double using an insert, which creates versatility. Set up as a twin, the cabin did not feel cramped, there was plenty of room between the berths and I was able to sit comfortably upright on both bunks.

Engine room access is a bit of a squeeze

Both cabins have large hanging lockers and drawers as well as under-bunk stowage. Access to the space under the cockpit is through side hatches from both cabins – here there is room for a generator, and a washing machine should they be chosen as options.

Our test boat had an uprated 80hp engine which seemed to fill every inch of the space under the companionway. There are additional access panels on both side of the engine bay but you won’t be getting in there to service the engine without a bit of a wriggle.

Our verdict

The X4 9 is an impressive beast that certainly seems to have it all. It is elegant and stylish without being showy and the consistent, thoughtful design and high quality build will appeal enormously to the experienced sailor.

But the magic really happens when you hoist the sails. It kept me engaged from the first moment I grabbed the helm and I was blown away that such a dynamic sailing experience could be achieved with such little effort.

There’s no doubt that our test boat, with its carbon rig and top-quality sails, gave an enhanced performance, but even without these features I believe this boat could feed our sailing souls.

There is truly a delicate balance between comfort, style, performance and the effort required to sail a boat of this size, but the X4 9 has the potential to keep everyone happy. This is not a compromise – X-Yachts has nailed it.

Specification

The X-Yachts Story

In 1979, one of today’s most successful and quality orientated production yards was established in Denmark.

During the 1980’s, X-Yachts designed and built winning IOR yachts for World Class Racing. Our success with this market attracted the attention of the cruising market, which was then looking for fast, high quality and comfortable sailing yachts. It seemed very clear to us that we should use our boat building experience from the fast racers and combine this with building high performance cruising yachts.

Throughout the 1990’s, X-Yachts Range of Performance Cruisers was established. The X-412 was the first model in the new line, and was followed by the X-512, X-382, IMX 38, X-442, X-362, X-332, X-302, X-612, X-482 and finally, in 1999, the X-562.

The new millennium was celebrated with the introduction of the IMX 40 racer - an almost unbeatable IMS and IRC performer. In early 2002, the IMX 45 followed her little sister onto the race course and continued the successful tradition worldwide. The first X-Yacht 73, built in 2001, was another milestone in the yard’s history. She represented our entry into the luxury “deep water, cruising market”.

The New Generation

With the launch of the X-43 and X-46 in 2003, a new generation of performance cruisers was born. Three new models followed in 2004; the X-40, X-37 and X-50. In summer 2006, the X-55 was launched - a yacht with many of the elegant details of the IMX 70 racer/cruiser which was, itself, launched as a “State of the Art” yacht, with its modern yet classic design, in the summer of 2005.

One Design Classes

The new X-35 One Design followed the traditions of the X-79 and X-99, as popular large fleet one-design racers and, in 2007, two hundred X-35s were racing around the world as an ISAF recognized class. In 2007, the bigger sister, the X-41, has started building another X-Yachts one design class with its first World Championship to be held in Copenhagen in July 2008.

The Xcruising Range

The Xcruising range was designed for sailors who want to cover sea miles in style and comfort, yet retaining the same design and build qualities that X-Yachts performance designs are renowned for.

The first in the family, the Xc 45, was awarded the 2009 European Yacht of the Year the year of its launch. It was soon joined by the Xc 42 and in 2010, the range was doubled by the introduction of the Xc 50 and the Xc 38.

The Xc 38 was awarded the 2011 European Yacht of the Year, just a couple of months after launch.

Every model in the Xc range offers the same enjoyable sailing experience that X-Yachts owners are familiar with, but with deeper, more 'V'-shaped hulls that give greater interior volume and high stability, with only a marginal reduction in light airs performance.

The Xperformance Range

"We started work on the new Xp 44 models back in the spring of 2010" explained Niels Jeppesen, Director of Design. "We decided to begin a new Xperformance generation because our existing performance range was originally developed back in 2002 and 2003".

The new Xp models - until now under development the Xp 44 and the Xp 38 - were created to build on X-Yachts' winning heritage, but to take the designs forward by incorporating the latest technology as well as optimising for the increasingly popular IRC handicap rules and latest version of the ORC rule.

Our aims for the Xp 44 and the Xp 38 were to offer what X-Yachts is expected to offer - and which we originally became known for - namely yachts which both give a sailing experience second to none, and at the same time also offer an ideal instrument on which to entertain family

- Niels Jeppesen

The New Ownership

X-Yachts is owned by Ib Kunøe’s holding company Consolidated Holdings which conducts business through a number of fully or partly owned companies . The overall turnover of these companies is 25 billion DKK and has around 8,000 employees primarily in Europe. Consolidated Holdings had an equity of 2.2 billion DKK.

Majority shareholder of X-Yachts & Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Owner and Chairman on the board of a number of companies e.g. Atea and Columbus Partner International A/S. Very passionate and experienced offshore racing and cruising sailor, now enjoys cruising on his new X4³.

Previous Models

Over the last 40 years, nearly 60 designs have been built at X-Yachts; ranging from hugely popular ISAF One-design classes such as the X-99 to large and luxurious performance cruisers such as the X6, X-65, IMX 70 and X-73.

View all previous models

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