"After owning 3 keelboats, and starting to dream of a cruising life in Europe, you can imagine the research that went into choosing THE boat.
Too racy, too cruisey, too small, too big, not off shore material...... So many manufacturers, so many features to consider and layouts.
After many a long night on the internet looking at all the manufacturers and just as we were thinking no one had the right boat for us, X-Yachts announced their new cruising range. With a racing pedigree, but a careful design for cruising it grabbed our attention.
There were none in Australia at that time, so a trip to Haderslev in Denmark to the factory was really worthwhile. Torsten Bastiansen showed us the boats at all stages of construction. And we had the opportunity to see the Xc 42 and the Xc 45 side by side in the yard. We came away very impressed with the build strength and quality and the attention to detail. We would certainly recommend visiting the factory if you are considering a new boat, it shows why they are held in such high regard. It also gave us a chance to see the optional extras up close.
The only decision now was the 42 or 45 footer.
Planning to spend months at a time aboard, we eventually chose the Xc 45. We liked the extra tankage for water and fuel, and larger sitting area. The V berth was also more spacious, with access from both sides of the bed. We liked the separate shower in the owners head, but for the guest berth opted to keep the navigation table rather than the separate shower. We also chose to remove one of the berths and put in the optional work bench and additional huge storage area aft.
After 2 seasons we are extremely happy with our Xc45.
Her sailing performance is fantastic. Easily handled by two people with all lines led (neatly under the deck) aft to the cockpit and we are NOT big people.
We love that she seems to have the perfect blend of performance space, with outstanding strength and build quality.
We love the clever use of space interiorly, with lots of storage space, and large fuel and water tankage.
The interior is light and spacious with our white bulkheads and doors.
All up as you can see we are very happy with our yacht and cannot speak highly enough of her."
/Denise and Dave Keavy
