It takes great confidence to conduct the very first sea trials of a new yacht in the sub-zero temperatures and strong winds of the Baltic Sea – but that’s exactly what X-Yachts did at the end of January.

 

The Xc 42 is designed to offer the same cruising comfort, speed and excellent sea-keeping that earned the Xc 45 the title of European Yacht of the Year in the luxury category. As soon as the sails were hoisted it was clear that X-Yachts had done it again.

 

"Incredibly well balanced and very stiff" was the consensus from the test crew that included highly experienced cruisers as well as World and National sailing champions.

 

The deep V-shaped sections of the forefoot allowed the Xc 42 to cut through the steep, sharp Baltic waves. When close-hauled it maintained an angle of almost 40 degrees to the true wind and recorded speeds that were consistently above 7 knots.

 

On a reach the Xc 42 quickly accelerated to her maximum hull speed of 9.1 knots while the steering remained incredibly light and almost neutral.

 

The fully-battened main and 106% furling genoa were reefed for a second day of testing that saw wind speeds in excess of 25 knots and waves of well over 1-metre.

 

"With one reef in the main and a full headsail she remained rock solid," said Niels Ditmar, X-Yachts’ head engineer and a former Admirals Cup and One Ton winner. "She has such high stability and long waterlines that the gusts just made her heel a few degrees more and accelerate. She was a joy to sail and very comfortable despite the freezing conditions."

 

The test team found the Xc 42 was easy to control with a well thought out cockpit that made sail handling both simple and safe. She cruised at almost 8 knots under power yet engine noise was remarkably quiet.

 

X-Yachts insists on testing all new yachts in the toughest conditions before the start of full-scale production. Perhaps the impressive performance of the Xc 42 is not surprising given the incredible success of the Xc 45. Almost 30 of these larger cruising yachts have been sold and more than 20 orders have already been placed for the Xc 42.

 

It seems that X-Yachts has succeeded in creating another design that is capable of cruising long distances in comfort without sacrificing stiffness and speed.