Admitted – sailing conditions were not ideal for a photo shoot, but we took the opportunity when our clients from Portugal came to pick up their brand new X4⁹ Mkll at the yard in Denmark.

X-Yachts global market manager Torben Kornum sailed the X4⁹ mkll with the owners:

“Grey sky and gusty winds up to 22 knots are not what you wish for when introducing a brand-new boat to its owner, but frankly spoken it was difficult to wipe the happy smiles off our faces after the session” – says Torben.

Most yachts will reef their sails or start the engine in these conditions, but like all other X-Yachts, the X4⁹ is made to carry full main and jib comfortably and safely also in stronger winds. We did also hoist the code sail and reached 11 knots of boat speed – still with that nice safe feeling in our back.

It was a long time since I sailed an X4⁹, but the session with the clients reminded me how important it is that a yacht is designed and built to accelerate rather than heeling over when a gust is hitting the rig. All our hulls are incredibly stiff and stabile, and the ability to convert wind pressure into acceleration simply makes sailing so much easier – and safer and more comfortable too, of course.

 

The X4⁹ Mkll has more than 40% of its weight in the keel, and that alone talks for stability. But the epoxy infused and carbon reinforced sandwich construction, together with the X-Yachts steel frame and rodrig, are of course all playing a major role for the performance.

We wanted to challenge the boat with the code sail on angles that make most boats broach and lose control, but the new rudder design (now introduced on all new X-Yachts) produces a much better grip as well as it reduces drag and allows more comfort, so we literally had no problem at all.

New hull and deck structural engineering have reduced the total weight and lowered the center of gravity in the Mkll, so combined with a larger downwind sail area, the X4⁹ Mkll provides even better overall performance than the Mkl.

 

The helming position both seated and standing has been improved due to added coaming and larger wider foot support as known from the X5⁶. The new design also gives easier sail handling through optimized positioning of winches, and better comfort through longer cockpit benches.

The coach roof portlights have been redesigned and therefore completely flush (no visible hinges) and with increased opening portlights there will also be better ventilation in the main cabin. The visual styling of the portlights has been updated, and the sizes have been increased, now enabling 50 % more light into the cabins.Pulpits and pushpits have been updated to a more modern styling. The pushpits now come with integrated backstay chainplates as on the X5⁶.

 

With all that in our mind, we frankly spoken didn’t care about grey sky, gusty winds and photo shoot. We had a fantastic day on the water in the new X4⁹ Mkll. Huge thanks to the owners, who are now sailing their yacht across the Biscay to its home port in Portugal.