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Yachting Monthly

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X-Yachts X43 review: fast passage making in comfort

• Theo Stocker
• August 25, 2023

X-Yachts’ latest model, the X43 promises to be a fast passage-making cruising boat that’s fun and engaging to sail but won’t scare your socks off. Theo Stocker went to find out how well the X43 toes the line

Product Overview

Price as reviewed:.

You know the stars have aligned when you get Force 4-5 and bright sunshine, as well as a boat, crew, photographer and RIB all in the right place at the right time. Conditions could not have been better for testing the Mark 2 version of the hugely successful X-Yachts X43. This was going to be fun.

We were lucky to have Pieter, the proud new owner of Lexi aboard, and as we motored down the river, he told me why he’d chosen this boat. ‘I previously owned a mass-produced 38ft family cruiser, which was great, but I wanted something a bit bigger and with three teenage children who really enjoy sailing, we needed more for them to get involved with on the boat. We wanted something that was really engaging to sail. I looked at Grand Soleil, Arcona and X-Yachts. I liked the X46 and my wife liked the X40, so we settled on the X43, and we’re both happy it’s the right size to have gone for.’

While Grand Soleil and Arcona are more on a par with the X-Performance range numbers wise, there are relatively few direct comparators to the X43 – perhaps a Dehler 42, or the slightly heavier and older Sweden Yacht 42. In short, this ‘Pure-X’ boat ploughs something of its own furrow between cruiser/racers and more dedicated cruisers.

It’s clear to the see the appeal of a proper sailing boat with plenty of canvas and single rudder steering for decent performance, combined with a reassuring amount of ballast and the creature comforts of deep-fill mattresses, microwave and coffee machine.

The wide cockpit makes sail handling and manoeuvres easy, but can feel a little exposed. Photo: Richard Langdon

More than just skin deep

Now, cosmetic surgery comes in all shapes and sizes. When it comes to boat models, design updates are often pretty superficial – a chin-tuck here, some filler there – new windows, extra cushion fabric options, and maybe a tweak or two to the deck layout. Far from a simple facelift, however, the new X43 has undergone a full-scale transformation of its rear end.

Everything forward of the shrouds remains unchanged from the original 2016 model, but from the shrouds aft, it’s a completely new hull. The boat is no beamier than the Mark 1, but that beam is carried all the way aft to supercharge its form stability with a stern fully 50cm wider. Drag-inducing wetted surface area has been reduced by lifting the rounded hull chines up and out of the water. This boat then has, in theory, both better light wind performance and better strong wind performance, but I’d have to take X-Yachts’ word for it on the light wind stuff.

First impressions were good. The test boat, fresh out of the wrapper, looked stylish, slick and neat. The S-shaped stem adds support for the Code-Zero tack near the base of the fixed carbon bowsprit; the tack point at the end is for asymmetric spinnakers that don’t require high luff tension.

A wider stern and higher chines give more stability when heeled and less drag in light airs. Photo: Richard Langdon

The broader stern, coupled with some extra space taken from the aft sidedecks, creates an enormously spacious cockpit, but with two table options to provide bracing. Add in the new higher soft hull chines aft, and she starts to look a lot more fleet of foot than the Mk 1.

Hidden from sight, the deep single rudder has been updated to make it both more powerful and slightly less balanced to provide better feel on the helm. Countless other small tweaks – larger hull windows, raised helm seats to keep your backside dry, a moulded recess for the self-tacking jib track (covered if not fitted) – contribute to a thorough refinement of an already highly successful model with more than 100 built since 2016.

Chainplates are neatly hidden within the moulded toerails, and stanchions are neatly fitted. Photo: Richard Langdon

This is only the second model designed by the in-house design team since the retirement of X-Yachts co-founder and lead designer, Niels Jeppesen, but it remains every inch an X-Yacht.

Shifting gears

A brisk Force 4 barreled up the Solent from the south east, and built through the day. With wind and tide together, the seas were flat, but as the tide turned, the chop would build. Full canvas was set to see how and when we would need to start shifting down the gears.

It took us a moment or two to get settled down – jib car positions, mainsheet traveller, halyard tensions, vang, outhaul and backstay all helped balance the power from a fairly generous sailplan. It was reassuring to feel through the wheel when the boat was, and wasn’t, properly in her stride, which is hard to replicate with a twin-rudder boat.

ockpit coamings offer a comfortable and secure seat for crew, with good views forwards from the wheel. Photo: Richard Langdon

In 14 knots true wind, we found that sailing at 32º-34º the speed settled around 7 knots, topping out at 7.2 knots with just over 20 knots across the deck. Pinching 5º higher saw the speed drop to 6.5 knots. That’s not bad going for a boat this comfortable. With the true wind speed creeping up to Force 5 (17-18 knots) and 30º of heel, it was finally time to put a reef in. Unsurprisingly, with a more sensible sail plan, she sat up to 20-25º, the helm eased and the speed climbed.

Where a pure performance boat might punish inattention, a good cruising boat should be a little more forgiving. Munching sandwiches and chatting over lunch on one of the beats, I wasn’t watching the telltales closely. It was easy to sail by feel and the boat didn’t stray from 28-32º to the wind, though pinching saw the speed down at 6.5 knots. While a bit of concentration found us the missing half-knot plus, the boat had happily sailed on in the right direction.

Coachroof jib tracks give a tight sheeting angle, with lines neatly ducted back to the cockpit. Photo: Richard Langdon

Prudence prevails

Our top reaching speed under plain sails was 8.2 knots, which was surpassed once the Code Zero was up on a broad reach, lifting us to a comfortable 8.5-9 knots, with the occasional foray above 10 knots in the gusts. Had we been racing, an asymmetric spinnaker might have been risked for some more double-digit speeds, but that’s not how she’d be sailed when cruising, and with both sailmaker and owner looking on, prudence prevailed.

While out there, I tried to overpress the boat, bearing away with the sails pinned in hard. The amount of grip from the single rudder was impressive, and she didn’t let go, even as the helm loaded up in complaint. Only at close to 45º of heel did the boat start to overpower the rudder, though never out of control. A slight luff and an ease on the sheets had her back at heel.

While not a planing hull, this boat will exceed hull speed under Code Zero or asymmetric. Photo: Richard Langdon

Similarly, when overpressed with the Code Zero up, I was always able to force the bow back downwind to bring the boat more upright without needing to ease the sheets. This is in part thanks to the boat’s significant form stability, and her impressive ballast ratio of 40%; the cast iron keel with lead bulb at the bottom of it makes for a very low centre of gravity.

While a racing boat crew would see this as speed potential, for a cruising boat, it buys you a safety margin in bad weather and more stable, solid cruising in good weather. The boat tested had two reefs in the North Sails Norlam Xi main and a 106% genoa. Light wind sailing wasn’t something we got the chance to try on our test, but reports of the hull concept first trialled on the flagship X56 suggest that this hull is easily driven in the light stuff too, for which the owner had specified both large asymmetric and symmetric running spinnakers.

Little details also make a big difference, and I liked having the ability to furl away the stack pack sail cover and appreciated the clips fitted either side of the gooseneck to allow the lazyjacks to be hooked back when not in use. There were mast steps to reach the top of the stack pack, which is high as the boom has been kept above head height for crew in the cockpit.

Under engine, 2,200 revs got us to 7 knots in flat water, and 6.5 at 2,000rpm, with a Yanmar 45hp motor and saildrive transmission fitted with a three-bladed folding prop, upgraded from the two-bladed folding standard. Access to the engine is excellent from the front, as well as via large removable moulded panels on both sides in the aft cabins. The compartment also houses the 24-litre calorifier.

Once on a beat, the X43 will just want to keep going without asking too much of the crew. Photo: Richard Langdon

Sleek and functional

On deck, the layout is clean and functional. At the helm, large composite wheels are mounted with Jefa steering on pedestals with chartplotters, autopilot, and bowthruster control. A lifting foot chock for the helm was easy to deploy single-handed. Mainsheet winches can be reached from behind the wheel but are more comfortably used when sitting astride or ahead of the wheels.

While there’s no stern seat, the helm seat on the tail end of the coaming is comfortable under way. Numbers were visible on the coachroof mounted B&G Triton 2 displays, though to see the chartplotters you have to stand up; a pedestal repeater visible when seated would be nice.

Deck hardware and controls are good. The T-sheeted mainsheet worked well with high-spec blocks eliminating friction under load, and the 50ST Harken Performa winches were more than up to the job, with the port coachroof and starboard mainsheet winches being powered. The hydraulic backstay tensioner controlled the 2-spreader keel-stepped aluminium John Mast spar.

Two opening hatches each side and a large deck hatch ensure good ventilation in the stylish saloon, finished in Nordic oak. Photo: Richard Langdon

Neat touches include the chainplates being hidden below panels in the moulded bulwarks, and the cleverly routed ducting for most lines on deck.

The cockpit’s additional width is enormous. While there are bracing chocks on the centreline, for cruising one of the two removable table options would make the cockpit feel more secure. The bathing platform is optional too, though I can’t see many owners going without it, especially as it folds level with the cockpit sole so as not to interupt the clean lines and open feel.

Stowage on deck is good. In the three-cabin version we tested there’s a sole-depth cockpit locker extending aft under the coaming for long items, plus two hull-depth lazarette lockers. Between them sits a large gas locker with space for two big bottles of gas – an unusual arrangement that works well.

If you go for the two-cabin version, the cockpit locker becomes a huge hull-depth space that can be accessed through the aft heads.

Stowage abounds in the galley, and there’s a microwave in the overhead locker. Photo: Richard Langdon

At the bow, there’s a good deep anchor locker abaft the below-deck headsail furler, with a watertight bulkhead between it and the cavernous hull-depth forepeak locker. This is also a watertight compartment, but it can be drained into the main bilges via a seacock in the forward cabin. Little details like this and the absence of rough edges in out of the way places reveals the quality of build.

Practically elegant

Practicality continues as you head below, noticing as you do that the companionway hatch doors fold back into recesses, hiding rope bins for the halyard tails.

Below, it’s a sensible, practical layout – L-shaped galley to port, heads to starboard, C-shaped saloon seating and an aft-facing chart table against the forward heads bulkhead. The galley, including the microwave in the overhead lockers, includes good amounts of stowage above, behind and below the work surfaces, a top-opening fridge and an upright pantry locker abaft the three-burner gas cooker.

The heads, to starboard, would be a generous space on the two-cabin version, but here it has been split into two; the door opens to the sink and lockers, with a door aft for the starboard cabin, and a door forwards into the toilet and shower compartment. It’s slightly odd access to the aft cabin, but otherwise makes excellent use of space. It’s a shame there’s no wet locker, but a removable wet hanging rail is an option in the shower.

Tick the option for the en suite owner’s heads if you would like more privacy in the forward cabin. Photo: Richard Langdon

Solid and silent

The chart table is small but functional and would fit a leisure folio chart. There’s a bookshelf and switch panel above it, but on this boat no instrument displays were fitted. On the two-cabin version this becomes a full-size forward facing nav station. I’d have liked a couple more handholds around the bottom of the companionway for moving around below while heeled.

In the saloon, the elegant table is surrounded by C-shaped seating and folds out to serve the straight starboard settee, supported by a fixed base housing the obligatory bottle stowage. Both settees are long enough to make decent sea-berths. Tanks are beneath the seats, with 340 litres of water to port and 200 litres of diesel to starboard, which keeps weight central, though limits saloon stowage to the inboard ends of the C-shaped seating and the overhead lockers.

This is more than compensated for with the stowage beneath the double bed in the forward cabin, the base of which hinges on gas struts to reveal four large bins below, as well as the overhead lockers and the upright locker to starboard. You’d get even more if you don’t opt for the en suite heads on the port side, though I’d be reluctant to sacrifice that in the owner’s cabin.

In the aft cabins, this boat had the option of pipe-cot sea berths above and outboard of the generous double berths, in place of longitudinal shelves. Whether they’re regularly used as sea berths or not, they’d make extremely useful stowage in which to dump kit bags or children. Horizontal grained Nordic oak joinery and bulkheads, coupled with a moulded headlining throughout gives the boat a crisp, clean feel, with removable panels for maintenance access.

Part of the reason the boat sails so well is its stiffness. The hull is vacuum-infused, post-cured epoxy laminate over a foam core, while the deck is hand laid-up polyester resin over a foam core. As with boats of this calibre, bulkheads are bonded in, and there’s also a steel frame taking the keel loads with additional reinforcement from carbon box sections. Under way in chop, there wasn’t a single squeak or rattle – this is a beautifully built boat with the performance to back it up.

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This boat is undeniably fun to sail; engaging on the helm, responsive to being sailed well and reassuring in a blow. If you are after a racing machine, there are other performance cruisers that are faster, including from the X-Yachts Performance range. Similarly, the X-Yachts Cruising range offers a more sedate boat that would be better suited to blue-water cruising. But the Pure X range has found a niche in the market for fast cruisers. There were a couple of tiny niggles: the slightly odd access to the aft cabin through the heads might grow on me, but I wasn’t sure, and I’d have liked a wet locker somewhere on board; I thought it could do with a couple more handholds around the galley and the bottom of the companionway. But that’s nit-picking. This is a boat pretty devoid of hidden gremlins. Craftsmanship is top-notch throughout in both finish and construction, making a very stiff boat with a fresh, modern look. The design developments over the Mark 1 appear to have made a materially better boat with more power, more feel on the helm, and more stability.

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X-Yachts X4⁹: Best Full-Size Cruiser

• By Herb McCormick
• Updated: December 11, 2018

In 2019, yachts over 48 feet were eligible to compete in the unlimited Full-Size Cruiser class, which drew three entrants (including two from the same builder): the X-Yachts X4⁹, X-Yachts Xp 55 and the Hanse 548. All three could also fall under the classification of performance cruisers, and they provided the judging panel with some of the best pure sailing experiences during this year’s round of sea trials.

In fact, observed Tim Murphy, “The ‘p’ in the X-Yachts Xp 55 stands for performance — the hull forms in the company’s Xp line have less wetted surface compared to the firm’s full-on cruising boats. The hull here is epoxy, but the internal grid that X-Yachts is known for is not the usual galvanized steel but carbon. So they’re really making efforts to get the weight out of the boat. Of course, that comes at a cost, and you’re paying a premium. At $1.4 million, this is the most expensive yacht in this year’s fleet.”

Under sail in about 12 knots of wind, the Xp 55 registered solid 8s of boat speed on and off the breeze — good numbers. But the Hanse 548, in less optimal conditions, also got the panel’s attention. “We had a pretty darn nice sail,” said Murphy. “In about 6 knots of breeze, our speeds were nearly the same as the wind speed. We were seeing 5.8 and 6, and the sailing felt really sweet. It’s a very, very pleasant boat to sail. And at $800,000, you get a lot of boat for the money. I think price points are important factors in this class.”

Had the judges completed their sea trials for the week on the Xp 55 and the 548, they would’ve had some fine moments to remember. But — and there’s no other way to put it — nothing compared to the sheer exhilaration they discovered aboard the X-Yachts X4⁹. We’ll let them describe it in their own words.

“in terms of performance, the helm was just scary how ­balanced it was.”

“We’d had a day and a half of light air, and when we stepped aboard, I was afraid we wouldn’t have enough wind to sail,” said Murphy. “But then the breeze filled in a little. True wind was 5.2, and I scribbled in my notes, ‘Boat speed 5.7, 6.’ We were in not very much wind, and we were exceeding it when we steered above 90 degrees apparent! This boat just lit me up. It was absolutely joyful, and it would be a great passagemaker for that reason.”

“Without question, it was the best-sailing boat we tested this year,” said Ed Sherman. “In terms of actual performance, the helm was just scary how well balanced everything was. It was even quick under power — our fast cruise speed was over 8 knots, which I consider pretty good. It was one of the quietest boats too, below 70 db. People need to understand that a lot of that is indicative of the quality of the build — no vibrating doors or rattling stovetops. That’s just not happening on this boat.”

“My impression during the dockside inspection was fairly positive, but sailing the boat reaffirmed those feelings,” said Alvah Simon. “It reinforced why we must always test-sail the boats. The sailing was just fantastic. It was a joy, and I think that’s what people who purchase this boat will be buying into, the joy of sail.”

Perhaps it seems counterintuitive, but despite the difference in size, and even the difference in cost — the X4⁹ comes in at $850,000, or half a million less than its X-Yachts class sibling — the judges felt the smaller offering was the more enjoyable boat to sail, and it wasn’t close.

It made their final decision a simple one. In unanimous fashion, the judging panel proclaimed the X-Yachts X4⁹ the Best Full-Size Cruiser for 2019.

See All Winners: 2019 Boats of the Year

Other Winners:

• Domestic Boat of the Year
• Import Boat of the Year
• Best Midsize Cruiser Under 38 Feet
• Best Midsize Cruiser Over 38 Feet
• Best Full-Size Cruiser Under 48 Feet
• Best Cruising Catamaran Under 50 Feet
• Best Cruising Multihull Over 50 Feet
• Best Charter Boat
• More: Boat of the Year , boat of the year 2019 , Sailboats , x yachts
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Top Notch Performance Cruisers: X-Yachts of Haderslev.

• May 23rd, 2016
• On Location

I just love Denmark. Why? It´s a country with a rich culture and history (the Vikings!), it is situated between two oceans, the Baltic Sea with the admirable Danish South Sea and the wild, aggressive yet beautiful North Sea shores. So, having a couple of days here in Denmark is always very relaxing and nice – and, bonus, here we have some interesting yacht manufacturers and thus a lot more to see. Just 2 days after my visit to Luffe yachts in Kolding (which can be read here ) I was humbled by the chance to have a look onto the yard of famous X-Yachts in Haderslev.

X-Yachts has been founded 1979 – the year of my birth – and has since then a growing number of enthusiasts, fans, admirers and owners of course who swear these boats are the best you ought to buy when it comes to performance yachts. I am greeted by Flemming Ancher, X-Yachts Sales Director and passionate sailor by himself. Flemming will invest some 4 hours in our meeting, will answer astonishingly open and freely and will show me around in the holy halls of X-Yachts with granting me a thorough, long and exclusive look onto the brand new model X4.

“X-Yachts builds the best sailing yachts worldwide. That´s my earnest belief!”

How could I describe Flemming? He is a true Danish man, likes to throw a joke from time to time, as with all Scandinavians, speaks a perfectly fluent English and has this whimsical smile whilst talking: “I am sailing now for 25 years.”, he starts our conversation: “And I can say that I love all the aspects of sailing, being outside in nature and all the details which are connected to boats as well.” It seems like the perfect job for him: “It is! I have been a dealer for Dehler-yachts here in Denmark. They used to build high quality sailing yachts, sturdy and nicely done. Up until the point this brand went bankrupt, it has been a nice business. As I wanted to stay with the sailing community, after Dehler´s smashup there have been only two brands here in Denmark I considered worth working for: Dragonfly and X-Yachts.” Since joining the yard Flemming worked his way up from the after-sales services and the production department to his current status, sales director. He loves his job, this is clear after we had talked for some 5 minutes …

“You see, in this business you´ll have to be really, really, really effective in order to perform well.”, Flemming starts to answer my first question about X-Yachts in the market in general: “Margins are very tight, pressure from the competitors is high and the market in general is uncompromisingly hard.” He refers to the huge amount of used yachts currently flooding the market: “This keeps prices very low. With a high-priced brand such as X-Yachts, that´s a problem.” He refers to used X-Yachts which are still in a superior condition, albeit being 20 or more years of age: “These boats are so well built people will decide to go for a well kept used X-Yacht than to invest in a new one. That´s kind of hard.” Although, he admits, it´s nice and makes him proud to see all the classic X-Yachts in such a good condition still. “But you have to be inventive to draw attention from the costumers.”

This is why X-Yachts goes for quality. “You see, we want to make the best performing sailing yachts in combination with offering a unique sailing experience. That´s something we are always trying ourselves to get constantly better at with each new boat.” Example please. Flemming says, that sailing performance is a combination of a perfectly designed hull that must not be too wide: “This means less volume, we know that, but our boats are simply sailing faster than those roomy wide ships built by others.” Secondly and most important: “A yacht that is built for performing well above all has to be stiff. That´s the basic groundwork of our design philosophy: A stiff, stiffer, stiffest hull!” This is what the designers – and on top of the list is owner and chief-designer Niels Jeppesen (whom I´ve had the pleasure to talk to about Scandinavian Sailing Philosophy, read here ) – are striving to achieve with every single new boat made here. Made here?

“Well, we do have the assembly lines here in Haderslev. In general this means that an X-Yacht is built here, but her hull is not. Hulls are made in Poland where we do have a huge facility and many years of experience with making GRP hulls for yachts.” Isn´t that a contradiction, to have the stuff built in Poland, talk about highest quality and being among the higher priced brands in the market? “It totally isn´t! You see, in Poland we do have a high tech manufacturing site with a highly professionalized team. Poland is perfect for production because you have talented, young and well educated people with a high motivation combined with a relatively low cost structure. In the bottom line: Making stuff there is good because salaries are low.” He raises his trigger finger: “To put it right: Compared to other brands which are taking these savings and giving them to shareholders and other people, we do re-invest every Cent saved in better material. I will show you …”, says Flemming and takes out a sales brochure: X-Yachts hulls are made from the finest materials available, it´s almost as stiff as a full carbon hull, they do utilize the stiffer – yet more expensive – M-Foam for the sandwich-core which won´t be saw-cut. “And, each and every X-Yacht is full epoxy infused.”

“Epoxy Infusion does only make Sense when baked.”

Flemming is smirking as I am nodding my head upon the keyword “epoxy infusion”. Why is that? “Well, Lars, Epoxy is kind of a trend word now amongst yacht builders – which is good because epoxy infusion is a superior technology over hand laminating: It´s saving weight whilst being stiffer. But, you see, the true secret of getting a stiff hull with epoxy infusion is … simply baking it.” And this is what most of the other brands won´t do. “It´s expensive. It needs time. And you need to have these big ovens. That´s nothing when you want to build a yacht and sell it for 130.000 Euros. It´s simply too expensive. So they mostly tend to refer to an osmosis-protection when talking about epoxy, but we … we are doing it the hard way. We are baking each Yacht of our Xp-line, the new X4 and X6 as well, to achieve a single solid hull.” Also, with an X-Yacht all the bulkheads giving lateral strength and stiffness are part of the hull, not laminated or even glued to the hull. No squeaking either …

“We have rod rigging, take pride in our perfectly shaped lead bulb keels and of course we do have our steel or carbon frames. These are basically solid cages mounted tight onto the hull adding extra strength to the hull as well as to the keel bolts.” But as Flemming puts it: “Quality is a disaster!” Old boats do not vanish, they simply stay like forever, won´t lose stiffness and remain to fetch high prices in the market, despite being far less expensive than a brand new X-Yacht. “But we believe this is the right thing to do, you know. This is all expensive stuff but it results in real superior sailing yet making a boat very comfortable. All we do is intended to make the boat stiffer.” That’s why X-Yachts offers a unique service for owners: The “X-approved” used boat service, which Flemming shows me first. We enter a big workshop: “We have space for six yachts here, but you can see just two.” Used yachts are sold almost at an instant here …

“When an X-Yacht owner want to get a new boat he can give his used yacht to us. It will then undergo a thorough check and a complete refit. “If done so a costumer can be sure to acquire a boat that is like brand new.” And from as far as I can see, the boats in the hall looked amazingly fresh and new despite seeing a 15 year old model. X-Yachts did have a hard time during the economic crisis of the last years, as Flemming admits freely. “Recession is hard for the whole business, you see. Here at X-Yachts we´ve had pretty hard times too. But since 2014 it´s reviving and I guess we will be a profitable business again in 2016 or 2017.” Having sold some 350 boats in 2009 of which 260 alone have been the X-35, the smallest model of that time, the company has now sales of 60 to 120 boats per year: “That´s due to the crisis, again, but there´s also a trend towards bigger ships and richer costumers which results in less sales by numbers whilst achieving the same high turnarounds.” While some years ago the top-seller of X-Yachts have been the boats of some 35 feet in length, it´s now different. “People want bigger boats. Bread and butter today are yachts within the 45-50 feet range.”

“X-Yachts Clients are very loyal.”

We proceed into another big workshop where we stand next to a nice “little” boat: “This is our Xc 35”, says Flemming pointing to her sleek white hull with the distinct three stripes at the waterline, a trademark design of X-Yachts: “We did build this boat to attract young people. It´s our smallest boat yet offering all the advantages of an X-Yacht such as superior sailing qualities and luxury. But we have a problem …” Flemming explains, that it is very hard to get young clients to invest in a new ship (as I would resemble his target group perfectly, a starter in sailing, but I did opt for a used yacht too .) “Our clients are very, very loyal indeed. We have people buying their sixth X-Yacht here. But getting them connected to the brand is hard. That’s why we have built this Xc 35. We do not make a single Euro profit with that ship.” My jaw drops. “Believe me, this is not making money at all. We want to attract young buyers and have them enthused for X-Yacht quality. When they get older it´s our intention to have them as costumers for the bigger boats.” Just to get people attracted? Seems like a clever yet risky strategy … a brand new Xc 35 does come with a 200.000 Euro price tag.

Performance is the key? “Well, of course not. We can see that sailing qualities is one thing, the other is … luxury. Let´s be honest, an owner´s wife does have her voice when it comes to buying a boat and since we all want our wives to feel good, a yacht should offer at least some amenities. Thatswhy we have invented our Xc – cruising – line apart from the Xp – performance – line.” As Flemming puts it, Xc-boats are built with an emphasis on living conditions below deck. “It´s the classy cruiser but with nearly all features her performance-sisters do have as well.” Flemming is telling the story that when trialing the new Xc 35 yacht they were astounded that the yacht was still outperforming the polar-diagram predictions … they simply cannot fully explain why the boat is sailing so good, he adds winking. “Our product line is simple: We have the Xp line for performance oriented sailing, regatta and sporty, fast sailing. You wanna get a boat with classy shiplike-design? Than the Xc line is perfect for you. It will be looking nice in another 20 years to come as well.”

The Xc does incorporate everything that an Xp does have but with a strict emphasis on safety. “We went through the whole of the construction of the Xp and have asked ourselves: Would we really send somebody with this and that on a three year circumnavigation?”, Flemming says: “And so we did replace the carbon cage by a steel-made frame, the carbon mast with a well-tried aluminum mast just to be 110 per cent sure, added a little more volume for stowage and space and yet – this yacht is also faster than expected and performes so well!” One might compare an Xc to an Hallberg-Rassy  in getting performance and sturdiness and a beautiful boat. X-Yachts sales devide nearly 50-50 between Xp and Xc with a slight tendency to the latter. We stroll about and I come to see my absolute favorite yacht of the whole range. “Oh yes, the Xp 44. That´s a true beauty, I know!”, it seems that even Flemming has a crush here.

“This is my absolute personal hero!”, Flemming admits standing next to an Xp 44-hull. As he is talking, he mentioned his personal experience in sailing this boat. One needs to be a sporty (and well off) guy to be the right owner for this stallion, Flemming says: “It sails just fantastic! She is not an easy boat to sail, I must admit, because it takes some time to get to know her fully.” This is the reason why it´s only now that more and more Xp 44s will have their first regatta wins despite being sold to their crews and owners some one or two years ago: “It just takes time to get to know her. But we´ve won the Monaco Regatta and the Middle Sea Race recently with an Xp 44 and we are expecting to see more.” Though she isn´t a pure racer – offering a load of luxury an Xp 44 is a perfect boat for a sailing family as well. One may really enjoy sailing and life aboard. Though Flemming admits: “When it comes to a true Blue Water circumnavigation, I would choose an Xc boat.”

“Building Quality is above Standard at X-Yachts.”

We enter another hall where I can see five or six boats in different stages of the built. The hulls are side by side and workers are roaming about fitting different things to the ships. There´s no noise at all and despite people being busy to work through their tight schedules every time we walk by they seem to have a second to take a look, give a friendly nod or greet us.

I can observe all the different stages of building a hull. First the lower main shell is outfitted with everything from piping, cables, engine and saildrive, furniture and woodworks, tanks, electronic equipment and lighting – the complete interior will be installed and thoroughly tested prior assembly. Then the “marriage” takes place: With a crane the upper shell – or the deck – will be lowered, bolted and glued to the hull. When the upper shells arrives, it will come fully operational.

On another assembly line I can see some of the upper shells in different stages too. “When the deck-shells arrive, we will cut out the portholes, drill holes and stuff and install all the equipment needed on deck.”, Flemming explains. “We will also apply the decking to the shell. Mostly its real Teak decking, but we have an increasing number of owners requesting artificial decking materials, such as PVC.” (Read my article on synthetic decking here )

I ask whether every X-Yachtv still breathes the spirit of Niels Jeppesen. “Oh yes, Niels is not just a name giver or some kind of a e-minence grise”, Flemming answers: “He is still drawing the lines of every single boat built by X-Yachts. Every single. That´s because we still learn. We are constantly trying to get better.” Niels lives in Southhampton, UK where he maintains a small office. “Southhampton because he has his wife and family there and despite private things it´s where one of the most renowned universities for boat design has it´s headquarter. So it´s good to be there to have all these young, talented and motivated new boat designers in one place.” Still, upon submitting his drafts, the bulk of the work is done in Haderslev, Denmark.

“It´s a game of Ping-Pong if you want”, Flemming tells me the story of how a boat is designed in the process: “When Niels´ ideas arrive we do have a team of engineers and designers here that will minister the details. All the practical solutions and different answers to all the thousands of questions which arise during the process.” These will be sent to Niels and either approved or further refined. “Niels has 37 years of experience in building yachts”, Flemming explains, “but he is still on fire like a child before Christmas when a new project takes form.” Just as the upcoming X4, is ask? “Oh yes. I will show you later …”

We stand on the upper platform looking down onto the hulls. Xp´s and Xc´s are lying next to each other, workers are roaming about like diligent bees. “We do everything to have the best possible product here”, Flemming says and points towards a still empty hull at the start of the outfitting process: “Let´s go downstairs to this boat, I want to show you the steel frame. Why? Because there is one thing we´ve never experienced with an X-Yacht and we are doing everything we can to never have it happen: A yacht losing her keel.”

“An X-Yacht should be the stiffest of them all.”

As we enter the hull – a 40 feet boat – I can clearly see the thick frame. It´s made of galvanized steel. A solid thick main frame right in the middle of the hull directly above the keel forming the later bilge. The steel seems to have 2 centimeters in thickness with a lot of bracing adding to rigidity. Three massive arms will derive from the mainframe to either side of the boat. There the arms are bolted with massive screws to the GRP-hull, bearing huge stringers in this section.

“Looks awesome, doesn´t it? With our Xp-models this cage will be made of carbon”, Flemming explaings, “which will reduce weight significantly. As this model is a cruiser we opted for steel.” I can imagine that hitting a reef or a stone with the keel would produce huge forces which could result in cracks of the carbon cage. “This is what I meant we added safety to the cruising models. Running aground can happen when cruising, happen more often that running aground whilst racing, so we opted for steel here.” Nevertheless, I can imagine 2 centimeters of carbon indeed is very rigid as well.

“The keel is then directly bolted to the frame here”, says Flemming as we are standing right on top of the steel frame. “The bore holes for keel bolts can be seen clearly. So you can imagine this adds significantly to stiffness, rather more than just having your keel bolted to the relatively soft GRP-ground construction of a hull and just having it secured with some counter plates made of steel (as it is the case with my King´s Cruiser 33, which can be seen here )

“You see, a keel is the ultimate part of a sailing yacht as it provides for the center of gravity thus producing the stability needed. That’s why we do invest a lot when producing our keels”, adds Flemming as we take a look onto different keels later: With X-Yachts an owner can of course opt for the three classic variants of keels: The shoal keel with it´s L-form, the T-keel with it´s lead bulb and fine sharp shaft and the deep performance keel, another derivate from the T-Keel. “We do produce the keels in a very costly way”, Flemming explains: “First the keel is assembled, bulb to the shaft, then it´s encapsulated with a baking form, GRP and epoxy is added. Afterwards we do take it out and sanding it smoothly to a perfect form. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect!” (Besides, here´s an article on keel-designs and their influence on the stability of a sailing yacht )

Last but not least I take a look onto the chain plates as I am currently working at the very same item by myself with the refit program of my King´s Cruiser 33 (read article here ). With X-Yachts the chain plates are made of Nirosta steel of course and fitted from the outside of the hull through the freeboard to be tightly bolted to a steel-cage laminated and baked into the hull as well. It´s so sad I cannot incorporate these stiffness-providing measures to my own boat …

“The X4 is our new Approach to the ultimate Dream Yacht”

I haven´t dare to hope for it but I took my chance and asked Flemming if it would be possible to take a sneaky look onto the all new upcoming yacht X4. He replied: “Sure, no prob. Follow me.” Oh, yeah wow. We drove 600 meters from the main area to another, even bigger, facility and entered the hall. The all familiar odor of glass reinforced fiber was again impregnating the air and as we entered the hall there it was: Right next to a big Xc 45 ready to have her underwater hull painted – the hull of the X4. “There it is.”, Flemming said, “Hull number 001. This is our new baby, the fine X4.”

We took a look from above and I could clearly observe the unfinished interior of the boat: This was the 3 cabin version with two large aft cabins and the big fore cabin, two heads, but as Flemming promised, there will be two more options to have the X4 customized with one head or even one big aft cabin. “With the X-line we try to add something new to our product range,” Flemming explains: “You have the Xc-boats for cruising, Xp-boats for sportive sailing and the smaller Xr range for racers. And with the X-line it´s a new approach. You see, our cruisers are timeless beauties. But we´ve had the feeling that a lot of owners want something more modern, more contemporary.” And this is how the X-line was born: High performance plus modern straight design.

The boat has a length of exactly 41 feet or 12.50 meters. A maximum beam of 3.95 meters and thus offering a spacious interior. “The owner´s cabin in the fore is huge”, says Flemming pointing towards to bow. It´s something like a master bedroom, light filled and roomy.” Looking to the aft cabins I notice the huge bathroom on the starboard side: The entry door to the cabin gives way to the lavatory on the left hand side, a huge drying locker for wet clothing and on the right hand side into the double berthed cabin. The woodworks air friendy and lighty colors and everything appears made with an emphasis on modernity and quality. “It will be a fantastic ship”, says Flemming, seemingly proud.

Proceeding into the saloon I again notice the sturdy steel frame bolted to the big stringers at each side of the hull. Flemming points towards the left and right parts of the bottom of the hull: “Here both fresh water and Diesel tanks will be mounted. As a matter of fact, it proves that putting heavy parts – such as tanks – to the lowermost part of the ship adds to her sailing properties and stability.” These tanks will be situated not only deep down in the ship´s hull but also near the center – the X4 will be a well-balanced boat.

Looking abaft I can see the then empty engine room with the massive footing and outlet of the saildrive, left and right of which the two big aft-cabins are clearly visible. Each cabin will have its own small stateroom with a drying locker. “With the X4 a crew of 6 people will find it very luxurious to travel around, though we do have two more berths in the saloon.” But if travelling with 8 people would be such a good idea … this is a decision of its own.

We proceed to the outside of the hull where I can observe the still uncovered GRP/epoxy material. “You can clearly see the knife-cut M-foam here.”, says Flemming: “As I could see it with other brands where the foam is cut by saw, this leaves big sections between the foam-squares. These kerfs have to be filled with epoxy which in our view is a waste of precious material on the one hand and doesn´t add to stiffness very much on the other hand.” Knocking on the hull produces a full sound but to be honest, I have to trust Flemming regarding this point as knocking on the thick hand laminated GRP hull of my 40 year old King´s Cruiser will produce a similar sound.

The X4 will see water within the coming weeks as she is scheduled to go on sea trials soon. “We want to have the first yachts of this new type delivered in Summer 2016”, says Flemming: “And there´s a lot of work still ahead.” I can see it: The hull misses her keel, engines and electrics have to be installed and there´s a rig to be to be mounted still. We leave the unfinished X4 001 and I have the impression that this is going to be a very beautiful boat. Additionally I do like the 40-feet-class as this size offers in my eyes the best compromise between “big enough to offer some space” and “small enough not to cost too much”. In any case, an X4 is way out of reach for me here.

“The X6: Our new Flagship.”

Speaking of out-of-reach: Proceeding through the hall back to Flemming´s bureau we pass two more hulls. Big ships. Grey color, again, three stripes of X-Yachts at the waterline: “Impressive!”, I say. Flemming points towards the hulls: “This is the X6, our new flagship.” This battleship will have a length over all of 63 feet, being 5.4 meters in width at her widest point. This is truly a big ship and a redefinition of building a yacht for X-Yachts.

Taking a look into her hull again I am astounded of the vast variety of huge cabins: The X6 will offer three to four cabins and a whole new experience of luxury. As I stand in the unfinished saloon with its some 360 degrees view. Clearly, this yacht is a nice sailing toy for somebody who already has everything. But putting luxury aside, I am looking forward to see the X6 in the water under full canvas.

X-Yachts is reacting to a market of growing sizes and richer people wanting bigger boats as anybody can view when taking a look onto the 62 feet X6 sailing yacht. I am still glad that despite these megalomaniac projects they are still building yachts of convenient sizes such as the 35 to 44 feet range. And as we walk through all the hulls I´ve had the pleasure to visit today we come alongside my all-time favorite: The Xp 44.

A perfect Day in Haderslev

As we proceed into the office of Flemming I thank him for taking his time and showing me around, answering all my questions and letting me take pictures of every corner I wanted to have a look at: “You see, we have no secrets. Building yachts is no rocket science”, he says and laughs: “Building good yachts on the other hand needs dedication and a strong will. We don´t want to make a product that suits everyone. I often hear the complaints of high prices and stuff. But I must say – looking at this Xp 44 – what do you want? Do you want high quality, a stiff hull and superior sailing performance? Than you ought to be willing to pay the price for it.” Flemming describes the ongoing discussion about pricings with buying a car: You can´t go for a Porsche but willing to pay for a Fiat.

“I know that other brands sell their yachts for half of our price. I know that.” He is referring to the big brands like Bavaria, Beneteau or Hanse: “But you know what? They put out a hull within three days. It´s not good. This is my firm belief. These hulls are soft compared to ours. Of course, they offer a lot of space but they won´t perform well.” He also refers to the built in equipment: With X-Yachts the stable, lighter and yet better performing rod rigging is a standard commodity, just as Anderson Winches of Veijle not too far away from Haderslev, a well known brand with which X-Yachts has a long standing tradition of outfitting the boats are working together for new developments. “An X-Yacht features an holistic approach to sailing – to superior sailing”, Flemming concludes our wonderful forenoon.

As I am saying goodbye to Flemming I cannot really leave the compound. Too much do I feel drawn to these wonderful boats: I really like X-Yachts for their understating design yet their clean, very distinct lines. The white hulls, black carbon masts, low freeboards promise the hell of a ride. As I am strolling the company´s own small marina where the boats are finally outfitted for the handover to their new owners, it´s again the Xp 44 I am admiring most.

With a sigh I leave take with me the memories of a perfect day here at Haderslev, the hospitality and openness of Flemming and thus being filled with enthusiasm and joy, even though I presumably am never going to own one, it´s still a pleasure to dream …

I look forward to the coming season and hopefully a chance to see the X4 floating – if not so, then at the latest during the upcoming Hanseboot-fair here in Hamburg, where I had last year admired X-Yachts as well .

Thanks Flemming Ancher for taking me around & Greetings to Haderslev.

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For over 40 years, X-Yachts has been designing exceptional sailing yachts with an enviable reputation for quality We are proud to be the exclusive representative for X-Yachts in the Southeastern United States. Constant innovation alongside meticulous attention to detail and a superb build have awarded this Danish builder with a fantastic reputation and an incredibly loyal following.

From comfortable yet sprightly cruisers to formidable opponents on the race course, X-Yachts have much to offer the quality-conscious sailor. Explore the latest X-Yachts for sale in our listings, contact us for more information.

Superb Sailing Pleasure

X-Yachts are designed to offer comfort, safety, and reliability, regardless of weather and sea-state. These vessels provide superb sailing pleasure for the discerning sailor who enjoys and appreciates a truly remarkable sailing experience.

Equipment and materials are chosen based on quality, not cost to build. Buyers can rest assured that X-Yachts are truly superior in their construction, maintaining their quality and value over time.

A Boat For Every Sailor

Whether racing, cruising, or weekending, arriving to a destination safely is of utmost importance. Ideally, the structural integrity of a boat alongside careful design will allow for a comfortable passage while making no compromise on performance. X-Yachts has perfected the fusion of sailing performance and quality, affording owners pleasurable sailing  and  peace of mind. Explore the lineup below, and discover the perfect model for you.

XPerformance

X-Yachts’ XPerformance line offers world-class sailing performance for even the toughest bluewater racing. Ever-evolving designs implement the latest developments in sailing technology alongside safety and comfort, with numerous yachts from this range consistently winning regattas world-wide. While the models from the Xp line are stunning from the dock, their performance out on the water is absolutely breathtaking. The newest designs are optimized for the increasingly popular IRC handicap rules and latest ORC rules.  Awards

• Xp 55: Sail Magazine’s Best Boats of 2019: Flagship Monohull

The absolute best in cruising comfort with no compromise in performance. X-Yachts’ range of dedicated cruisers are designed with bluewater sailing in mind, standing up to the toughest of conditions. Combining ease of handling with luxury amenities, these yachts are in a class of their own. Featuring a deeper V-shaped hull than the Xp and X ranges, the XCrusing line boasts unparalleled stability and plenty of room below deck, with only a marginal reduction in light-air performance.  Awards

• Xc 45: Cruising World’s Best Full-Size Cruiser Under 50’ (2016)
• Xc 45: Sailing Today Awards’ 2015 Performance Cruiser
• Xc 35: Sail Magazine’s Best Boats of 2015, 31’-40’

Taking the best features from X-Yachts’ Performance and Cruising lines, the X range is a perfect balance of the builder’s signature performance alongside comfortable cruising.  Innovative features above and below deck allow the performance-focused sailor to find enjoyment aboard a comfortable cruising vessel. XRange models do not compromise the fulfillment found in a beautifully designed performance boat, while still allowing for long-range cruising.  Awards

• X4⁰: 2020 European Yacht of the Year Winner: Performance Cruiser
• X4³: 2017 Cruising World’s Best Full-Sized Cruiser Under 50’
• X4³: Adriatic Boat of the Year: Performance 41’-60’ Winner 2017
• X4⁶: 2020 Cruising World Boat of the Year: Best Full-size Cruiser
• X4⁹: HISWA Sailing Boat of the Year
• X4⁹: Cruising World’s Best Full-Size Cruiser 2019

This is X-Yachts

X-Yachts are built on a deep relation to and understanding of performance, design and the demands of the sea

X-Yachts aims to pioneer the boat industry through innovation and world class craftsmanship with a uniquely Danish design character thus promising our customers Superior Sailing Pleasure. X-Yachts started as a small shipyard in 1979, building sailboats with record-breaking racing results.

With 45 years of heritage, X-Yachts builds sailboats in three different series. The XPerformance series is designed with the focus on racing performance and speed while keeping in mind the sleek, comfortable yacht design synonymous with X-Yachts. The XCruising series allows comfortable cruising whether offshore or onshore, on spacious and luxurious yachts. The XRange series combines the best characteristics of both series without compromising luxury or performance.

X-Yachts has built and sold more than 6,000 boats to customers worldwide. We are passionate about engaging with them and building a worldwide X-Community of X-Yachts owners and sailors.

X-Yachts employs over 280 people worldwide and has a network of 40 dealers selling our boats in 22 countries.

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From the long heritage of designers and naval architects that really understand what a true sailing yacht should be, fanatical attention to detail and a constant drive for innovation, X-Yachts are beautifully designed and built yachts that give Superior Sailing Pleasure to the knowledgeable owner that understands the difference.

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Welcome to the X-Yachting

Sailing center in greece.

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The X-Yachting Sailing Center in Greece was created by a group of entrepreneurs who love sailing. Our goal is to offer our customers a unique combination of performance sailing and family holidays, exactly as we would design it for ourselves and our families. High-end performance boats, premium service, and perfect conditions in the picturesque Greek archipelago help us achieve this goal.

In close partnership with the X-Yachts shipyard of Denmark, we offer our customers the opportunity to enjoy all series of their high-end, brand new, luxury performance boats. Equipped with all the extras to ensure great sailing, convenience, and safety, you can treat yourself to a true high-end X-Yachts experience. Our team, carefully selected and trained, will be by your side from the moment you book until your return home, ensuring you get the most out of the experience. And in case you can’t resist the idea of owning your own X-Yachts boat, our team will guide you to make the right choice between a brand new or a like new second hand boat.

Our Mission & Values

We have all been there. When you are a sailor yourself and you first charter a mainstream charter production boat, with family or friends for a week, there is one nagging word that haunts you throughout the experience; “compromise”.

Our mission, in a phrase, is to offer uncompromised sailing experiences complemented by high-end service. For charter customers and X-owners.

Our main values are integrity, transparency and knowledge. For us, integrity means not diluting our promises to our customers, partners, and within the team. Transparency means being crystal clear from the start about what we can and cannot offer. Knowledge refers to the heart driven appetite for all of our team to learn something new every day becoming better and offering a truly impeccable service.

Our charter base is located at Olympic Marine in Lavrio, Greece. It’s a 35-minute drive from Athens International Airport and just 16 nautical miles from the start of the most scenic area of the Greek archipelago. The location is of key importance from which you are able to venture to the hundreds of Greek islands and the Mediterranean when the season starts.

• Meet our team

George Anyfiotis Member of Advisory Board

Philip Cotsis Owner & Head of Advisory Board

Kalliopi Syrigou Office Operations & Charter Services

Jason Grivas CEO

Vassilis Paporidakis Head of Operations & Technical Services

“ Last but not least, the beautiful, heart driven, professional, highly motivated and supporting Crew from X-Yachting Lavrio !!! They where just great, gave us the boat in an outstanding state, even partially catered with nice attentions. Their sailing options and product management is also on a complete different level compared to the usual market!How not going back to these beautiful friends!!! ” Francois, Switzerland Bareboat Charter

“ From the initial point of contact with X Yachting I can testify that the level of service offered was of the highest quality, from booking the charter, to arrival, to stepping off the yacht at end of the charter the very highest standards were offered in a friendly and cordial way by everyone in the X Yachting team ” Stefan, Cyprus 'Ghost skipper' Charter

“ The cruise was amazing, the boat is incredible and Taki the skipper the best we could ask. I will consider fors sure to have another experience like this one next year ” Filippo, Italy Skippered Charter

“ Absolutely great! ” Kevin, Denmark Bareboat One-way Charter

“ We had a super week as a family with two young boys on a brand new 4-6 with a fantastic skipper. All organization went very smooth from airport transfer, jumping on the boat and finding nice spots to anchor. Can't wait to come back again! ” Bas, Netherlands Skippered Charter

“ We have been very fortunate to have partnered with X-Yachting Greece to maintain and manage our X4.9 in such a spectacular part of the world. From initial contact with George and subsequently getting to know and work with the wider X Yachting team, the whole experience has been very positive. The knowledge and support offered through the X-Yacht Care Program has been invaluable. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with such a dynamic and professional team. ” Damien & Patricia Xstatic

“ X-Yacht Sailing Centre – Our View… A Breath of Fresh Air! A last minute change of rules on Covid left us looking for somewhere to take Savvy XP55 that after two years of servicing overdue was in need of some specialist love and care. For the last few seasons we have been trying to find somewhere with reliable professionals and sensible price lists with a long list of bad experiences across the Mediterranean… then we arrived by chance at X-Yachts Sailing Centre. We were hopeful the X-Yacht name was a good sign but really didn’t know what to expect when arriving with some quite significant maintenance issues including a troublesome generator that had been worked on by three different engineers before without success and a long list of essential maintenance and repairs. From the moment we arrived at very short notice to a very warm welcome from George Jason Stella Bill and the team things started to happen, within days a full list of works was agreed engineers had been on board that understood the boat, its peculiarities and were already fixing issues others had attempted and failed to fix elsewhere for over a year. They run a yacht care program which to begin with we were hesitant about having been promised the earth elsewhere and getting very little. Having now experienced it I would thoroughly recommend this. They take care of everything, have the best of the technicians to hand and access to a vast parts network all at near to at cost levels with a simple understandable, and what we feel a very reasonable fee for their management of everything. The concierge like service that the team has given us has made life so easy through a difficult time with global restrictions. Nothing is too much trouble, they care for the boats like they own them, they are sensitive and sensible and never spend our money without discussion. They have also done a great deal more than we had ever expected putting Savvy back to better than delivery condition after some clever modifications. Olympic Marine is also situated perfectly for international travel and has immediate access to a sailing mecca of the Aegean Islands, with the Ionian and Turkey a stone's throw away. In short… these are good and decent welcoming people who do things the right way always. It is just about the only place outside Haderslev that we know we don’t have to worry when leaving Savvy… Our only worry is that having found them we will find it difficult to leave when we stretch our legs further afield! Thank you George, Stella, Jason, Bill and all the team ” Paul & Nicole Sailing Savvy Xp55

We keep saying that the X-Yachts Experience is an uncompromised and unprecedented charter experience. But what does this mean in practice? We have a collection of the major differences of X-Yachting compared to mainstream market.

With almost 40 years of experience, there’s a reason X-Yachts have established enviable customer loyalty: quality. From the long heritage of designers and naval architects that really understand what a true sailing yacht should be, fanatical attention to detail and a constant drive for innovation and a build quality second to none.

Safety, Performance, Sea Keeping, Comfort and Built Quality by design

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Olympic Marine, Lavrio 77th km Athinon-Souniou, 19500 [email protected] +302292023916

• Xc 47 to join X-Yachting Sailing Center’s fleet in 2025
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Early Snapdragon X Elite benchmarks seemingly confirm the chip's incredible performance and battery life potential

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite lives up to the hype.

Microsoft 's all-new Surface Laptop sporting Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite SoC has been tested and reviewed by a third party, Signal65 . The review was commissioned by Microsoft, and other reviewers haven't been able to chime in just yet, but the results seem to confirm what Qualcomm has been saying. The testing compared the X Elite-equipped Surface to four other devices in a plethora of benchmarks, including thermal testing, to see how Qualcomm's new silicon stacks up. Ryan Shrout shows that Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite SoC delivers as advertised. The chip boasts outstanding AI performance and features incredibly long battery life in Microsoft's latest Surface laptop. CPU performance was also excellent, often outperforming Intel's Meteor Lake processors and, at times, outperforming Apple's M3 silicon . The chip also boasts good thermal behavior, featuring competitively low surface temperatures even under maximum load. The new X Elite Surface laptop was compared with Microsoft's older Surface Laptop 5 sporting an Alder Lake Core i7-1255U, the Surface Pro 9 with SQ3 silicon, MSI's Prestige 16 AI EVO sporting Intel's latest Meteor Lake Core Ultra 7 155H, and Apple's latest MacBook Air 15 running on M3 silicon.

Beginning with the thermal test results, the Snapdragon X Elite-equipped Surface laptop fell behind its Alder Lake predecessor as well as Apple's M3-equipped MacBook Air, but was competitive with MSI 's Meteor Lake laptop. In a multi-threaded run of Cinebench 2024, the X Elite-equipped Surface laptop had a hotspot temp of 50.3C and the MSI Prestige 16 EVO had a hotspot temp of 56.2C. Apple's M3 MacBook Air did the best, with a hotspot of 45.8C, and the previous generation Surface had a 47.1C hotspot. Dropping to a lighter single-threaded Cinebench workload, the Snapdragon X Elite Surface showed much better results, with a hotspot temp of 37.4C. The MacBook Air again ranked first with a 35.1C hotspot, followed by the MSI at 41.3C and the Surface 5 brought up the rear at 44.1C. Singnal65 conducted two battery life tests, one with local video playback and the other using the Procyon productivity test. The Snapdragon X Elite did excellent here, beating out all of the other laptops in both battery life tests, though it didn't test the MacBook in Procyon. In the local video playback test, the MacBook M3 Air came in second with 16% less battery life, the MSI was 25% behind the Snapdragon, the Surface Pro 9 SQ3 delivered 44% less battery life, and the older Surface 5 offered 58% worse battery life — less than half as long as the X Elite Surface. The Procyon battery life tests were closer, with the Core Ultra 7 155H Meteor Lake chip only 10% behind, the Surface 9 Pro was 32% behind, and the Alder Lake Surface 5 came in 41% behind. Stats weren't provided for the MacBook Air, but Signal65 says it offers equivalent battery life to the Snapdragon X Elite in this test. Signal65 ran a variety of compute benchmarks, including Cinebench, Geekbench, and AI workloads. The Snapdragon X Elite delivered the top results in both Cinebench and Geekbench for multi-threaded performance, though the Apple M3 outpaced it in the single-threaded tests by 15 and 17% respectively. The Intel Meteor Lake chip wasn't too far behind, with the Snapdragon X Elite leading by 5% to 18% in these benchmarks. The Snapdragon X Elite completely dominated its competitors in AI workloads, thanks to its 45 teraops NPU. It's the first chip to sport 45 TOPS of performance for just the NPU (i.e. without help from the CPU and GPU). In the Procyon AI computer vision benchmark, the Snapdragon was basically twice as fast as Apple's competing M3 silicon, also double the performance of the Microsoft SQ3 chip, and over triple the performance of Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H processor. (The older Alder Lake chip couldn't run this particular test, as it lacks an NPU.) Emulation performance was also tested, where the Snapdragon X Elite proved surprisingly potent. Emulation on the Snapdragon X Elite is achieved through Windows 11 on ARM's brand new translation layer, which Microsoft dubs Prism. It's supposed to boost emulation performance by 10 to 20% on Windows 11 24H2 compared to older hardware/OS revisions. The new translation layer did not disappoint, with the X Elite easily besting the Microsoft SQ3 and Alder Lake chips, matching the Core Ultra 7 in PugetBench Lightroom Classic, but falling behind the Apple M3 and Meteor Lake chips in Blender 4.11. Note however that the Microsoft SQ3 and Apple M3 wouldn't run the Lightroom classic test. Graphics performance also looks competitive. The X Elite was roughly twice as fast as the Alder Lake and SQ3 chips, though the integrated Arc Graphics in Meteor Lake were 22–35 percent faster in two of the 3DMark tests (but tied in the lighter Wild Life test). The Apple M3 was also faster in two of the tests, leading by 29–31 percent, but it couldn't run the new Steel Nomad test. You can check the full review for additional productivity, web, and media processing performance results. In short, the X Elite does reasonably well in all of those, trading blows with the Apple M3 and Meteor Lake chips while easily outclassing the slower Microsoft SQ3. However, it's important to remember that this is a commissioned review, paid for by Microsoft. As such, it's hardly surprising that the text ends up being highly favorable of the new Surface laptop. We look forward to doing our own truly independent testing in the coming days.

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Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

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• ThomasKinsley This looks good, but I'm still nervous that the benchmark is commissioned by Microsoft and therefore is not truly independent. We need tech review sites to get their hands on these machines to get real results. Reply
• Pierce2623 Wait…so 12 full fat p cores beats big.LITTLE chips in a multithreaded test? Who would’ve ever guessed that? Reply
• kealii123 So as far as I can tell, this is roughly on par with AMD's 780m? Kinda disappointing on the graphics side. Reply

kealii123 said: So as far as I can tell, this is roughly on par with AMD's 780m? Kinda disappointing on the graphics side.

• Giroro Every couple years Microsoft pretends to care about ARM, pushes out a product that nobody buys, and quietly sweeps it under the rug so they can pretend like the next one is a big deal. At the end of the day, I think people just don't want a nerfed computer that forces you to use a phone-style app store that charges inflated prices. Because Microsoft is going to make their ARM products locked into the Microsoft store again, just like every other time, right? I don't think that Microsoft understands that if they limit features of their desk-sized computers to make it work like a phone... then people are just going to use their phones. Like I'll keep a laptop around because mobile websites are awful, feature limited, and often broken. I usually can't pay my bills with a phone, because a lot of the places I need to pay bills tend to not have an adequate mobile page. Since "desktop mode" doesn't do anything useful anymore, well that's one reason to keep a PC handy. But when Microsoft inevitably decides they can compete with android by forcing their desktop browser to only display broken mobile pages, I wouldn't say "Well it's broken in both places so I might as well leave the phone at home and take the laptop". I would just ditch the useless laptop. Microsoft could delete their app store and lean into the high performance, customizability, flexibility, open marketplace, wide compatibility, or any of the other things a PC can do a lot better than mobile... but they refuse. Their current leadership apparently has no idea what product they are supposed to be selling. Reply

Pierce2623 said: Wait…so 12 full fat p cores beats big.LITTLE chips in a multithreaded test? Who would’ve ever guessed that?

• tigerseal12 Was this a sponsored article? Seriously, your headline says "incredible performance and battery life" but 10% battery life on Procyon over a 8-month old Core Ultra and "equivalent" to M3 does not scream game-changer. This from an opaque sponsored reviewer which at best set up ideal conditions for the Snapdragon X. Behind the M3 and only 5% difference vs the 7H on single-threaded performance. It still could not outperform with emulated apps, merely "matching", likely on a cherry-picked app. It's an improvement over the 8cx sure but the headline is hyperbolic. Reply
• Quirkz A warning sign to me was the comparison to a macbook air. A passively cooled lower power version of the device compared under a sustained workload to an actively cooled device. Yeap. I'd expect the any actively cooled device to beat the macbook air during sustained workloads. The better comparison for pure performance would have been the macbook pro. (Value for money is a different question of course. If this device retails at better performance than the air at the same pricepoint, then that's quite a win.) Reply
• NeoMorpheus Crtl+F “AMD= zero. Amazing writing skills that somehow manages to ignore one important CPU player in such manner. Anyways, hopefully that wont happen when real reviews are done. Reply

Giroro said: Microsoft could delete their app store and lean into the high performance, customizability, flexibility, open marketplace, wide compatibility, or any of the other things a PC can do a lot better than mobile... but they refuse. Their current leadership apparently has no idea what product they are supposed to be selling.

• View All 21 Comments

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Microsoft's Automatic Super Resolution arrives to improve gaming performance — Auto SR serves as an upscaler similar to Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR

I n the wake of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X and the ever-present desire to push Windows 11 on Arm to the forefront, Microsoft announced and explained an exclusive feature for Arm Windows 11 today— Auto SR. Microsoft Auto SR, or "Automatic super resolution", is an AI-powered image upscaling solution intended to be used similarly to DLSS , FSR , and other such upscaling solutions. It should not be confused with the more recently announced DirectSR , which functions as an API to integrate any upscaling solution from any vendor easily.

Based on the information on the official Microsoft support page for enabling this feature, there are some significant downsides. However, this is still quite nice to have since Qualcomm's Snapdragon X may otherwise be restricted in upscaling options, particularly in titles without existing upscaling settings. It also shows that Microsoft is still serious about Windows 11 on Arm, and the Snapdragon X CPUs look pretty powerful indeed, even while running x86/x64 applications.

Notable Restrictions of Microsoft Auto SR

• Only supports Qualcomm Snapdragon X and Windows 11 on Arm (24H2 or newer), for now. The PC must also support Copilot+ .
• Restricted to native ARM titles, as well as certain DirectX11 and DirectX12 games. DX11 and DX12 games in 10-bit formats, as well as OpenGL, Vulkan, and older versions of DirectX like 9 or 8 aren't supported at all.
• For games where it can work but isn't automatically enabled, the end user will need to manually configure each additional game.
• Auto SR cannot be used simultaneously with HDR , which is a significant sacrifice in color vibrancy and accuracy for devices with OLED and high-end IPS panels.
• Enabling or disabling a passive Auto SR indicator requires registry key edits , for some reason. There's no reason this shouldn't be a quick toggle in Windows.
• Auto SR doesn't support Display resolutions under 1080p.  Considering how many mobile devices use a sub-1080p resolution— and how they would certainly see gaming performance boons from doing so— this is an odd omission.

The games currently confirmed to automatically support AutoSR include AAA titles like Borderlands 3, God of War (2018), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , and Dark Souls III . A full list of games known to be supported can be found on Worksonwoa.com (literally 'Works on Windows on Arm') with the Auto SR filter applied.

Following Microsoft's instructions, other games can be manually tested with Auto SR. As long as it works and you aren't using a device with (or connected to) an HDR display, you have no reason not to enable this to squeeze the most power out of a mobile chipset. However, only actual time and testing will determine whether this upscaling solution looks as good as Nvidia DLSS 2 or AMD FSR 3— though using AI in these upscaling solutions is usually a good sign.