First look: Zodiac X10CC rigid-hulled RIB

According to Zodiac, the Zodiac X10CC was three years in development. It’s the result of the brand listening to customers, it says, all of whom wanted a bigger centre console boat with “more habitability”, which in this case translates as more internal beam via much smaller tubes fitted around the boat.

“The tube on this type of boat is not decorative, but enables it to be approved as a RIB and therefore to carry up to 20 people, compared with around 10 people for a rigid boat,” Zodiac said in a statement announcing the new model.

“It also serves to protect the boat from bumps, and above all provides a very noticeable stability not felt with a rigid boat of the same size, especially when the boat turns.”

The Zodiac X10CC, the largest boat ever built at Zodiac, sits on top of a twin-stepped hull that allows air to mix with the water passing along the boat’s hull, making it more slippery to improve fuel economy and top speeds.

Aft, it features a double saloon that can convert into a twin sundeck, a fully equipped galley station, plenty of onboard storage, and luxury appointments such as folding seats, tinted portholes, stitched upholstery, painted stainless steel and more.

Default power comes from twin 300hp Mercury Verado outboard engines, but with twin 400hp Mercury V10 Verado outboard engines, Zodiac claims fuel use on test is reportedly as efficient as 3.0 litres per nautical mile. Top speed with a few people onboard is rated at 60 knots, with Zodiac claiming the X10CC uses up to 30 percent less fuel than a comparable rigid boat.

The 760-litre fuel tank gives an estimated range of around 250 nautical miles.

Forward, the Zodiac X10CC features a cabin under the console with a double bed and a separate bathroom with a toilet and washbasin. Two of the three windows in this space can open to provide natural airflow.

Options for the Zodiac X10CC include a hardtop, live well and fishing rod holder packages, a bow sundeck with table and backrests, a kitchen pack with a fridge,  shore power, a ski pole, and an eighth-speaker premium audio system with subwoofer.

Zodiac has priced the X10CC from €139,000 (around $A230,000) for European customers buying the hull only, with a hard-topped and optioned-up model featuring twin 300hp Mercury Verado outboard engines priced at just more than €281,000. Zodiac says the new model is available for delivery now.