X-Yachts X-35

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea, wrote Isak Dinensen, aka Baroness Karen Blixen, a Danish writer who lived from 1885-1962. So it was for us today. The prospect we faced was this: a new, promising, purpose-built One Design Danish yacht and, damn it, no sunshine or wind. But like Blixen said, once we hit the salt water, once the clouds parted and an albeit fickle sea breeze started building and filling the panel kevlar sails, we found the cure, our sailing fix. Well, actually, I was left wanting - more wind and a race, perhaps - but that's always the sign of a good race yacht... you want to get back out on the track.

"It's not the traditional club racer who is likely to be stirred into buying an X-35," explained X-Yacht's importer Andrew Parkes. "But, say, your Etchells owners who appreciated the virtues of One Design sailing, who perhaps likes the idea of heading overseas to race the big class regattas there." And, boy, there sure are some X-35 regattas planned this year in Germany, Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland this summer.

And who's the local competition? Sydney Yachts, I guess. Though strictly speaking you can't compare the new X-35 (handy IRC TCC rating of 1.055) with a Sydney 36 (IRC TCC of 1.060), because the latter isn't a strict One Design yacht, both their respective agents do. The importers of the X-Yacht have crunched the numbers and reckon the fully-imported X-35 is within $20,000 of the Sydney 36CR when you spec it with things like carbon-fibre spinnaker pole, gas stove and compliance, portholes and everything else that is bundled with the X-35, such as fridge, pressurised hot water, shorepower connection and battery charger, holding tank, anchor and rode... but more of that later.

While both yachts fly a very a similar sail area, the Sydney 36CR has a 2150kg lead keel compared to 1700kg of L-shaped lead/cast iron keel on the X-35. As such, ballast ratios are 46 per cent for the Sydney Yacht and 39.5 per cent for the X-35. Are you still with me? I could go on comparing this and that, which sales people are inclined to do, tweaking things one way or the other but, no, enough of that. The place to sort that out is the racetrack. Let's just take the X-35 for what it is - a well made stiff Danish yacht that would be great around the cans and perfect on, say, a Sydney to Coffs Harbour Category Two race.

Though it would be an added bonus if there were ever enough of the yachts here to stage One Design races, the X-35 is a fun boat in its own right. Even in the fickle winds, the Niels Jeppesen-designed hull gave the impression it was keen, lively and slippery. Did I mention I was left wanting? And though we had perhaps eight knots of wind we hit speed of 6.5kts with the kite up, according to the paddle wheel and trick Tacktick wireless instruments on the mast base.

 Zoom out. If not quite the big smoking run I had hoped for, then X-Yachts' new X-35 One Design - replacing the X99 that sold more than 600 units in 15 years - sure has been a tearaway success in Europe. The strict One Design yacht was launched last October, but before a boat had so much as kissed salt water 95 had been sold. At the time of writing, that figure had climbed to 135 yachts, there were growing regattas being held all over Europe, the X-35 was awaiting ISAF status as a recognised class, and the ready-to-race yacht had now arrived Down Under. It was heading to Hobart for a Tassie sailor coming out of a Masrm 920 or some such thing. Chalk and Danish cheese.

THE X-FACTORS
From what I've seen of the X-Yachts the Danes do a fine job of boat building. The factory is 27 years young, founded and owned by Niels and Lars Jeppesen and a chap called Birger Hansen. With the Baltic and North seas in their backyard, X-Yachts are built necessarily strong, using galvanized steel girder frames laminated to the hull to distribute the loads from mast, keel and rigging. Marine-ply bulkheads are also bonded to the hull.

The X-35 is built to handle sea conditions with waves to 7m and winds to Beaufort 10, storm conditions, raging up to 55kts. Stability tests hadn't been carried out, yet, but I would expect it to pass the Sydney-Hobart criterion as per other X-Yachts. Though Hobart isn't the race for the X-35. Head north instead.

As with all good race boats, the weight has been kept out of the ends of the yacht, with water (100lt) and fuel (550lt) tanks amidships. Tinned wiring and diagrams are standard, the engine-start battery is the gel type, and the engine installation, that of a three-pot fresh-water cooled Yanmar 20hp with Saildrive and self-feathering two-blade prop, is carried out in such a manner as to be mindful of servicing and silencing requirements.

With the weight down low, where you want it, X-Yachts saves weight in the lay-up and uses sandwich construction, with polyester resin and E-glass in high-stress areas, and Divinycell coring, which is a kind of foam that I once made a cricket ball from that withstood years of pounding. Not surprisingly, the outer layer is vinylester resin to ward against osmosis. A nice touch - all the skin fittings or seacocks are flush to the hull.

Hull and deck are bonded and crew will appreciate the rolled edge - and maybe the pad-eyes for lifelines in the cockpit if they're (un)lucky - when they are camped on the windward rail, which is something European skippers reportedly found they needed to do, mustering every ounce of human ballast outboard when the wind hits 20-plus knots. At which point you should spare a thought for those Danes. Their sailing temperatures range from 0.5C in winter to just 17C in the height of summer.

The rudder, very responsive it was, too, is a spade shape, made from composite with a solid-aluminium stock to reduce weight. The wheel is racing-sized, 1500mm diameter, in sporty powder-coated black aluminium, with a good dose of Araldite firmly gluing my mitts to it during our trialling trials.

SAIL AND RACE PLANS
The X-35 has a modern sail plan - the full set of class-racing panelled-Kevlar sails were provided by North's: battened mainsail, light-medium jib, medium-heavy jib, ORC heavy-weather jib, Code 1.5S light-running spinnaker (purple, as pictured, and flying best on a close reach) and Code 4S heavy-running spinnaker - with just a 108 per cent headsail for snappy tacking.

The tapered, double-spreader keel-stepped Nordic mast forms part of the high-aspect rig that derives most of its power from the 40.10 square-metre main compared to the 33.9 square-metre genoa. The spinnaker AP is 105.7 square metres, a good head of sail downwind.

The boat has a German mainsheet system, which takes the sheet under the deck where crew can't sit on it and helps with fast trimming by either trimmer or helmsman, with the full-width Ronstan Fredericksen traveller immediately ahead of the wheel. The race cockpit, perfect for three or four crew, puts all the lines within easy reach of the primary Harken two-speed 48 winches and there are big Harken Quattro 40s for fast spinnaker trim.

Speaking of good gear, all the sheets are Spectra, the rigging is continuous rod form, while the backstay is a beautifully fast but load-free system using what X-Yachts calls a Power Magic Wheel. On top of this the walk-through cockpit is easy to get around, with inboard benches, ergonomically moulded and grippy decks, solid rod kicker, and a reefing system that is single line.

A key-opened aft lazarette gives immediate access to the steering quadrant. Down below, meanwhile, the saloon dinette can be removed in a jiffy to make way for sail storage amidships, further ensuring the weight is kept out of the ends. No compromises. But there are comforts.

SMART RACER AND RESALE
At the end of the X-35's effective racing life what do you have? Well, given its interior, you have a nice comfortable club racer that you can use for coastal regattas, too. Such are the comforts that there's more than a shell and, with the X-Yachts name and all that's happening in Europe, you should enjoy decent resale value.

Now about that interior. I was pleasantly surprised to find two nice, big (200cm x 130cm) symmetrical double cabins whose mattress rolls up the hull sides, seaberth/lounges flanking the saloon and a double stateroom behind a timber door in the bow. There are opening portlights and hatches, halogen lights, white wipe-clean vinyl liners, and a chipper atmosphere derived from blue and white-dotted upholstery and light satin mahogany joinery. Headroom is, at a guess, about 175cm.

At the entrance to the aft cabin on the starboard side in the navigation station with flip-up timber seat before the hinged chart table and switchboard, the yacht's top-loading 100lt Isotherm fridge with moulded insert is here and ready to load with refreshments. Across the companionway steps, which slide out for terrific engine access, is the portside galley. You get pressurised hot/cold water and a gimballed two-burner gas stove, plus a bit of storage. Reheat and eat or make a cuppa.

 Those aforesaid seaberths flank what is a broad saloon bisected by the drop-leaf table with storage locker. As touched on, you can lift the table straight off the fixed stainless bracket to make your amidships sail locker. Yet more sea berths on those sailbags if so inclined. The head to starboard off the saloon has a manual loo, holding tank and gauge (thoughtful), while a door to port leads into the forward cabin.

That master cabin boasts a wardrobe with hanging lockers and storage shelves for the crew and/or club wear, plus further storage under the two-metre long vee double berth. A simple net separates the empty bow area from the berth, as there's no anchor locker. But it's all here for racing and sleeping and racing some more during those Cat 1, especially Cat 2, and Cat 3 offshore races and Category 4 short offshore jaunts. Appropriate safety gear needed, of course.

STARTER'S GUN
There was no gun, but as the wind started filling in we cut the motor, which was the cue to start sailing. The X-35 works to windward really well, pointing high and with good speed in light airs. According to reports from the yacht's debut in Italy, figures like seven knots at 37-42 degrees true are typical. And all the while the helm was wonderfully balanced and very responsive. Adjusting for the lifts and knocks required little wheelwork.

Off the breeze, beyond The Heads, we managed to fly the all-purpose spinnaker, and do that while close reaching in sloppy sea conditions. Boat speed climbed to six knots or thereabouts in not much more breeze, said the chic Ticktack wireless instruments on the mast base. But that was about as far as we got before there was no wind at all. Left wanting alright. And there goes the sun. But I got a taste.

While there can be doubting the curative effects of saltwater, I hadn't worked up a sweat on the X-35. As for tears, they are improbable given that the Danish yacht is built tough. Tears of joy, more likely, as the prospect of a win or two in the club races and coastal jaunts is just around the windy corner for its Hobart owner.

I'll end on another quote of Blixen's: "One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering." So it was.

HIGHS

LOWS