Here’s a new 40-footer from our friends at X-Yachts in Denmark. The design is from the in-house X-Yachts Design Team. Given the X-Yachts tradition of fast boats, I think it’s safe to assume this will be a fast cruiser-racer or racer-cruiser. But given the numbers, I’d say this design leans toward the cruising category. 

I don’t have any hull lines, but from the rendering it looks to me that there is a chine aft. Overhangs are minimal at  3 feet 8 inches. Max draft of the canoe body is well aft. The D/L using the light displacement is 201 so this is not a light boat but it’s not heavy either. It’s in the middle of D/Ls. The L/B is 3.02 indicating a beamy boat and that beam is carried well aft. Designers fight to get max volume for the interior while keeping good performance. 

You can choose from two draft options: Standard draft is 6 feet 11 inches and deep draft is 7 feet 10 inches. The drawing shows a T-configuration keel. That’s good for a low VCG and avoiding a twisting moment on the fin that you get with L-shaped keels. But where I sail, that protruding nose of the bulb would attract a lot of kelp and the occasional pesky crab pot. (But Dunganess crab is very tasty.) With the short bow prod, the LOA is 39 feet 8 inches.

The interior layout of the 40 is very straightforward and orthogonal. You can choose from mirror-image quarter cabins aft with large double berths or you can lose the starboard quarter berth and gain a large stowage area. Both layouts have only one head, but if you go for the two-stateroom layout, the head is considerably bigger and includes the wet locker. The galley is fine but it’s a bit skimpy on counter space due to the need to gain access to the port quarter cabin. Counter space is very important if you cook. 

There is a navigation station to starboard with settee berths forward of that. The starboard settee is a bit too short for comfortable adult sleeping. The forward stateroom is very roomy with hanging lockers port and starboard. If they asked me—and they didn’t—I would have shortened up the port settee and added that captured length to the galley counter. If you go with the  three-stateroom layout, you give up the nav station and access to the starboard stateroom through the head. That doesn’t work for me.

It’s a great deck layout. The cockpit is big and has long seats forward. The mainsheet traveler is recessed into the cockpit sole and it’s wide enough to really work well. There are twin wheels, of course. I can imagine kids in the future saying, “I can’t believe you only had one wheel!” 

The transom is wide open for boarding. Lines from the mast are lead aft internally and exit adjacent to the companionway to a bank of clutches and one winch port and starboard. Forward there is a recessed self-tacking jib track. This is a very clean deck. I don’t see any deck cleats and stanchions are mounted on top of the toerail. Chainplates are outboard and I see no toe stubbers anywhere. There is a flush anchor well forward.

The rig with the self-tacking jib has a SA/D of 19.65. That should keep you moving in light air. The asymmetrical chute will add the light air area you need off the wind. The roach of the mainsail overlaps the backstay.

I like the two-stateroom version best.

LOA 39’8”; LOD 37’9”; DWL 34’1”Beam 12’6”; Draft standard 6’11”, deep 7’10”; Ballast 6,724 lb.; Displ.17,857 lb.; SA/D 19.65; D/L 201; L/B 3.02; Auxiliary 40-hp.; Fuel 48 gal.; Water 65 gal

X-Yachts USA

P.O. Box 182 

West Mystic, CT 06388

860-536-7776

www.x-yachtsusa.com