X Yachts XC 38 Review

Over the last thirty years or more, X-Yachts has created a reputation for building fast, high quality sailboats that have won major regattas in both the old and new worlds. In recent years they have broadened their product lines to include all-out cruising yachts, as opposed to the racer-cruisers they have built their fine reputation on. I think Niels Jeppesen has been the chief designer for the company since it was founded around 1979, and he has produced a long and successful string of what I consider conservatively aggressive sailing yachts. Their cruising boat line carries the designation "XC" and the  XC-38 is the smallest in that line.

XC-38: Conservative proportions coupled with a powerful rig.

 Ive always liked the juxtaposition of conservative and aggressive characteristics that Jeppesen and his team instill in their products and this 38 footer is an excellent example of their thinking. With its relatively springy sheer and conservative cabin trunk, beefy hull and aggressive rig, the XC-38 looks like a fun, yet serious cruising yacht. It is, to my mind, unfortunate that we dont see more of this type of boat on the west coast of the USA. In studying the profile view above, notice the depth of the hull and the proportions of the underbody. My guess is that the hull incorporates "V" shaped sections instead of the the more often seen "U" shaped bottom. Couple this with the efficient keel and deep rudder and you have a hull that will be especially fun to sail upwind. Here are some stats:
LOA:            37.99
LWL:            34.06
BMAX:         12.50
Draft:               6.50
DISP:            19,621 LB
BAL:               8,448 LB
SA:                     865 SF
BAL/DISP      43%
D/L ratio:        221
SA/D ratio      19

These numbers are indicative of  boat of moderate proportions and good manners.The keel and rudder are deep and efficient shapes for cruising. These days there is no shortage of stuff in the water to snag and foul keels and rudders. You only have to dive overboard to free the keel from nets, pots or kelp in the middle of the night a few times to appreciate clean and streamlined appendages on your boat.

Big cockpit, artfully curved windshield, conservative lines.

On deck youll find simple lines forward without any fancy flourishes. The foredeck is flat and uncluttered, with an anchor locker and deck mounted windlass. The nearly plumb bow requires a bowsprit of some sort so the anchor rode doesnt rub the finish off the hull when at anchor.

Clean lines forward and an A-frame bowsprit

The sailplan incorporates non-overlapping jibs. Ive designed a number of boats with this type of rig and its great for windward/leeward racing. Its not as good for reaching because when you ease the sheet on this type of jib, the top of the sail opens up much more than the bottom so you end up reaching with the lower part of the jib over-trimmed to keep the top from flogging. One solution is to set up outboard leads for the jib and thats what Id do on this boat if I owned one.

Twin wheels, trapdoor transom and artfully curved windshield.

The cockpit on this boat incorporates nice, high coamings and twin wheels along with a curved windshield. This arrangement invites comparisons with the Hallberg Rassy 412. Notice the instrument console on centerline, with a dropleaf table incorporated into it. This is an acceptable arrangement for daysailing but not very good for passage-making, although it is redeemed somewhat by the instrument displays built into the forward cockpit coaming. The fact is that cruisers spend little time behind the wheel when on a passage, so locating vital displays back there is inconvenient at best. Aboard the Honcho we mounted the GPS on a swivel just forward of the binnacle so you could see it from anywhere in the cockpit. We also traded the Raymarine instruments for TackTick wireless units, which could be mounted anywhere we wanted them, even below. Our Beneteau 423, Finisterra, came with the Raymarine instruments and, reliable as they are, weve already replaced them with Tackticks. Another unfortunate aspect of this cockpit is the permanently mounted dropleaf table that bisects the cockpit. Again, we have this arrangement on the Finisterra and find it to be inconvenient when sailing. Ive already started designing a stowable table that will give us room to maneuver while under sail and still provide fine dining accommodations in the cockpit when we need them. Notice the nearly vertical transom. It sports a drop-down panel and gate to make a swim step or platform. I think a reversed transom with a molded-in swim step is preferable because it is so much more convenient than this arrangement. It would also increase the sailing length of the boat and reduce turbulence at the  transom.

Nearly perfect accommodations plan

X-Yachts offers only one interior plan in the XC-38, which is fine with me because it works really well. The forward cabin is spacious and incorporates a large V-berth, multiple lockers and cabinets, and plenty of light. Those windows built into the hull look small but provide a good deal of light and visibility. The settees in the main cabin are big enough to serve as sea berths. With the galley, nav station and head aft, the crew that sleeps in the main cabin wont be disturbed when you go below to check the chart or fix a cup of coffee during the midnight watch. The galley is large, with lots of counter space and double sinks amidships. I respect the designers decision to eschew a second head on this boat. One is plenty for the cruising couple and this one incorporates enough room for a shower as well. The aft cabin offers a good sized berth and plenty of storage. In studying the photos of the boat on the X-Yachts web site, it took some time to get used to the horizontal grain pattern on the furniture. Im not sure I like it yet, so Ill reserve judgement until I see a boat in person.

Overall, I think the XC-38 would make a very good medium sized cruising yacht. Id ask for that reverse transom and swim step if I ordered one but other than that, this boat is ready to cruise.

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Left Coast Dart

Not long ago I met Jim Lee at a community college in Oak Harbor, WA where I happened to be teaching a seminar on composite materials. Jim mentioned that he wanted to start a boat company in Anacortes and was searching for a design similar to the B25, which, coincidentally, I had designed back in 1987. The B25 had been a highly successful trailerable sailboat with a long string of victories at major events in the 1980s and 1990s.

Dart with a mini-sprit punching upwind 

Jim had sailed a B25 on San Francisco Bay and we agreed that it would be a great idea to produce an update of that design. So I made some preliminary drawings for a boat that would be a worthy successor to the B25 and it became the Left Coast Dart. The idea was to continue the theme of a fast, seaworthy boat with a lifting keel that could easily be trailered. It would have basic accommodations, including good sized berths, a porta-potty and a place for a single burner stove. It would have just enough comfort for a couple with perhaps a kid or two to spend a night or weekend aboard. I wanted the styling to be roughly the same as the B25 but modernized.

Notice the dacron sails. Laminated sails would be lighter and faster.

In the years since I drew the 25, there have been vast improvements in composite materials and processes as well as the design tools we use. In 1987 I drew all my boats by hand and had only rudimentary computational devices to optimize the hull design. Today I use powerful software to model the hull, rig and foils in the computer and generate the drawings in AutoCAD. So lets start with the hull design.

Lines Plan showing fine waterlines forward and powerful aft sections

In the lines plan you can see the fineness of the bow sections and the slightly hollow waterlines. Notice that the bow is not quite plumb. I prefer that over a plumb bow purely for aesthetic reasons. Aft, I gave this hull a flat, clean run and firm bilges. I could have incorporated a hard chine here, but this boat will operate in both displacement mode and planing mode and chines add a bit of turbulence when the boat is traveling at hull speed. I think chines are something of a fad these days. You find them even on beefy Jeanneaus and Beneteaus that will likely never surf, let alone plane. Here are some numbers:

LOA -- 25’- 10”

LWL -- 22’- 10”

BMAX -- 8’- 4”

DRAFT -- 6’- 0” (Keel Down)

Draft -- 3’- 0” (Keel Up)

DISP -- 2,200 LB

BALLAST -- 850 LB

SA (100%) -- 338 SF

DISP/LENGTH -- 82.54

SA/DISP -- 31.97  

I -- 31’- 6”

J -- 9’- 1”

P -- 31’- 3”

E -- 12’- 6”

The keel is a vertical fin with a torpedo bulb. If youre a regular reader of this blog you know Im not a fan of this type of keel for cruising boats. For racers, it is the best solution from a performance perspective. At about 6 feet of draft, the Dart is deeper than the average boat of this size and nearly all of the lead ballast is in the bulb, making it a stiff boat. I designed a kelp cutter for the keel, which would be built into the leading edge.  Youll want to order that option for sailing in southern California. The rudder is a deep, high aspect ratio foil with the leading edge tucked under the transom to provide balance. The result is a light helm and very easy steering. The numbers indicate a lightweight, high powered vessel, but not extreme. It will provide excellent light air performance and exhilarating downwind speed.

Superb craftsmanship on the keel plug. They used this to create the keel mold.

I originally designed the boat for a carbon fiber mast and retractable bow pole, but Jim was adamant that it be fitted with an aluminum rig. Aluminum is certainly less expensive but it costs the boat about 12-18 seconds/mile in performance. Jim was also fiercely opposed to the bow pole, preferring instead a conventional symmetrical kite. This also cuts into the boats performance and it didnt take long before he added a short bowsprit. My hope is that the next boat out of the mold will be fitted with a retractable pole and a carbon rig to take advantage of the boats true potential.

Dart, circa 2010. Non-overlapping jibs and moderate proportions for the spinnaker

B25 circa 1987

1991 B25 Listed on Yachtworld for $21,000

Simple, efficient deck plan

On deck, goal was to make the boat a comfortable and efficient sailing machine. The cockpit is long and wide with the mainsheet traveler mounted on the sole. Jib tracks are mounted well inboard for close sheeting angles.  With the compact proportions of the cabin trunk, the companionway hatch lifts off instead of sliding forward. This caused Jim no end of tension, but its really the only way to make it work on a boat of this size and type.

The original design had a split bow pulpit. Jim preferred the type shown here, but you can order the split version.

Jim did some innovative things with the electrical system, such as molding the electrical wiring into the deck so there is almost no wiring visible in the boat. Along the way he invented the Simple Stereo which enables you to connect your IPod or MP3 directly into the amp and and rock the boat. Construction is is vacuum infused vinylester resin using biaxial e-glass over a lightweight Corecell foam core. This is standard practice these days and it is a vast improvement over the hand layup method we used back when we were building B25s. The Dart is longer, roomier and much faster.

Simple, lightweight accommodations. Most who seriously race this boat would dispense with the V-berth.

Lightweight internal structure with just enough wood to keep it interesting.

Hull #1 sitting outside Jims shop in Anacortes

When Jim started this project he was fairly new to boatbuilding. Its not easy to be a boatbuilder even in the best of times and the last few years have been anything but. So I give Jim a lot of credit for sticking with it and building exquisitely detailed pocket racers. For Jim, I think its more about building very nice boats than making a profit, and that is a refreshing departure from the thrown together boats we often see at the boat shows these days.

In its brief career the Dart has had some impressive wins:
First Overall, 2012 Lake Pontchartrain Racing
First in class, 2012 Whidbey Island Race Week
First in class, 2011 PITCH Regatta (Bellingham)
First in class, 2011 Windermere Regatta.

Check out Left Coast Yachts at http://www.eskimo.com/~leftcst/iWeb/Left_Coast/The_Dart.html

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Beneteau 423 Rig Conversion Update

Over the last couple of weekends weve made good progress on the rig conversion. We finished modifying the boom, added some rope clutches for reefing lines and a second jib halyard, and installed the necessary hardware for the lazy jacks. We also installed a Tides Marine sail track. It was easy to install, fit perfectly and looks great. The new mainsail was also easy to hank on, and slides up and down the track with all the ease I had hoped for.

Notice the artfully shaped reinforcement patches. Im not sure if they an improvement but they do look sporty.

I installed the track before putting the boom on. To make it easier to install I put a spare sail slide in the track and attached a halyard and downhaul so I could put some tension on the halyard then just guide the track into the mast. When it was all in, the halyard held the track exactly where I wanted it while I installed the retaining screws. Once the track was installed, it was a simple matter install the boom, vang and control lines and, finally, to hank on the sail and secure all. The entire operation took about four hours.

Mainsail installed. Notice the custom Home Depot sail cover!

The stackpack bag wont be ready for another week so the sail is flaked on the boom and covered with a couple of plastic tarps from Home Depot.  Were looking forward to going for a sail over the Labor Day weekend.

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