New Listing – 2016 X-Yachts X6.5

The queen of the X-Yachts fleet and almost certainly the highest-specification example. A fantastic bluewater capable Scandinavian-built performance cruiser.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

With well in excess of 1.35 million euros in factory extras, ABRAXAS 4 is arguably one of the highest specification X-Yachts ever to have left the renowned Danish boatyard. Configured to offer effortless short-handed long-distance cruising while fitted out with the very best of all equipment and fittings, ABRAXAS 4 is one of the finest 65ft cruising yachts afloat.

Conceived as the first and flagship model in a new, and highly successful range of ‘ Pure X’ designs which now also features 56ft, 49ft, 46ft, 43ft and 40ft models, the X6.5 utilises advanced, proven technology and build techniques to create a lightweight, stiff and powerful performance cruiser. Her specification highlights include:-
• Vacuum-infused epoxy sandwich hull construction with carbon fibre reinforcements
• Galvanised keel girder for distribution of rig and keel loads
• 3.00m fin keel with lead torpedo bulb
• Twin rudder blades
• Hall Spars carbon fibre mast with stainless steel rod standing rigging (replaced 2023)
• Custom carbon fibre furling boom with electric furling and manual override
• Reckmann electric genoa, staysail and code sail furlers
• Harken electric winch package
• North 3Di sail wardrobe with furling Code 0
• Carbon fibre bimini structure with solar panel arrays
• Tender garage with powered launching/recovery system for AER aluminium-bottomed RIB
• Retractable electro-hydraulic carbon fibre gangway
• Sanguinetti retractable mooring winch and Nomen folding cleats
• Yanmar 6-cylinder 160hp diesel engine with shaft drive, 3-bladed Flexofold propeller, NMEA 2000 engine data output to plotters, and electric gear/throttle controls at both port and starboard helm stations
• MaxPower retractable bow and stern thrusters
• Fischer Panda 12kw diesel generator
• Victron power systems with Lithium-Ion service battery bank
• Spectra Newport 24vDC watermaker
• B&G H5000 instrument package with multiple Zeus plotter/MFD displays, Halo 20+ radar scanner, dual autopilot systems, AIS and VHF with DSC
• Fully equipped galley with large gas stove, Miele microwave and coffee maker, dishwasher and extensive fridge and freezer solutions
• Laundry with Bosch washer/dryer
• 220vAC reverse cycle air-conditioning and heating system
• Tecma electric fresh-water flush heads
• Samsung TV’s in saloon and owner’s cabin
• B&O sound system
• Custom light oak interior joinery with contrasting walnut floors, stainless steel and carbon trims
• 4-cabin interior arrangement with owner’s cabin forward, crew/workshop cabin and two further guest cabins aft.

OWNER’S COMMENTS:

The X-Yacht 6.5 was a perfect fit for our planned family sabbatical in the Caribbean Season 2022/2023. Now, back in Europe she gets a brand new (2023) Hall Spars carbon rig. She is impressively equipped for cruising in comfort and safety while providing seriously extended autonomy. As it can be expected from a sixty-five-foot performance cruiser she sails great, but the pushbutton concept makes her easy to sail shorthanded too. She really has everything you could ask for on a yacht, even headroom for the tall ones amongst us. The light airy saloon and the large, carbon-bimini protected cockpit is enjoyed by guests and family alike. The combination of space and luxury makes it easy to enjoy a memorable time on-board, under sail, at anchor and in harbour.

Since my younger kids are returning into their classrooms our time window for extended family sailing is closing. Thus, the yacht is reluctantly put up for sale to a caring new owner.

PRESS REVIEW:

“The X6 is a bold design: a muscular, small superyacht blessed with powerful lines; a yacht that will place most others of her size firmly in the shade. The flagship of the new X range (the 41ft X4 was launched simultaneously – see full X4 test report), the X6 is a completely different animal, inside and out, from X-Yachts Xp performance cruiser range, designed to be a semi-custom cruiser with a healthy dose of testosterone and raw contemporary appeal.

“I have never walked into a boat before and fallen straight in love with it like this,” said our veteran photographer Richard Langdon, not one normally prone to exaggeration. The formidable natural light illuminates a mix of finishes including bare teak, clear-coat carbon, stainless steel and walnut – all modern, light, and fresh looking. “It’s sensational,” I agreed.

It should be noted however that this first X6 was built in collaboration with its British owner and is customised with a multitude of optional extras, including the carbon and leather trim, the brushed-stainless galley surfaces and the backlit feature bookshelf. He has also opted for a carbon Hall Spars mast and custom-made roller boom, which, together with features like her large hull portlights and bespoke dinghy stowage – there is room to stow a RIB facing forward on a roller-launching system that hinges down, as the aft deck lifts up – help identify her as very much a scaled-down superyacht.

Twin rudders are unusual for X-Yachts. The X73 in 2001 was the first model to have twin rudders – making room for the tender garage. “We don’t do it on smaller models because of prop walk,” Jeppesen explained. “But at this size you have a stern thruster.”

The X6 has very similar hull lines to the X65 I tested in 2009, seven of which were produced. She has a similar price and specification but her interior design is a quantum leap ahead.

Interior panache

To descend the bare teak steps of the shallow companionway is to witness a new dawn for X-Yachts. Yes we’ve seen a lot of raised saloon models before, but this has lashings of added panache. Stand in the saloon and you are at the perfect height for near-panoramic views, including that most prized angle looking forward over the flush foredeck. The amount of natural light in the saloon and galley is phenomenal.

Lift up the floorboards in the saloon and you’ll find high-calibre engineering: X-Yachts’s galvanised steel grid immediately imparts peace of mind; the tanks and batteries are all centrally positioned for optimum weight management and the hoses and wire looms are housed in metal cradles to keep them neatly together and out of the bilges. The plywood soles are thicker than those used in my house. I’m told that matching the walnut veneer in those lengths was somewhat tricky. The predominant trim is light oak Alpi again, but this has been brushed when bare for a more tactile finish.

By providing a modular layout to the three-part accommodation plan, X-Yachts can offer a variety of options. The test boat had a four-cabin format (two Pullmans and two double cabins). The choice of an extra Pullman forward, reduces the size of the sail locker and removes the space for a forepeak crew cabin. The aft Pullman is ideally placed for a professional crew next to the walk-in engine room and galley, although the addition of an en-suite here would make it more practical for crew use.

The telescopic coffee table in the saloon is an odd, over-complicated device with four diagonal folding leaf sections to seat a maximum of seven. Combined with a small cockpit table, this restricts the options for hosting any kind of slap-up meal from the wonderfully light and large galley, the size and quality of which is a real selling point of the boat. It has a phenomenal amount of locker space and cold storage, plus space for extras like a trash compactor, coffee machine, dishwasher, and microwave.

The owner’s cabin forward, with over 7ft of headroom, is again well lit and inviting with a distinct impression of luxury. The double aft has a corridor-style entrance that extends under the cockpit sole. It then widens out to reveal a generous cabin with a large hull portlight and private access to the adjoining heads.

Twin rudder power

Anyone familiar with X-Yachts will not be surprised to read that this is a slippery, powerful beast. In just 5–7 knots of breeze the X6 will almost match the wind speed to windward. Add a couple of knots in a puff and she heels elegantly and clocks 7.5–8 knots. When it piped up to 14 knots we were slicing upwind pointing 30–35º at 8.5 knots, even topping nine if we footed off 5º.

It was a potent and commanding performance. The inhaulers make a notable difference, adding five degrees to her pointing. An X-Yacht is consistently a delight to sail upwind, but the twin rudder grip offered on the X6 encourages you to push a little offwind. In 10–15 knots and with the Code 0 unleashed we maintained a steady 9.5 knots at 55–80º(apparent). This felt to me more steady than exhilarating and I noted excessive drag off the leeward rudder and wash off the windward rudder in this mode. Jeppesen said they had been tuning the rudder angles to get the best orientation. The loaded helm when reaching was probably more down to poor trim, as it was a nicer, more neutral feeling going upwind.

There’s no doubt that the X6 will make a formidable passage-maker. And if the wind does dip below 5 knots, the standard Yanmar 160hp engine with three-blade Flexifold propels her at 7.4 knots at 1,700rpm, consuming just 5.6lt of diesel per hour.

Cockpit arch benefits

For a large, powerful design, she’s a calm yacht to sail, thanks in part to a very smart, well thought-out deck design. The sheets for example disappear below deck aft, reappearing at two Harken 980s abaft the cockpit. The furlers for staysail, genoa and Code 0 are all under the deck and I like the versatility her cutter rig provides. The mainsheet is led from the arch forward through the boom and back to winches.

Personally I’m a fan of the cockpit arch. It’s a look reminiscent of the showpiece spoilers that typified the dream cars of the 1980s, but an arch also helps to create a cockpit enclosure, a sense of privacy and protection, and keeps the boom clear. The custom-made furler boom on the test boat has a manual override so the deck winch can be used in case of any power problems. This UK owner was also having a fixed bimini fitted with solar panels on top.

The lengthy but shallow cockpit has a small table and a dedicated liferaft locker by the companionway. Abaft the benches is a pair of winches either side, with storage beneath the side decks for running rigging tails. A generous sail locker swallows fenders and furling sails, plus there’s a chain locker with a wash-down hose and windlass.

Conclusions

The X6 is right in the sweet spot for this new X range, as the 55-80ft sector is where the interior can shine too. I was excited about the edgy, muscular looks of this new age for X-Yachts, but it was the interior of this yacht that blew me away. It’s a prime example of how, if you’re prepared to pay for the extras, the step up to this size level brings the sort of customisation and systems design more typically associated with the superyacht world.

This mid-60ft sector has traction, so new designs have to stand out. The modern styling of the X6 is certainly backed up with the performance X-Yachts is renowned for…”

Toby Hodges – Yachting World Magazine

2016 X-Yachts X6.5 ‘ABRAXAS 4’ for sale – OFF MARKET