Vehicle Detail

X-Yachts IMX40

THE X-YACHTS STORY
Headed by the Jeppersen brothers, Niels and Lars, with Birger Hansen, X-Yachts has a wide range of experience in both production yachts and high-tech custom projects. It has been on a major expansion drive in recent years with a move towards larger production cruiser/racers and ‘performance cruisers’.

The company keeps all elements of draft plans, design, construction and interior design in-house, to keep total control from initial design concept right through to the handover of the completed yacht at their yard in Haderslev, Denmark.

According to the company, its goal with the IMX-40 was “to offer a really race-ready yacht where all the details, which clients normally spend a long time and large budgets to change/modify, are there from day one.”

This is reflected in the inclusion in the standard specification of a carbon fibre mast, boom, spinnaker pole and wheel, rod rigging, racing-spec hardware and running rigging, etc.

A large amount of thought has also gone into the practicalities of campaigning an IMS or IRC racer, resulting in the ability to quickly change the keel ballast bulb for an alternative one if this is likely to better suit the prevailing conditions.

CONSTRUCTION
The IMX-40 is built in accordance with the European CE-Certification for recreational craft. Construction is in hand-laid vinylester resin with biaxial and unidirectional E-glass fabrics, with Divinycell foam core vacuum-bagged into the outer skins. The hull and deck both feature NGA gelcoat.

An H-frame of galvanized steel is glassed into the hull to bear the loads from the keel and rig and incorporates a central hoist attachment. The hull features solid laminate around the steel frame, as well as around the rudder stock passage, engine S-drive unit and at each thru-hull fitting, while the deck has local reinforcement at each deck fitting.

Structural bulkheads of Khaya marine plywood are bonded to both the hull and deck. A moulded GRP liner forming the base for engine, bathroom, galley, chart table, seats and sofas, berths in the aft cabins and for supporting the floorboards, is bonded to the hull, while the deck has a moulded GRP headliner of 12mm thickness, integrating the bases for the halogen lighting throughout the interior.

The top part of the cast iron keel integrates a keel bilge and is encased in a faired and epoxy-primed layer of GRP. At the bottom is the cast antimony-hardened lead bulb, also encased with a faired and primed GRP layer.

An optional, alternative lead bulb can be retrofitted within the space of a few hours while the yacht is hoisted by crane or travelift, X-Yachts says.

The rudder blade is vacuum-laminated using Vinylester resin, E-glass and Divinycell foam, while the rudder stock is solid double-tapered alloy.