Alex Smith gets behind the wheel of X-Yachts’ first ever outboard-powered sportsboat, the X-Power 33...
Nestling stern-to at a sun-drenched Palma pontoon sits a boat that appears to be flaunting its outboard engines at anyone who will look – and plenty of people are stopping to do so.
Although it’s flanked by slick new Marex cruisers on one side and elegantly finessed sailboats on the other, this handsome day cruiser certainly doesn’t look out of place, and when you delve into its heritage, that makes good sense.
After all, in spite of the fact this is the new outboard version of X-Yachts’ first ever powerboat, it has been constructed in the same Danish factory that has given rise to more than four decades of premium custom-built sailing boats.
And the X-Power 33 certainly has that look about it. Cool and restrained with a subtly understated fit-out, confident classical lines and endless ‘teak’-lined decks, you’re left in little doubt that this is a piece of equipment that very much deserves your respect.
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Though it seems like an odd choice at first, the limousine tender layout of the cockpit works well in lots of ways. For a start, it enables a 33ft boat to contain all eight of its occupants in a safe and sheltered space aft of the helm.
With bench seats facing each other across a central companionway, the layout is naturally sociable, and the fact that you can spec two tables in here means that everyone can be seated in comfort for a relaxed lunch, with or without the shelter of the hardtop-mounted sunshade.
If you want to erect the canvases and close off the forward half of the cockpit for a warm winter drive, you can do that too and you still retain a trio of lovely helm seats plus an internal dining station for four alongside the neat little starboard wet bar.
Read Alex’s full review in the July 2023 issue of MBY, which is out now.
X-Power 33 specifications
LOA: 33ft 6in (10.20m)
Beam: 10ft 2in (3.10m)
Draft: 3ft 11in (1.2m)
Displacement (light): 4,200 kg
Fuel capacity: 600 litres
Engine options: Single 350-400hp / twin 200-250hp outboards
Test engines: Twin 250hp Mercury Verado 4.6-litre V8 outboards
Top speed on test: 43 knots
Fuel consumption: 48lph @ 20 knots
Cruising range: 200nm @ 20 knots
Noise: 85 d(B)A @ 20 knots
RCD category: C8
Price as tested: €465,000 (ex. VAT)
