The X-442 “PRESTIGE”
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X-442
The X-442 is the third performance cruiser from Denmark’s X-Yachts and is a true classic.
Our Prestige was built in 1993 and has building number 5.
MMSI: 244125322
MEASUREMENTS
LOA: 44’4″/ 13.5 m.
LWL: 36’8″/ 11.2 m.
Beam: 13’7″/ 4.15 m.
Draft: 7’6″/ 2.3 m.
Ballast: 9,480 lbs./ 4,300 kg.
Displ.: 21,400 lbs./ 9,700 kg.
PERFORMANCE & COMFORT
Speed and sporty sailing, but also enough comfort for long trips.
The X is a large sailing yacht with a spacious cockpit and a cabin with luxurious and comfortable furnishings. High level technologies, with excellent choice of materials and equipment.
The search
Before the “X”, Chris had a Contessa 32 called Fingold. A very beautiful seaworthy vessel and a beautiful classic eye-catcher. Unfortunately, the Fingold was too small for our plans and at the end of 2019, we had given ourselves the difficult task of looking for a new ship.
There were a number of things that were important. Our next sailing yacht had to be fast and ocean-worthy, but it also had to be comfortable and as a data analyst Christian is, there was no other option than to get started with a database filled with boat performance data. Here we started with analyzing the data including all pros and cons of the various boats we had in mind. Christian compared:
Ballast/Displacement
Comfort Ratio
Capsize Screening Formula
Speed, weight and body
In February 2020, our eye fell on an X-442 from X-Yachts in Hamburg. She was made in 1993 with yard number 5 for performance sailing and cruising. The 13.5m hull displaces 9700kg, with 4300kg of counterweight giving you a healthy 44% displacement ratio.
It is a large sailing yacht with a spacious cockpit and cabin with luxurious and comfortable furnishings. Below deck, there are three bedrooms, one of which is the captain’s room with a bathroom. There is a separate bathroom at the back. Each bathroom has a toilet, shower and laundry facilities. The galley is on the starboard side of the cabin with a round table where you can sit with the crew with sufficient space. If necessary, the table can be lowered, so that a spacious double bed is created.
PRESTIGE
Everyone knows that renaming a boat will bring bad luck, but what if you find a boat with a name you just can’t live with? When we bought the X-442 her name was Emil Reiseschwein. We did some research and found out that we could rename the boat. Everything with the old name was carefully removed and with bottles of champagne all gods were requested to accept the new name.
Just like during the search for the perfect boat, extensive lists were also kept while searching for a new name. Many X-Yachts have a name with an X, but we opted for the name Prestige. The Prestige is not only a reference to the allure and reputation that our X has obtained since 1993 with numerous (competition) prizes and travels, but also a reference to the movie The Prestige.
Like a sailing trip, The Prestige film is full of twists and turns and surprises. The film’s title hints at the final part of the three-part buildup of a magic trick:
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.” – Christopher Priest
We thought the Prestige was a beautiful and appropriate choice for our X, and the journey we want to make.