Design and Construction
X-Yachts built the X-79 at its Danish yard, though the design was also produced at other yards. Some boats were sold as kits for owners to complete rather than as finished boats, so fit and finish can vary across the fleet.
Both the hand-laid fiberglass hull and the deck use sandwich construction. The boat has an iron fin keel and a spade rudder. Draft ranges from 4.36 to 4.66 feet depending on load, which is shallow enough for modest marinas.
Displacement is near 2,965 pounds, with a ballast ratio of roughly 50 percent. A displacement-length ratio of 170 places the X-79 firmly in the “light racer” category, while the iron ballast gives it a capsize screening value of 2.48. According to the yachtdatabase.com review, that figure would bar the boat from ocean-racing acceptance under the screening formula.
Rig and Handling
The X-79 carries a fractional rig that the design record describes as more heavily rigged than every comparable sailboat in its class—effectively overrigged for its size. Its sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 21.8 with the ISO reference sail and rises to 24.8 with a 135 percent genoa. The Relative Speed Performance index is 99.
Theoretical hull speed is 6.1 knots, and wetted surface is near 215 square feet. Together, these figures keep the boat quick in displacement terms without demanding extreme sail loads.
Docking and close-quarters maneuvering typically rely on a 3 to 4 horsepower outboard rather than an inboard. It’s a practical arrangement for a boat of this light build and shallow draft.
Accommodations
Below deck, the X-79 has a single cabin with four to six berths, along with a galley and toilet facility. The mahogany interior is consistent with Danish production boats of the period.
Headroom is below average for the type, a trade-off for the boat’s low profile and reduced weight above the waterline. The straightforward, single-cabin layout is better suited to weekend cruising or day racing than to a partitioned charter-style interior.
Refit and Ownership Considerations
Because some X-79s left the factory as kits and others were built at secondary yards, fit and finish may vary more than they would across a single-source production run.
Ongoing attention will tend to center on gelcoat and core condition around penetrations, as well as the keel-to-hull joint. The sandwich hull and deck, iron keel, and reliance on an outboard mean owners have less inboard machinery to consider, but the keel calls for corrosion vigilance.
Verdict
The X-79 is a compact, genuinely overrigged light racer. It was X-Yachts’ foundational design and remains a pure expression of late-1970s Danish performance thinking. Its sandwich construction, modest draft, and simple outboard propulsion make it an undemanding small boat, while the low headroom and iron keel are the clear compromises.
Pros
- Heavily rigged fractional sail plan promises lively performance for its size
- Shallow fin-keel draft helps with marina access
- Sandwich hull and deck
- Simple outboard arrangement for docking and close maneuvering
- Established production run of 468 boats
Cons
- Below-average headroom below deck
- Iron keel requires corrosion vigilance
- Capsize screening value bars it from ocean-race eligibility under the cited formula
- Build quality can vary because of kit boats and production at multiple yards
