LOA: 43ft 8in (13.40m) BEAM: 12ft 1in (3.70m) ENGINES: Twin 600 / triple 450hp outboards TOP SPEED: 50 knots PRICE: POA CONTACT: www.xoboats.com
When an award-winning builder like XO introduces a new W flagship, it’s always good to see it take the same approach that made the smaller models so noteworthy – and that’s exactly what the new EXPLR 44 appears to do. Like the rest of the fleet, it’s built from heavy-duty aluminium, with a plumb bow, an acute entry and a four-season pilothouse. But thanks to its extra scale, this 14-man boat is the first in the range to feature not one but two private cabins.
They’re cleverly arranged too. While the central section of the boat is very deepset, keeping the weight, the windage and the pilothouse profile as low as possible, both the walkaround bow and the open stern deck are subtly raised, generating plenty of space for what XO is describing as a pair of master cabins. The forward one comes with a heads compartment and a private route onto the foredeck so you can access the outside spaces without venturing into the central wheelhouse. But it’s the mid cabin that looks particularly fresh.
At the entry point behind the port side of the saloon’s stern bench, a striking atrium looks back across the aft deck through a large one-piece window. XO has been careful to use an open transom and low-slung dinette with a drop-down backrest specifically to avoid obstructing that view. There’s a compact heads down here too, and while height is limited above the bed section itself, the footprint i
