Sometimes in life, it becomes evident that others have more nerve than me! I felt this when standing on the swim platform of Vanguard, looking wistfully at the recently turned hull of an XPM-85 under construction in the yard of Naval Yachts, Antalya. The hull is massive, extended deeper, and broader than Vangaurd. 66% bigger by block coefficient, 29% by displacement. My lovely wife, Sebrina, began asking awkward questions, starting with "Why can't .....". I answered, "someone will need to hire a crew". Silence fell upon a scene of strained marital bliss.
Picture shows hull of XPM-85 prior to being skinned, scantlings are well in excess of Code requirements. The figure for scale is my friend Don Gregory, Extra First Class Engineer.
Hull Statistics
For those who know of the FPB 78, Iron Lady, Cochise or Grey Wolf II, the XPM 85 fills a similar space with comparable hull statistics, propulsion power, and internal arrangements. Look HERE for a similar comparison of the FPB70 and XPM78. Hydrodynamics being what they are, I'd anticipate a similar in-class performance. Hull No 1 is under construction, over twelve months into her 20-month build. Hull No 2 has gone to contract, and we hope to see the signature soon. The race is on.
Compare the Hulls
To compare the hulls, look at the table below listing basic parameters for XPM-78, XPM-85 from Dennis Harjamaa at Artnautica, and FPB-78 from Steve & Linda Dashew.
XPM- 85, hull turned. XPM - 78 in the background.
| XPM-78 | XPM-85 | FPB-78 |
Length (M) | 22.4 | 25.4 | 26.27 |
Beam (M) | 5.13 | 6.2 | 6.1 |