The Blue Water Sailing

 The beam is just over 21ft, so the 29hp Yanmar diesels are set wide apart, making the XCS 11 supremely maneuverable. At wide-open throttle and 3,100 rpm, we motored at 6.8 knots. A more economical cruising speed of 2,500 rpm gave us 5.9 knots. These speeds were recorded on flat water, so results in heavy head seas may vary.

The XCS 11 is a confidence-building design due to her two helms being so far aft and close to the waterline. There’s nothing intimidating about driving her. She’ll even walk directly sideways when necessary.

Groupe Beneteau, the parent company of Lagoon, which builds the Excess line, is currently ramping up production. If you order an XCS 11 today, you may be able to sail her next April—just in time for a summer shakedown cruise.

As was noted by a member of the crew on our test sail, “people bring their lifestyle with them” when they go sailing. In that spirit, the Excess line has been designed to provide a whole new kind of sailing that more intimately connects you with the experience of life offshore. travel vlog

Because the XCS 11 is the first of the line to be created from scratch, she also best captures this sentiment. Truth be told, I was a bit of a skeptic at first, but I must admit I have since been both surprised and delighted by this new line of cats. 

This puts the weight of the anchor well up toward the bows, which isn’t ideal. However, it also means the chain won’t cut into the hulls when the cat swings at anchor. Midway through our test sail, someone pointed out the fact we had six people in the cockpit, and there was plenty of room for all.

It it’s a nice option that allows you to open things up in nice weather. Be warned, though, that it can also make it difficult to tuck the reefing lines into the bag once you’ve dropped the mainsail, since you can’t step on it. An important change that needs to be made topside is extending the non-skid finish on the hardtop out toward the edges.

A terrific surprise aboard the Excess 11 is the fact you can actually see through the saloon window to the opposite corner. The saloon windows are even clear rather than tinted, making it that much easier seeing where you’re going. Everyone aboard during my test sail remarked on how well thought-through this feature is.