document.write( '<div class="newstitle"><b>All About The X One Design</b></div>' );
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document.write( 'The X One Design is very nearly 100 years old with the first boat being designed and built in 1909 by Alfred Westmacott. He was Managing Director of Woodnutt & Co at St Helens on the Isle of Wight and specialised in building small racing day boats, which included the Seaview Mermaid, Solent-Sunbeam and Victory. The Class owes its existence to the Royal Motor Yacht Club, which in 1909 commissioned Woodnutt & Co to build the prototype and ordered a further four boats in 1911. These were club boats for the use of its members and were sold into private ownership in 1921. From there the class has flourished to its current numbers.' );
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document.write( 'Racing first took place in Southampton Water on the 3rd of June 1911 and by the outbreak of the First World War some ten XODs had been built. Between the wars divisions were established at Parkstone, Lymington, Itchenor and Hamble with 81 boats racing by the outbreak of WWII.' );
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document.write( 'Today the class is over 170 strong with the latest sail numbers (X195 and X197) being issued to two new boats in build at Lathams. The first XOD, X1 Mistletoe is still in existence and is currently on display at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. She makes up one of the main displays and is accompanied by a video commentary on the class.' );
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document.write( 'The XOD hull shape has remained largely unchanged since the original design but there have over the years been a number of changes to the rig with the original boats being gaff. The Bermudan rig was adopted in 1928 and a second modification was made in 1951 to improve the balance of the boat. Over the years there have also been changes to the approved types of timber, fastenings and surface treatments. The latter perhaps the most important and many boats have now been epoxied which keeps the level of maintenance down.' );
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document.write( 'Owning an XOD need not be expensive and there are plenty of boats on the second hand market. Buying new is only really for the completely mad or as a new boat will set you back around 50k. Fortunately second hand examples can be found for a much more reasonable cost and the age of the boat in no way relates to its performance ability.' );
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document.write( 'At the bottom end of the scale you might pick up a boat in need of considerable work for around 3k. Do not however under estimate the cost of brining the boat up to competeive spec and you may well be better looking for a used example in the 6-10k bracket. Boats with exceptional pedigrees or in exceptional condition can fetch above 10-15k. Running costs need not be high if you are prepared to invest the time and effort. An XOD can be raced on the Hamble for somewhere in the region of 1 - 2k + per annum, excluding sails and dependent as to whether you have winter storage space at home or not.' );
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document.write( 'The XOD attracts a wide range of sailing abilities and a quick glance of the entry list at Cowes Week will throw up some notable names. Whilst the boats are not fast by modern standards they are surprisingly tweaky for a boat weighing 1300kg and are all set up slightly differently. The XOD is an easy boat to sail but a difficult one to sail really well and its all about time in the boat and learning the intricacies of the design.' );
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document.write( 'The following article from the Yachting Monthly 1928; fascinating reading - you can download the full article by clicking <a href="/xod_images/xod_article.pdf">here</a>. Note that in 1928 a new boat cost GBP175!!!' );
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document.write( 'Today the XOD fleet is split across five racing divisions;' );
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document.write( '     Hamble (28 boats)' );
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document.write( '     Parkstone (30 boats)' );
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document.write( '     Itchenor (36 boats)' );
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document.write( '     Lymington (37 boats)' );
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document.write( '     Yarmouth (20 boats)' );
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document.write( 'Hamble division racing is run principally under the HRSC on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Every month there is Sunday racing under the Royal Southern YC regatta series. Hamble also host the Central Solent Championships which is a three day open event the weekend before Cowes Week. This attracts boats from other divisions as it acts as a good warm up for Cowes Week.' );
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document.write( 'Cowes Week itself is the major XOD event of the year. With typically over 80 boats on the start line you need a consistent series to be well placed.' );
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document.write( 'The other divisions hold open events such as Poole Week, Itchenor Points Week, Bobby Bongers Trophy.' );
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document.write( 'Feel like finding out some more? If you are interested in joining the XOD fleet either as a boat owner or as crew then visit the class association website at www.xonedesign.org.uk to find out more. Contacts within the Hamble XOD division who will be able to help you further are as follows;' );
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document.write( '     MOS Fitzgerald, Divisional Captain, 01256 895093' );
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document.write( '     Dianna Wilson, Vice Captain, 01962 779269' );
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document.write( '     Ron Rogers, Treasurer, 02380 455343' );
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document.write( '     Simon Russell, Technical Committee, 02380 456377' );
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document.write( '     James Roy, Webmaster, 02380 457892' );
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document.write( '<div class="newsfooter"><em>Posted : </em>Monday 6 March 2006</div>' );