- Founded
- —
- Headquarters
- Ludviginkatu 3-5 A, 00130 Helsinki, Finland
- Shipyard location
- Finland
- Official website
- https://xoboats.com/
Brand Overview
Helsinki builder of aluminium deep-V 'crossover' boats — ten models in three series, the DFNDR multi-purpose boats, the DSCVR day cruisers and the EXPLR cabin boats, from the 8-metre DFNDR 8 to the 13.4-metre EXPLR 44, Best Big Boat at the 2025 Best of Boats Awards.
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
XO Boats Oy, based at Ludviginkatu in Helsinki, builds what it calls crossover boats 'from the rough north': a deep-V hull of what the company describes as the best military-grade aluminium in the market, combined with fibreglass for the design, made for the Finnish archipelago and the Baltic Sea. The fleet has three series. DFNDR is the multi-purpose line for sport fishing, day cruising, professional use and superyacht tender duty — the DFNDR 9, which made its global debut at Southampton in 2021 and was named Adventure Boat of the Year 2023, and the DFNDR 8 launched at Boot Düsseldorf 2023. DSCVR is the open day cruiser, as DSCVR 9 Open and DSCVR 9 T-Top. EXPLR is the cabin line: the EXPLR 9, which debuted at Boot Düsseldorf 2020 as the first of the second generation; the EXPLR 10 Sport and Sport +, with outboards or a 370 hp inboard (IB); and the EXPLR 44, an aluminium adventure yacht premiered at Boot Düsseldorf 2025 with up to 1,350 hp of outboards, 1,800 litres of fuel and two cabins, built with 8 mm bottom stringers and a 5 mm hull. Each page lists overall length excluding the engine, beam, draught to the props, weight without engine, passengers, berths, fuel, construction, CE category, top speed, engines, deadrise and hull type, and the boats can be specified in an online configurator.
Who sails them
XO owners are active boaters who want to keep going when others stay in port — archipelago and coastal owners who drive fast in rough water, sport fishermen, families on weekend trips, yacht owners who need a robust tender or chase boat, and professional operators — and who value an aluminium hull that shrugs off scratches and beaching, a distinctive Nordic look and a boat they configure themselves.
Signature models
The DFNDR 9, Adventure Boat of the Year 2023, which the yard took 400 nautical miles across the Baltic from Helsinki to Stockholm with Motor Boat & Yachting, is the signature boat; the EXPLR 10 Sport + is, the yard says, one of its best sellers, and the EXPLR 44, Best Big Boat at the 2025 Best of Boats Awards, takes the concept to an aluminium adventure yacht.
Strengths
XO is known for deep-V aluminium hulls with steep deadrise for a hard, dry ride, rugged boats that need little maintenance and can be fully recycled, a recognisable angular design, high top speeds of 40-50 knots, versatile layouts from open day boat to cabin cruiser, an online configurator, and awards for the DFNDR 9 and EXPLR 44.
Considerations
The specification lists are short and inconsistent: lengths exclude the engine, several figures carry no unit (fuel '385', engines '2 x 250', inboard '370'), no cruising speed, range or fuel consumption is given ('n/a'), and the engine maker is not named on the model pages; the IB models' engine fuel is not stated; the EXPLR 44's 43.65 ft does not match its printed 13.4 m; some pages have only a few photographs; and the site gives no founding date or company history.
Analysis generated 10/17/2026
Part of
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 10
- Length range
- 8.03–13.4 m
- Hull forms
- Motor Monohull 10
- Cabins
- 2
Models by this brand
10 models
History
XO Boats describes itself as coming from the northern, rugged archipelago of Finland, whose Baltic surroundings it says inspired both its design and its philosophy of boats that last a lifetime. Its concept is the XO Crossover: a deep-V hull of what it calls the best military-grade aluminium on the market, joined to fibreglass for the design, giving a recreational boat the qualities of a professional vessel — a rigid, light hull that needs little maintenance and can be fully recycled at the end of its life. The EXPLR 9, which made its debut at Boot Düsseldorf in 2020 and was improved in 2021, was the first of the second generation of XO boats, with more width and volume than its predecessors. The DFNDR 9 had its global debut at the Southampton Boat Show in 2021 and was named Adventure Boat of the Year 2023; the yard then drove one 400 nautical miles across the Baltic from Helsinki to Stockholm with Motor Boat & Yachting. The smaller DFNDR 8 was launched at Boot Düsseldorf in 2023, and in 2025 the company premiered the EXPLR 44 there, its first aluminium adventure yacht, which went on to win Best Big Boat at the 2025 Best of Boats Awards.
History written fromxoboats.com/about-xo-boats/· Aboutread 10/17/2026the site has no history page and gives no founding year