DFNDR 8

Summary

Best Suited For

• Coastal Cruising

  From the published figures: CE Category C · LOA 8.03 m

Tags are derived from certified class, length, sail area, accommodation and tankage using the criteria described on the Sources page; an editor may add or remove one.

Speed, Power & Tanks

What the builder publishes about how fast, how strong and how much the boat carries.

Dimensions

LOA

26.3 ft (8.03 m)

Hull length

—

LWL

—

Beam

8.3 ft (2.53 m)

Draft (min)

3.1 ft (0.93 m)

Draft (max)

—

Air draft

—

Displacement

4,378 lb (1,986 kg)

Ballast

—

Cabins

—

Heads

—

Berths

2

Performance

Maximum speed

50 kn

Cruising speed

—

Range

—

Guests

—

Crew

—

Engine and Tanks

Engine

225–450 hp

Engine count

—

Engine manufacturer

—

Propulsion type

outboard

Fuel capacity

102 gal (385 L)

Fresh water capacity

—

Black water capacity

—

Construction

Hull material

aluminium

Deck material

—

Rudder type

—

Steering wheels

—

Builder's Own Figures

Max speed

+50 kts

Passengers

8

Length

8.03 m (overall, excluding the engine)

Deadrise

23°

Fuel capacity

385 (printed without a unit; litres, as on the other XO tables)

Construction

ALU/GRP

Hull

Deep-V

Engines

outboard: 2×225 hp - 450 hp

Draft

to the propellers

Engine power basis

per engine as printed (min/max across the options)

Displacement basis

weight excluding engine, as printed (1986kg)

Layouts & Drawings

2 drawings from the builder's page: general arrangement, sail plan, profile.

• 

  D8-ulkoa-top — XO Boats

• 

  D8-sisältä-top — XO Boats

About XO Boats

Premium production

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.

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.

The XO Boats Range

Every model XO Boats publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.

1. EXPLR 4444 ft
2. EXPLR 10 Sport30.8 ft
3. EXPLR 10 Sport +30.8 ft
4. DFNDR 928.9 ft
5. EXPLR 10 Sport + IB28.4 ft
6. EXPLR 10 Sport IB28.4 ft
7. DSCVR 9 Open28.1 ft
8. DSCVR 9 T-Top28.1 ft
9. EXPLR 928.1 ft
10. DFNDR 8· this model26.3 ft

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