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X-Pro 530
Firstly I must declare a biased opinion as not only do I now own an X-Pro, I have also just put it up for sale. All owners always think their boats are the best, no matter now objective they try to be.
This is intended to be an unsolicited review, and apart from the things above I'm in no way connected to X-Pro. X-Pro is a Chinese made rib imported / marketed / branded by SeaSwift boats.
Chinese RIBs seam to have a stigma attached to them, so treading carefully I reviewed SeaSwift / X-Pro for build quality and warranty etc. but still decided the price vs. features meant it suited my needs - namely a 5m ish boat with enough beam to fit side-by-side jockey seating into.
I also think a lot of "extras" or features of larger boats come "for free" with the X-Pro, things like enclosed anchor locker, moulded transom with battery space, under deck tank and trunking etc.
Apart from a few evenings skiing, I've now crossed the channel in the 530 and am very pleased with its handling and build quality. Obviously its a small RIB, and does not compare to something larger but trying to compare I would say its a better sea boat than a 5m tornado & probably on par with the BWM Deep Sea 18 I used to own - and I considered that a good sea boat covering probably a thousand or more miles over a few years.
Build quality seams good with all catches being nut & bolted.
My only "gripe" is that the console top half WAS fixed using self tappers - since replaced with nuts & bolts.
And one other observation is that you are position quite high (soon get used to it) - this is a by-product of the wide beam and self draining deck on a 5.3m boat.
I hope this review is useful to future buyers.
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