When a boat is a limousine, it must ride comfortably and deliver its live cargo efficiently and safely ashore and then back again to its mothership. The passengers should enjoy a luxurious ride if the weather is fine or not, and observers will take notice as well.
Welcome to the X40T Limousine Tender, a unique custom 40-footer envisioned as a modern Venetian water taxi by Reliant Yachts partners Dave MacFarlane and Jim Ewing. The X40T is one of a trio of tenders for a new superyacht, and the Tender has the same clean lines and powerful hull shape as its sistership, the X40 Express. All three boats, including the surprisingly versatile X40L Lander, share a 40-foot overall length, an expanse of teak (or Flexiteek) deck, and metallic silver paint jobs accented in black.
The X40T cuts a profile much like the Express with a nearly plumb bow and subtly reversed transom over complementary stern platform. In the “cab” or main saloon, there is full standing headroom with excellent views all around, whether standing and sitting. The spacious saloon and aft cockpit is for passengers, and a forward drivers cockpit accommodates two crew, protected by a wrap-around windscreen.
Passengers board the vessel immediately aft of the forward cockpit, aided by pair of removable stanchions as they step across the deck, down a couple steps, and turn aft into the main saloon, which easily seats eight in leather-upholstered, commuter-style luxury. Passengers can access convenient wifi routers and use Apple Airplay to engage a powerful stereo system from their smartphones.
Passenger seating in the saloon has high backs and bolsters for comfort and security, with excellent 270-degree views of the surrounding scenery. When standing, passengers take a step down to the sole providing them both with headroom and equivalent visibility when moving fore and aft. Overhead, a large, clear section of the roof retracts when the weather is fair. For privacy, leather window blinds can be deployed at the press of a button.
