Princess v39.indd
Transcription
Princess v39.indd
THE BIG TEST PRINCESSV39 Is this the best pound-for-pound sportscruiser in the world? PRINCESSV39 A spacious 40-footer bristling with classy touches, at a price you wouldn’t believe Text: Jack Haines Photos: Lester McCarthy BOAT REPORT SEE THE VIDEO mby.com/v39 H ow on earth have they managed it? That was the question on everyone’s lips when the sheet slipped off the stunning Princess V39 at the last London Boat Show. Princess’s design team unveiled a boat that is proportionally right on the money, it was a hardtop sportscruiser designed from the hull upwards to be exactly that – not an open boat with a roof slapped on top. It didn’t have piddling little engines, there were two good cabins and a very spacious heads and a cockpit with all the mod cons that you’d expect of a modern sportscruiser. And then there was the price. How was it possible to build a Princess that upholds the brand’s reputation for under £300,000 at base price? You half expected the sheet to reveal a boat with cardboard furniture or at the very least some cheap and nasty switchgear. Not a bit of it, this is a Princess through and through – so then, how have they done it? BEFITTING FINISH It is not through cutting costs when it comes to engineering and build quality, that’s for sure. The gauge of the stainless steel guardrails is reassuringly solid; the transom shower is a proper stainless tap and shower head, not some nasty plastic job. The locker doors and wet-bar lid are closed-moulded into a smooth and spotless finish and the rest of the mouldings are beautifully clean too. The helm station is clad in dark, reflection-banishing materials, which are soft to the touch and classy to look at. There’s even an optional fabric cover for the exposed GRP under the windscreen to prevent this reflecting in the glass above, which we could have done with on our sunny test day in Plymouth Sound. Below decks the twinkling galley countertop looks too good to sully. Yet neat details like the reversible sink cover-cum-chopping board and soft-close drawers make the area a joy to use. Beautifully soft leather on the dinette, highgloss floor tiles and a Perrin & Rowe sink in the galley add those vital finishing touches. Eighteen months of design and development went into this boat and you can feel it from stem to stern. Many of the bits that make this boat so good are down to the build process. The V39 uses resin infusion, which reduces weight and adds strength and consistency during the build. Princess has also used a system called an Integrated Structural Tray, which does away with the normal method of laying up the hull with stringers and building on top. Instead a tray is lowered into position with ready-fitted stringers, plus the cabin sole and steps. This allows the accommodation deck to sit a lot lower in the boat, which improves headroom throughout and saves a huge amount of build time, explaining why Princess is able to produce new V39s at such an impressive rate. DIVINE DRIVE Knowing that there is less added stiffening in this hull than more traditional techniques you may be concerned that the V39 wobbles around out at sea like jelly on a tumble drier. Don’t be, the inherent strength of resin infusion and the solidity of Princess’s build ensures this boat feels plenty tough enough. We didn’t have much of a chop to fight with on test but the wake of our 50ft photo boat and the other inhabitants of Plymouth Sound ensured there was enough to test the V39’s mettle. Every wave and trough was handled with aplomb; even flinging it around at top speed through the photo boat’s wash failed to put the V39 off its stride. In fact, short of reckless abuse nothing will knock this boat out of kilter because it has been treated to the perfect cocktail in the engineroom – well, almost perfect. The combination of grippy, powerful sterndrives in a nimble sportscruiser hull is one of the sweetest on the water – especially at this length – and the V39 is no different. The steering is super-light whilst still having enough feel and resistance for when the sea kicks up a fuss. The turn in is swift but predictable in equal measure, and the result is a very safe and easy boat to drive fast. POWER UP Why isn’t it perfect? Because as good as the twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp engines are, they are the only option on a boat that feels like it would relish having some more power in the engineroom. Princess hasn’t ruled out the JANUARY2013 37 The entire boat is littered with touches that add real class, you can feel the focus on design and layout from stem to stern possibility of larger units and in my opinion it can’t do it soon enough because this is a 40-knot boat in all but raw power. We hit a whisker under 37 knots flat out on test, which is not to be sniffed at, but let’s hope the 330s are just keeping the engine mounts warm until Princess decides to up the ante. HELM POSITION The driving position, view out, helm design and ergonomics are all spot on and this makes the V39 an effortless boat to drive both at close quarters and on a long-legged cruising stint. I remained in my seat for the entire photo shoot, which is a real rarity. Usually when you’re going along at 30 knots with two boats just feet away from each other your brain screams at you to stand. Not on the V39 – sitting down with a clear view all round and the wheel and throttles in hand felt natural and totally safe. The two independent helm seats don’t adjust but they do have flip-up bolsters so you can lean against them and poke your head out of the sunroof. The electric sunroof is a cloth affair, which folds back swiftly and neatly, leaving a yawning gap for the sun to shine through. It’s a versatile set-up that enables you to enjoy a wind-in-your-hair drive whenever you are on the water. DECKS AND DINING The cockpit isn’t exactly game changing in its inventiveness but what there is works with a typical Princess air of dependability. A nice touch is the ‘boot’ in the transom, which is large enough for a deflated tender and outboard or all manner of other kit like fenders, lines and covers. It can also be accessed from the cockpit via a locker below the aft bench. The dinette seating is arranged around a teak-topped table, which can either be fixed or, as it was on our Brazil-bound test boat, a hi-lo affair, which drops down to transform the area into a sunpad. A gripe with this area was the width of the hi-lo table, which made getting into the seating a struggle, but Princess has since amended the design so it is easier to get around to the middle of the sofa. The wet-bar is a familiar installation with a built-in griddle, sink and fridge but a touch that those who regularly dine in the cockpit will appreciate is a decent bin built into the right-hand cupboard door. There’s nothing more annoying than packets and wrappers blowing all over the place and having to go below decks to use the bin. Having said that, moving below decks isn’t really a chore on the V39. The shallow steps have grippy rubber inserts on each tread and the chunky, leather-bound banister falls easily to hand. The galley isn’t huge but the use of space is so good you don’t really notice and it’s fine for prepping the odd meal aboard. Clever designs like the reversible sink cover and chopping board, which has its own special storage slot beneath the microwave, and the four small soft-close drawers next to the fridge make the galley that bit nicer to be in. There is also a moulded bin in the floor accessed by a hatch on twin gas struts. It’s unlikely that you’re going to be feeding the masses on a boat like this but if you need to prepare a meal it’s great to have a galley that is enjoyable to use. There is nothing that radical about the cockpit design but it works brilliantly Twin hatches in the deckhead and elliptical ports let light pour in FIRST-CLASS CABINS Much like the cockpit, the V39 uses a pretty generic layout for its cabins but the look and feel of everything manages to elevate them far away from the mundane. The mid cabin is the most interesting of the two with sliding berths, which can be made into a double in seconds, and good headroom at the end of the bed. I would also take the option of having a small third berth in place of the somewhat redundant settee. The forward cabin ticks all the main criteria for a master cabin on a 40ft sportscruiser with good headroom and space at the end of the bed, storage in the form of deep drawers, eye-level lockers and hanging wardrobes and, of course, lots of light from the twin skylights and large, elliptical ports. Sure, it’s not the most exciting of spaces but it has everything that customers will be looking for. If you fill all seven potential berths (including the converting lower dinette) then a good heads is going to be a must. The V39’s feels as if it is from a much larger boat, there is even space in the large separate shower cubicle to sit on a teak-topped bench. Elsewhere there is storage both below the sink and above it and behind the split mirror. The smart sink, tap and accessories add the touches of class here that the rest of the boat bristles with. The berths in the mid cabin can slide together to make a double BOAT REPORT A CLOSER LOOK WITH JACK HAINES GALLEY DETAIL It’s the typical compact galley that you get on a 40-footer but the nice touches like this stack of soft-close drawers show Princess making the most of what it’s got. Above, the chopping board-cum-sink cover is a clever space saver that can be hidden completely in a drawer under the oven. QUALITY TOUCHES It’s the touches like this Perrin & Rowe sink and the suspended mixer tap that really make the difference on a boat of this size and price. The entire model is littered with touches that add real class but you really notice it in the heads, which also has a very spacious shower cubicle and bags of storage space. There’s a useful amount of eye-level storage above the saloon dinette, very handy TRANSOM STORAGE This double door storage ‘boot’ on the transom is the perfect place to keep lines, fenders, the shorepower cable or even a deflated dinghy in a bag. Handily, there is also access via the aft bench from inside the cockpit so you can grab items quickly without having to leave the cockpit. ENGINEROOM Even with a 4kW generator fitted there is plenty of room inside the engineroom. The sterndrive set-up lends itself to good access with plenty of space in front of the engines to inspect the belts. As you’d expect on board a Princess, the installation is flawless with clear labelling throughout and neatly clipped piping and wiring. The heads feels as if it’s from a class above Galley is compact but cleverly designed The table on our test was too wide and therefore difficult to move around but Princess has since replaced it with a narrower one making access easier We love this dark blue hull with its subtle red stripe THE DATA LENGTH OVERALL 42ft 6in (12.98m) BEAM 12ft 5in (3.81m) The twin 330hp Volvos are good engines but the hull definitely feels like it could take more This small settee in the mid cabin can be replaced with a small third berth, something we’d recommend This view shows just how large the heads is for a boat of this size. It could have come from a 45-footer FUEL CAPACITY 154 imp gal (700 litres) WATER CAPACITY 73 imp gal (332 litres) DRAUGHT 3ft 4in (1.02m) RCD CATEGORY B (for 10 people) DESIGNER Princess & Olesinski DISPLACEMENT 9 tonnes (empty) 9.9 tonnes (full fuel and water) BOAT REPORT This combination of grippy sterndrives in a nimble sportscruiser hull – especially at this length – is one of the sweetest on the water VERDICT So, how have the designers done it then? The truth is Princess hasn’t cut any corners to make this boat affordable. It feels like a Princess in the same way that the V57 or 60 flybridge does and this is crucial both to the boat’s appeal and to the integrity of the range. People who buy into the Princess brand, even at this level, expect a boat that feels just as luxurious and well built as the larger models. The chances are that Princess won’t make much money from the V39 – with a base price of just £300,000 margins must be wafer thin – but it does offer excellent value for money. The V39 is here because the market demands it and a 40ft sportscruiser with a great ride and Princess quality pumping through its veins will attract buyers to the brand early in their boat-buying careers. The idea is that owners will work their way up to the next V boat and continue upwards from there. That is how the team at Princess have made this boat possible – because it is part of a much bigger picture. The net result is that you get a slice of authentic Princess pie for a price that beggars belief. Contact Princess. Tel: +44 (0)1752 203888 Web: www.princessyachts.com THE HELM VIEW The clip-in dash cover fits over here with a space left in the middle to allow light into the saloon The guardrails are a safe height and they run all they way back to the cockpit It may be a sexy sportscruiser but that doesn’t mean it should go without dedicated chart space The relationship between the throttles and the steering wheel is spot on, in fact the driving position couldn’t be better PERFORMANCE THE COSTS & OPTIONS RIVALS TEST ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D6 330. 330hp @ 3,500rpm. 6-cylinder 5.5-litre diesels Price from £286,200 (twin 330hp) Price as tested £349,932 (twin 330hp) Hull colour (midnight blue) £1,920 Bow thruster £3,250 Hydraulic bathing platform £14,500 4kW generator £7,645 Tropical air-conditioning £9,155 Simrad electronics upgrade £4,940 Timber floor in saloon £1,810 Convertible cockpit table £1,080 Cockpit BBQ £545 iPod dock in saloon £195 = Options on test boat SUNSEEKER PORTOFINO 40 Price from £390,000 Classy interior and great hull from smallest Sunseeker. Buy the test: mby.com/ssp40 TEST RPM Speed LPH GPH MPG Range 2,100 12.4 44.5 9.8 1.27 156 2,300 15.8 54.5 12.0 1.32 162 2,500 19.7 74 16.3 1.21 149 SOUND LEVELS dB(A) Helm 78 79 80 Cockpit 81 82 81 Saloon 73 78 77 2,700 24.2 79 17.4 1.39 171 ECO 2,900 27.1 87.5 19.2 1.41 192 3,100 30.8 101 22.2 1.39 171 FAST 3,300 34.0 118 26.0 1.31 161 MAX 3,500 36.9 136 29.9 1.23 152 79 81 76 78 81 77 79 80 78 81 80 79 81 84 79 FAIRLINE TARGA 38GT Price from £277,080 An older design but still a very capable and fast boat. Buy the test: mby.com/ft38gt Speed in knots. GPH & MPG figures use imperial gallons. Range in nautical miles and allows for 20% reserve. Calculated figures based on readings from on-board fuel gauge, figures may vary considerably. All prices include UK VAT. Fuel 60%, water 50%, four crew + stores but no tender or liferaft, 20ºC air temp, calm F1 for speed trials A member of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton family High performance Flybridge Motor Yachts and V Class Sports Yachts from 39–130 feet PRINCESS YACHTS INTERNATIONAL PLC +44 (0)1752 203888 · info@princessyachts.com www.princessyachts.com