PreviewOnT TECHNICAL DATA


T ig he B


KEY DIMENSIONS BUILD


RCD


LENGTH OVERALL BEAM


DRAUGHT


DISPLACEMENT FUEL CAPACITY WATER CAPACITY


HEADROOM IN SALOON §


PERFORMANCE ENGINES


LOAD


est Enginebay


GRP B


47ft 6in (14.5m) 13ft 11in (4.25m) 3ft 9in (1.14m)


14,400kg (31,700lb) 300gal (1,363lt) 100gal (455lt) 6ft 5in (1.96m)


BERTH FORWARD 6ft 2in x 5ft 0in (1.88m x 1.52m) BERTHS MID CABIN


CONFIGURATION 6 cyl 5.5 litre, 435hp @ 3,500rpm CONDITIONS


RPM KNOTS GPH LPH MPG RANGE NOISE 1,000 7


1.3 6 5.4


1,500 9 3.5 16 2.6 2,000 10 9.9 45 1.0


3,500 28


1,296 624 240


2,500 14 18 82 0.8 192 3,000 20 28.2 128 0.7 168 37.2 169 0.7 168


60 63 68 73 77


78


Range figures quoted above are in miles based on standard fuel tanks and include a 20% margin. GPH & MPG refer to imperial gallons. These figures may vary according to weather conditions, air, water, engine temperature, crew numbers, hull fouling, fuel quality etc. Noise readings in dB(A) were taken in the saloon.


PRICES STANDARD BOAT


VARIABLE SPEED BOW AND STERN THRUSTERS


£475,800 inc VAT £9072


HULL COLOUR (MIDNIGHT BLUE) WALNUT INTERIOR (SATIN FINISH)


ELECTRIC DOUBLE-BERTH CONVERSION TO GUEST CABIN


TEAK-LAID FLYBRIDGE


ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC BATHING PLATFORM LIFT


ONAN 4KW GENERATOR CERAMIC HOB DISHWASHER


32in RETRACTING TV


12in RAYMARINE RADAR/ CHARTPLOTTER TO BOTH HELMS


£9318 £6372


£2376 £5856


£19,104 £9894 £474 £1278 £3677


£9678


Plus other options fitted. BOAT AS TESTED £552,899 INC VAT


MEET THE FAMILY Verdict


Twin 6ft 6in x 2ft 6in (1.98m x 0.76m)


Volvo Penta D6-435 shaftdrive


southwesterly Force 5-6 – sea state moderate to rough


0% water, 45% fuel, 4 crew


There’s just a big single hatch in the cockpit to access the lazarette. A large opening in the forward bulkhead then accesses the engine space with thick stainless- steel bars stopping gear from rolling forward between the two areas. The engines are widely spaced so easy to get between, and what’s this on the floor? Gone is the cheap, springy synthetic material I criticised in my Princess 52 review earlier this year, replaced with a welcome return to proper aluminium chequerplate. Both areas are well lit and what’s particularly evident is the plethora of neatly applied silver-backed sound deadening everywhere. It’s like a circa 1980s space station film set down here. It clearly works, though, judging by the sound levels we recorded.


Leaving Princess’s Newport Street factory at eight o’clock at night, my hair still full of salt from rough-water testing, my overriding concern is how am I going to write a balanced review that doesn’t sound like a Princess advertorial. The boat is quite simply that good. Princess spent a lot of time and a great deal of effort making sure it got this boat, a mainstay of its range, carrying serious heritage, absolutely spot on. It succeeded. And then some.


THE RIVALS


Princess 52 from £720,720 LOA: 54ft 8in (16.66m) Much bigger boat with a three- cabin layout and full-beam master cabin. A correspondingly bigger price too, of course.


Princess 56 from £954,600 LOA: 59ft 5in (18.11m) Another step up adds a separate dinette as well as the saloon, with a galley-up layout like the 52.


Prestige 450 from £445,878 LOA: 45ft 9in (13.96m) Separately accessed full-beam master cabin made possible by IPS drive system. Slightly cheaper too, but lacks the class of the Princess.


Azimut 45 from £605,000 LOA: 45ft 3in (13.78m) Italian style, 480hp Cummins engines, two big double cabins and the option of a third, so a lot to like. A six-figure sum dearer, though.


January 2014


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