The british builder has crafted an award-winning motor yacht in which comfort and performance can live together.
The British builder has crafted an award-winning motor yacht in which comfort and performance can live together.
PLYMOUTH IS AN English town where Princess Yachts represents one of the two biggest companies in the area and is an integral part of the social fabric. During a recent two-day visit to the yards – the oldest and the spaces recently acquired from the local government in the historical naval base area – select journalists had the opportunity to see three yachts of the M line: a 30M, 35M and 45M, and could also sail aboard three other yachts launched recently.
One of those yachts was the new Princess 75 Motor Yacht, the other two were the V58 and S65. Three lines of yachts dedicated to different Owners, but with some details in common such as the accuracy in design, manufacture, material selection and the high standard of quality that can be seen when stepping aboard.
The Princess 75 won this year’s Best Production Motor Yacht (15m to 24m) at the Asia Boating Award presented in Singapore by Asia-Pacific Boating and China Boating magazines.
Marketing Director Kiran Jay Haslam says that at Princess, any boat from the smallest to the biggest is exactly the same in terms of quality. “You have to consider something very important: we have many clients Owners of a M series, so we are talking about yachts of 30m and above, that own also a small Princess as for example the V58 if not smaller than this,” Haslam says.
“They do that because they need also a small boat for different uses, and they choose another Princess because as they tell us, they want the same quality and the same kind of family yacht. We are proud of that, and it confirms that we are doing exactly what we had in our programmes – we are able to transmit the same appeal on all of our yachts. For us a Princess is not a small one or a big one, it is in any case a Princess and our repeat and multiple clients confirm that.”
With the Princess 75 there is an expectation of luxury and a high level of attention to details, but once on board it’s apparent that a great deal of attention was given to the woodwork as a solution to minimise noise and vibrations, and also the ergonomics that enable a very comfortable life aboard – even if you are cruising at more than 30 knots.
The exterior layout is based on a consolidated scheme of a 75ft flybridge yacht, but with an impressive quantity of glass and transparent surfaces very well integrated in the design and, for the superstructure, helps make the lines appear more sporty and modern.
Big lateral glass surfaces in the superstructure offer panoramic sea views from the interior and a huge amount of natural light. The four cabins with en suites on the lower deck benefit from wide glass surfaces in the hull, especially the Owner’s suite at mid ship and VIP cabin at the bow.
The other two cabins, a double on port and another VIP on starboard, have two windows on one side so that natural light and sea views are assured. The full-beam Owner’s suite has a large bathroom towards the stern that provides a structural element between the engine room and the cabins that cuts down on engine noise.
Vibration control was managed with the use of special elements during the assembly of all main parts of the yachts, so it is very difficult to hear the engines when they are running. As with the other two yachts tested, there is very little noise even at high speed with big waves. Local craftsmen – some of whom have worked with Princess for more than 40 years – created the fine woodwork that helps dampen the sound.
The main deck is divided between open and enclosed areas – wide spaces perfectly integrated with the design where it is possible spend time in total comfort and privacy.
At the bow there is an open air saloon with a sun pad surrounded by a structure that contributes to the yacht’s general shape following the line and offers space for storage areas.
There is another open-air relaxation area at the stern connected with two stairs to the swimming platform and covered by the flybridge. This is another perfect space to relax and, if needed, can be considered as an extension of the main saloon thanks to a big sliding glass door.
In the main saloon there is a large sofa with another small one on port, a lunch area and kitchen and the internal helm station to starboard. The helm station is very well done technically, with everything in the right position and well integrated in terms of aesthetics with the luxurious interior.
Another thing guests will like on this yacht is the L-shaped sofa on the left at the bow area, especially if the Captain is part of the family or a good friend.
In terms of space and quality on the flybridge, two C-shaped sofas surround the central helm station at the bow. At mid ship on the right is a sofa with table for open-air dining, and to the left there is a bar with secondary kitchen. At the stern there is big sun pad, two chairs and a small table that offer more space for guests to relax.
“We are conscious that working on very different markets around the world we have to offer different solutions in terms of interior design,” says Executive Chairman Antony Sheriff, who joined Princess in January and is the former Managing Director of McLaren Automotive.
“That’s the reason why we developed some solutions, but we are ready to create a connection between the future Owner and our internal design team. We are doing that on several boats even if a big number of customers ask us just to modify canvas or other small details, but what we offer is the possibility to create a personal yacht for each Owner working with our design team.
“We intend a Princess to be a top-level yacht independently from the size, and we are conscious that in this case personalisation is a very important element. We have for obvious reasons – Princess Yachts is part of the LVMH Group that includes over 60 international luxury brands worldwide – the possibility to choose in a very comfortable way a wide variety of high level materials and elements that help us to offer exclusive yachts.”
Even if a client asks Princess to use some special materials, for example elements made by artisans, the builder is open to realising that kind of solution.
“For us what is very important is that a Princess yacht is in any case recognisable as a Princess, but with the special taste of the Owner in the interior. All of that must be included into our top level of quality standards that we follow every day at any level inside our shipyards, as you had the opportunity to see today.”
The yard areas where Princess yachts are born are well organised and everything is unusually clean. But most unusual is the space dedicated entirely to mock-up construction, where Princess Yachts develops in a scale of 1:1 the new projects to study all the details before they start to produce it. That’s unusual for boatyards specialising in the production of yachts under 80ft – and even more unusual considered that the same size yacht could have different solutions for the superstructure following the needs of different market worldwide.
The sea trial of the 75 was very impressive because we tested the most powerful version with two MAN 12V engines of 1,800hp each that create powerful acceleration that is unusual in a 75ft motoryacht. The maximum speed of those engines is 37 knots with half load of fuel and water with six people on board.
During the test the weather was quite good, but the sea was perfect for feeling how this very well-designed hull is able to absorb all impacts without problems or strange noises.
The Princess 75 Motor Yacht is easy to manoeuvre thanks to the electronic control station and the very efficient stern and bow thrusters.
This is a motor yacht dedicated to an Owner who likes to take the helm and have only stewards onboard as crew, but it does have a crew area that is comfortable for three people during long cruises thanks to the stern cabins perfectly integrated in the hull at the stern of the engine room.
This yacht is perfect for long cruises in total comfort and safety, even if this yacht is destined for areas where the sea can easily change from calm to raw. The hull is designed with an important V to absorb the impact of waves and offer a smooth ride even with the powerful engines assuring high performance.
This 75ft yacht from the English yard Princess is definitely one of the best yachts in this size range.
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