40ft sportscruiser shootout

[benjenbav]

I enjoyed the article in MBY (March) whilst accepting the caveat that the only boat actually tested was the F/L and that the Sunseeker hasn't been launched.

I thought the Princess V39 package looks to be very, very good indeed. I should be surprised if those on here who have ordered one will be disappointed. I personally like the simplicity of offering just the one engine option on launch.

On the subject of engines I thought the suggested Sunseeker option pricing seemed interesting. I don't know the specific engines but would need to be persuaded that I wanted to pay £14k more for Volvo 330hp units rather than Yanmar 370s and I think I might need a jedi mind trick to be played on me to pay £40k more for the D6 400s than the Yanmar 370s.

Generally, I thought the Sunseeker's base price of almost £100k more than the V39 was going to take some justification.

 

[mhph]

Could anybody explain the price differential of £1600 on the respective bowthrusters of the targa & the V39.The targa is listed as 6hp so maybe it is more powerful,hence the price.But surely on boats this size you only need a little nudge here and there so I would have thought power was not that important.
I know £1600 in the scheme of things is not much, just puzzled I guess.

 

[mjf]

I have always held the view that 4 HP on a 40ft was underpowered.

You do not need it in F3 or so but above that its useful and 4HP under cooks the job IMHO

 

[MBM_Greg]

Berthing in a blow and a 4hp doesn't work. The bigger the better. When it's calm, no problem - but that's not when you need it!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Could anybody explain the price differential of £1600 on the respective bowthrusters of the targa & the V39.

Easy: different manufacturers price stuff differently. Look at the respective option cost of leather upholstery between Fairline and Princess, for example.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[jfm]

Could anybody explain the price differential of £1600 on the respective bowthrusters of the targa & the V39.The targa is listed as 6hp so maybe it is more powerful,hence the price.But surely on boats this size you only need a little nudge here and there so I would have thought power was not that important.
I know £1600 in the scheme of things is not much, just puzzled I guess.

Fairline tend to fit bigger bowthrusters, ie the next one up in the range, compared with Princess. I do not know if that is specifically true for t38 vs v39. Fairline quote hp, whereas Princess quote kgf which of course is BS and masks the true relevant figure which is power. Both builders fit Sleipner, which is the top/best bowthurstuer in this size range. The £1600 probably is mostly accounted for in the more expensive component and wiring, plus profit margin on that

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Fairline tend to fit bigger bowthrusters, ie the next one up in the range, compared with Princess. I do not know if that is specifically true for t38 vs v39. Fairline quote hp, whereas Princess quote kgf which of course is BS and masks the true relevant figure which is power. Both builders fit Sleipner, which is the top/best bowthurstuer in this size range. The £1600 probably is mostly accounted for in the more expensive component and wiring, plus profit margin on that

Yep, my rather throwaway reply looks rather like something that Searush would happily go swimming with, sorry. On further digging the Sleipner Sidepower SE60 is rated at 60kg force, but to get 6hp power you need to go up to the SE80. So it looks like jfm is right. What a surprise!

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[aquapower]

Yep, my rather throwaway reply looks rather like something that Searush would happily go swimming with, sorry. On further digging the Sleipner Sidepower SE60 is rated at 60kg force, but to get 6hp power you need to go up to the SE80. So it looks like jfm is right. What a surprise.

Cheers
Jimmy

There is only just over £300 diference in cost between the SE60 and SE80, and they both fit the same size tunnel.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I know £1600 in the scheme of things is not much, just puzzled I guess.

You can never have too much hp in a bowthruster especially with a sterndrive powered boat in which the bow tends to get blown off v easily and these are quite large boats for sterndrive power. In fact you can never have too much bowthruster hp in any boat because you need it to work in difficult wind and tide situations

 

[AdeOlly]

You can never have too much hp in a bowthruster especially with a sterndrive powered boat in which the bow tends to get blown off v easily and these are quite large boats for sterndrive power. In fact you can never have too much bowthruster hp in any boat because you need it to work in difficult wind and tide situations

Quite so; my test run in the Jeanneau (sterndrive) once it had been serviced and fettled was in an F5, and I was somewhat nervous about handling a new to me boat in such a wind in what is quite a tight marina. I was delighted that the bowthruster was able to move the bow, albeit slowly, when at 90 degs to the wind.... it's 5.8hp according to the MaxPower specs, and the boat is 34ft. As such, 4hp on 40ft sounds utterly hopeless to me.

As to the three boats, the V39 looks fantastic. The Sunseeker looks interesting with those huge hull windows. It also appears to have a good standard spec, but starting price £358k for 42ft.... Discounts could of course narrow or eliminate the difference once spec differences are accounted for.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Shootout with only three Brits, and only one in real flesh form. Looks very boring to me.

Just promotion and marketing, no help for the buyer to show him what there is around.
While all the boats mentioned look very nice they are all so ten years ago in current sports cruisers in many areas.
- no flash deck in aft deck (all split level) don't know about Sunseeker thouth still in plan
- no second head (are they not making better use of smaller engines) D4 is half the size of a KAD300
- midships cabin with only two berths and sofa

A Sealine SC35 offers the same in five feet less, and has nice single level aft deck which is the most spacious of the above bunch. Pity that I buy for looks and for this the Princess is a big winner.

I think the Sunseeker new price is justified for having completly new tooling, as it looks more in line with other latest European elites. At least it looks in line with latest trends.

 

[benjenbav]

Well, tbh, if I was buying a 40 something footer with price no object it would be a Mochi Dolphin 44 but then that's twice the price!

 

[Nick_H]

I think the Sunseeker new price is justified for having completly new tooling.

Do customers give a fig about new tooling?

 

[gjgm]

Shootout with only three Brits, and only one in real flesh form. Looks very boring to me.

Just promotion and marketing, no help for the buyer to show him what there is around.
.

But topical as two of them were almost side by side at the boatshow....

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Do customers give a fig about new tooling?

They will when they see the internal layout and better use of space. Sunseeker is recently doing this with some models. They have grown over the modification of an old tooling. The 48 Portofino is one of this. A 47 looks damn small in many areas. Total redesign.

 

[mjf]

They will when they see the internal layout and better use of space. Sunseeker is recently doing this with some models. They have grown over the modification of an old tooling. The 48 Portofino is one of this. A 47 looks damn small in many areas. Total redesign.

Yes but, the princess is a new boat too and has different design build process too.

same increased volume as a result and cheaper cost than S/S have managed.

I agree with NickH who gives a fig on tooling up that's the builders concern

 

[rafiki_]

Yes but, the princess is a new boat too and has different design build process too.

same increased volume as a result and cheaper cost than S/S have managed.

I agree with NickH who gives a fig on tooling up that's the builders concern

You are right that the purchaser does not really care about the tooling, unless the tooling has delivered a significantly improved product, be that function, quality or cost. However, the manufacturer has to recover his costs, somehow, and with a better product, should be able to command a premium return on the investment.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

You are right that the purchaser does not really care about the tooling, unless the tooling has delivered a significantly improved product, be that function, quality or cost. However, the manufacturer has to recover his costs, somehow, and with a better product, should be able to command a premium return on the investment.

Yeah but its stretching brand credibility to say that SS is a more premium product than Princess. As far as I can see the layout of both boats is almost exactly the same and the SS seems to be a slightly shorter boat if the stated dimensions are correct. In fact recent SS boats I've looked inside at boat shows have been quite poorly finished IMHO. Frankly I don't see how SS can justify the price premium unless their planned production volume is so low that they reckon they can sell a smaller number than Princess at a higher price. Of course, as has been previously pointed out, the price might just be a bit of bravado and in reality it's heavily discounted