Absolute 52 vs Prinz 54 in MBY

Whitelighter

Whitelighter

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I though this was a good test, and was suprised how close the boats were in terms of specs and performance etc - 30+ knots for boats with under 1000hp in total seems pretty good.

What I wondered was the price of the Prinz. I thought this was substantially under the Abs. I seem to remember they were advertising the boat at £298,000 + VAT (about £360k all in) which did seem like a bonkers price. MBY list the start now at £427,000 + VAT - over £130k more. Makes it a bit less atrractive maybe?
 
My gut feel was that MB&Y got the prices wrong, but if you take the £300k and add 20% for fx changes, and 5% for year on year price increase, you get to £380k. If you also add in that they have some experience of building them now, and some experience of selling them, then the rest could be additional build cost, or their current perceptions of market price?
 
When I looked at the Prinz website a couple of years ago, the silver paint was less than E5K if I recall. The first MBY ads were also at about GBP265K + VAT. They then went up to 298K.
 
I have the price list here from late 2006 in .pdf format, but i don't know how to post it. Prices may also have changed quite a bit since, as this was early in its development, although you could order at these prices in 2007. The metallic paint option is in 3 sections, totalling about 12,000 euro. Base price with IPS 600's is 449k euro ex VAT, which at last years fx rate would have been £300k, at current fx rates about £360k, probably add £10-£20k for dealers hedging rate.

I'm starting to think the mag prices might be right, except the paint option price
 
It is true that the current price of the boat is now higher than that which was advertised at the launch of the project 2 years ago.

As Houghn correctly says a significant difference in the Sterling price is attributable to the change in Euro/Sterling exchange rates. Additionally increases in costs for components such as resins, foam cores, Volvo Penta engines/accessories, plus changes to equipment levels and supply chains over the course of the development of the boat has also lead to price increases.

The development of the boat was totally privately funded so customers who were prepared to commit to purchase during the development stage naturally benefitted from the price the boat was being marketed at that time.

Unfortunately the metallic paint option does remain very expensive, purely because of the sheer cost of the paint, although it is only an option.
 
this report sounds very interesting
did they go into detail and comparison how both boats are built andconstructed
I still feel the Prinz with weights advised to be a bit week on the construction side, something an Italian friend of mine confirmed me during a seatrial in Naples during the boat show a month ago
 
Is it a "paint job" like the silver Sunseeker Superhawk or is it part of the gelcoating??

If the former then, yes, a pisstake. If the latter then adds another step to the entire production cycle AND must be done with a customer in mind as opposed to laying the hull and hoping for a punter...

It's all in the finish...bang the Sunseeker off a pontoon and you'll have a lovely scratch...if it's in the gelcoat it is much more hardwearing.
 
I got round to reading the test report last night and I thought there were a fair few criticisms of both boats, some of which I would find off putting if I was in the market for this kind of boat
First, the suggestion was that both these boats would struggle to perform acceptably well when filled with fuel and cruising gear and with a fouled hull. Surely the whole point of a sports boat is that it goes well? Then there was the issue of the 'bumpy' ride. There seemed to be some problem with the trim tabs on the Abs but trim tabs are not going to turn a bumpy ride into a smooth one. Again, should'nt sports boats be able to cut through the rough stuff? Then there was some comment about the 'crashy' ride in the Abs and high noise levels. As for the engine access on the Prinz and the ludicrous comments by Prinz about the issue, that would be enough for me to dismiss the boat outright. So, all in all, I thought neither boat came out particularly well out of this test. Whether it's fair to compare these 2 boats against (I guess) more expensive competition from Fairline and Princess is a moot point
So, do we have the importers in the house to comment on these points? C'mon Trev, you're not usually shy about sticking your head above the parapet /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
the suggestion was that both these boats would struggle to perform acceptably well when filled with fuel and cruising gear and with a fouled hull.

[/ QUOTE ]Hmmm... if tied to the dock, they would have struggled even more I reckon.
 
Agree most your comments Mike, although I have to say all the bigger boats i've owned lose 8 knots with a heavy coating of slime on the hull, and especially if there was any fouling at all on the props.
 
I think the Abs 52 starting from 810.000 EUROS is not much a price difference from the Princess and Fairline
add to that the Sterling recent devalutation and they are quite equal in price!
If I remember correctly the Fairline 52 Targas GT starts at about 860 and and Princee V 53 is at about the same, both of them with more drinking shaft drives
 
True, but the test report stated that the Prinz only achieved 23kts before the hull was cleaned and that was without cruising gear and low on fuel. Load it up with gear and fill the tanks and that 23kts would be down to 21kts
IPS may be more efficient that shafts but putting 'only' 435hp (IPS600) engines in 52-54ft boats is pushing it a bit IMHO. I reckon the top speed with clean hulls of both boats will be below 30kts when full of gear and fuel. That may be OK for a flybridge boat but surely the average sports boat owner is looking for more poke?
 
The boat tested by MBY was number 1 off the production line, was highly specified with extras and had a weight of 17 tons. Later boats have benefited from a more refined infusion technique which has reduced weight and is giving a top speed of 34 - 35 knots, all with high specification lists.

It is disappointing that MBY have quoted Prinz on the Volvo diagnostics regarding engine room access as I believe this was a miscommunication taken out of context.

The engine room access may be tight in comparison to the Absolute, but then the Absolute doesn't have a tender garage, so there must be some compromise somewhere. Prinz have already addressed the issue by improving the access through the garage floor, as suggested by MBY.
 
Fair reply. 34-35kts is more like it. But I would still take issue with the engine access through the tender garage. You may make make access easier but the fact remains that the tender and other gubbins has to be pulled out of the garage in order to get to the engine bay and that's at best a pain in the arse and at worst impossible if the boat is moored stern to. It's going to discourage skippers from making engine checks which is a bad thing. It should'nt be beyond the wit of Prinz to design in an access hatch from outside the tender garage. I had a Targa 48 once which had a tender garage but there was another hatch in the cockpit deck to allow access to the engine bay. There should'nt be any compromise over what is a safety issue
Thanks for replying though. It's always good to hear from the suppliers on this forum
 
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