kcrane
Well-Known Member
We were out on Saturday at the invitation of the sales guys at Marine Ventures, and the kind offer of owners Pete and Hilary, to try their Prestige 46.
Weather was lovely with very little wind. For part of the day the sun shone and you could imagine spring was on its way.
Though not at Fairline quality the boat was solid and seemed robustly engineered. The space is excellent for 46ft. The layout gives you a dinette for 4 next to the helm where you can see out, a sunken galley with reasonable work surfaces, and a saloon table for 6. All 3 cabins have doubles (no bunks) and there are two heads. There is a lazarette with OK space, but also access to a smaller secondary lazarette in the saloon. The crew cabin is a fair size, big enough that Peter's had fitted a washing machine and freezer. She cruised very smoothly at 25knts. The Cummins 500hp engines were noticably quieter than others I've tried, and the controls well engineered. You can choose to "sync & link" the engines. You then control them both in unison from one lever, and the software keeps them running at equal revs.
The downside was the handling. The steering is not powered, and at higher speeds it becomes heavy, and turns are at best stately. The last boat I tried was a Targa 52, which I think is known for good handling. I expected the Prestige to feel like a regular saloon next to the Targa's sports car handling, but it felt more like van. I have a question about it that I'll post separately.
The surprise was that Peter seems to know everyone in Weymouth, including the Coastguard, and once we were out and heading for Lulworth, they were on Ch73 and asking to do a practise run.
The approach as we ran into the wind at about 25knts.
They came up from behind low over the water, and it isn't quiet, they couldn't sneak up on you!
They were just above the flybridge, close enough you felt you could reach up and touch the nose wheel. They dropped the under-carriage as they approached, not sure why.
The drop was onto the bathing platform.
Then back around, another approach, pick-up and they were off again. We didn't get a shot of their next manouver, which was to fly out half a mile in front of us, swing around how choppers do when they want to show off, and came back at us at high speed. They were probably 50ft up as they passed, but it was still hands over the ears time.
Excellent stuff, and a great experience to have had if you ever need them for real. Mark and Rob from Marine Ventures are hoping they can lay the same on for every boat test.
Pics from an iPhone, so apologies for the quality!
Weather was lovely with very little wind. For part of the day the sun shone and you could imagine spring was on its way.
Though not at Fairline quality the boat was solid and seemed robustly engineered. The space is excellent for 46ft. The layout gives you a dinette for 4 next to the helm where you can see out, a sunken galley with reasonable work surfaces, and a saloon table for 6. All 3 cabins have doubles (no bunks) and there are two heads. There is a lazarette with OK space, but also access to a smaller secondary lazarette in the saloon. The crew cabin is a fair size, big enough that Peter's had fitted a washing machine and freezer. She cruised very smoothly at 25knts. The Cummins 500hp engines were noticably quieter than others I've tried, and the controls well engineered. You can choose to "sync & link" the engines. You then control them both in unison from one lever, and the software keeps them running at equal revs.
The downside was the handling. The steering is not powered, and at higher speeds it becomes heavy, and turns are at best stately. The last boat I tried was a Targa 52, which I think is known for good handling. I expected the Prestige to feel like a regular saloon next to the Targa's sports car handling, but it felt more like van. I have a question about it that I'll post separately.
The surprise was that Peter seems to know everyone in Weymouth, including the Coastguard, and once we were out and heading for Lulworth, they were on Ch73 and asking to do a practise run.
The approach as we ran into the wind at about 25knts.
They came up from behind low over the water, and it isn't quiet, they couldn't sneak up on you!
They were just above the flybridge, close enough you felt you could reach up and touch the nose wheel. They dropped the under-carriage as they approached, not sure why.
The drop was onto the bathing platform.
Then back around, another approach, pick-up and they were off again. We didn't get a shot of their next manouver, which was to fly out half a mile in front of us, swing around how choppers do when they want to show off, and came back at us at high speed. They were probably 50ft up as they passed, but it was still hands over the ears time.
Excellent stuff, and a great experience to have had if you ever need them for real. Mark and Rob from Marine Ventures are hoping they can lay the same on for every boat test.
Pics from an iPhone, so apologies for the quality!
