Considering new Princess V42

volvopaul said:
The fly 42 is truly a most beautiful boat , probably one of the best all rounder to come out of plymouths factory, I'd sat by now it must be ready or an upgrade but where would princess go with it befor it becomes too big to tag. As an entry level fly princess.
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The P42 has been in production for about eight or nine years now, with the mid-life facelift a couple of years ago. Demand is still strong for it though and as I understand it there are no immediate plans for a replacement.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Thank you for your feedback.
What are the issues with the prop and steering ram?
I really like Princess, but a few people have suggested to look at the Squadron 42 and Targa 44GT. Isn't Fairline aggressively dumping its boats on the market now? I also heard that quality is still one notch better at Princess.
 
I don't think I'll go back for the V45. Given that it is no longer in production and that the difference with the V42 is not that big (in terms of hull, displacement, set up etc), I'll narrow the selection down. Also I think I'll feel more comfortable on a 42ft than a 52ft as a first boat. I can always upgrade later.
 
Alwaysbyboat said:
Thank you for your feedback.
What are the issues with the prop and steering ram?
I really like Princess, but a few people have suggested to look at the Squadron 42 and Targa 44GT. Isn't Fairline aggressively dumping its boats on the market now? I also heard that quality is still one notch better at Princess.
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The early D6 DPH drives had a big problem with prop corrosion which (according to my surveyor) was a combination of poor nibral composition and cavitation wear. I've heard of owners having to have new props every season - but I've never come across this first hand. I _have_ had to have my props refurbed twice however, once when I bought the boat, and again after two seasons use.

Steering rams are a bad design on the D6 - they are outside the hull, underwater, so they are exposed to the worst of the elements. Volvo initially offered a retrofit gaiter, and then redesigned the rams, although in Volvo's defence they have contributed to the costs of sorting these out (I've had a new set of rams and hoses this year from Volvo). Steering ram problems can also cause premature power steering pump failure because of contamination of the power steering fluid - I've also suffered from this.

Much as I like outdrives, the economy, the fun driving experience, and the quicker and more direct manoeuvrability, if you want predictable maintenance costs, albeit at the expense of greater fuel consumption - then shafts is the way to go. Of course, if you're buying new with a two year warranty - then I'd generally be a bit more relaxed.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
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Alwaysbyboat said:
Thank you for your feedback.
What are the issues with the prop and steering ram?
I really like Princess, but a few people have suggested to look at the Squadron 42 and Targa 44GT. Isn't Fairline aggressively dumping its boats on the market now? I also heard that quality is still one notch better at Princess.
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You should certainly look at the Fairlines as well. Personally I don't subscribe to the pov about a quality difference between the two; I think Princess draw a prettier boat, but Fairline do better design detailing. I think Fairline joinery is better. I like Princess engineering. For me the overal quality thing is a score draw between them.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
I assume that if I buy a stock boat from let's say Princess, and ask them to fit an aircon before the handover, that should still be ok? It's not that difficult to install a generator and most of the aircon stuff is already pre-installed (like vents, tubes,..). Some goes for retrofitted radar and chart plotter I think?

Thanks for opinion on Fairline. I'll schedule a trial with them as well. My hesitation was based on the financial situation of the company. Given that they kept producing despite the problems they have, I was afraid that the post-production quality checks would be dialled down.
 
Alwaysbyboat said:
I assume that if I buy a stock boat from let's say Princess, and ask them to fit an aircon before the handover, that should still be ok? It's not that difficult to install a generator and most of the aircon stuff is already pre-installed (like vents, tubes,..). Some goes for retrofitted radar and chart plotter I think?
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Actually I don't think it's the case that heat or aircon ducting is preemptively installed at the factory - unless, of course, heating or aircon is specified at build. I stand on my opinion that a factory install is better than any retro for those two specific items, because of the routing of the ducting.

If you do have heating installed, then make sure they do everything to insulate you from the variable-speed ticking of the diesel pick-up pump, it can be very annoying. (I'm speaking from experience...!)

Retro of electronics is absolutely no big deal, and personally I'd rather have these retro'd than factory-fitted, so that I can talk to the installers and understand exactly what's where, and why. Generator retro is similarly non-controversial.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
When we bought our Princess 67 we toured the factory and at that time they were making P42s at the rate of one a week.
Every Friday afternoon one rolled off the line.
I believe they were Princess' first actual mass produced boat.
They are built in a shed on runners/cradles.
Each Friday a new moulded hull on a fresh cradle is attached to the beginning of the line and pushed in. As a result, the one at the far end pops out of the shed - finished.
The shed wasnt wide enough for the full length of the P42 so the cradles are all rotated slightly at an angle so that the whole assembly fits in.

If you do go ahead and buy a Princess, a visit to the Plymouth factory (or rather factories) is a must - I'm sure Jimmy will agree - I know he visited the factory when he ordered his.
They should also show you round the joinery facility as well.
Simply fascinating.

As far as build quality goes, I have no complaints about the quality of our P67.
She has safely transported us on her own bottom over thousands of miles and apart from a few minor niggles has been completely trouble free. The support we receive from PMYS guys at Swanwick is second to none.
 
Alwaysbyboat said:
I assume that if I buy a stock boat from let's say Princess, and ask them to fit an aircon before the handover, that should still be ok? It's not that difficult to install a generator and most of the aircon stuff is already pre-installed (like vents, tubes,..). Some goes for retrofitted radar and chart plotter I think?

Thanks for opinion on Fairline. I'll schedule a trial with them as well. My hesitation was based on the financial situation of the company. Given that they kept producing despite the problems they have, I was afraid that the post-production quality checks would be dialled down.
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If you arrange any retro fitting with Swanwick then you will get pretty much a factory job. They know what goes where and can have parts supplied from the factory where needed. They are far more than just a dealer in that they PDI and snag the vast majority of Princess boats produced, not just those destined for UK waters.

I used to have a Fairline prior to the Princess. For me their somewhat giveaway pricing when it suits them can leave used values floundering. I also struggle with many of the design details. I get the feeling the boats are designed by interior designers rather than marine architects / designers.

The aftersales at Princess is the icing on the cake. Take nothing away from Essex Boatyards the Fairline dealers they have got some very happy customers and I hear many stories of going the extra mile to get someone back on the water. Some see them as a bit "car dealer ish" but the ability to have a deal and a bit of a carve up is refreshing. It's just a bit of a fine line when it comes to maintaining residuals. Compared to Essex boat yards who aren't afraid to get stuck in and even repair a bit of salvage Princess and Swanwick are positively conservative doing things by the book and not pandering to flights of fancy or current vogues, trends or fashion. For all their conservatism I can still have extremely frank discussions though and find dealing easy enough.

Clearly it would be madness not to pop the forty feet over the road to have a look at Fairline though.

Henry :)
 
Thank you very much for your input Paul - much appreciate.
Just to get a better idea about what we are talking: how much would a typical annual service on the V42 engines cost (D6 400)? And what kind of cost will I be looking at after 4 seasons? I won't skip any service, as I think it's important to keep everything on the boat in excellent condition. But I just want to get a better feel for the cost aspect of those outdrives. I was amazed by their acceleration and torque, but maintenance is obviously an important factor as well.
I look forward to your response - thank you in advance.
 
A friend of mine has owned a V42 for three seasons now and has spent in my view far too much time having problems with his engines sorted out under warranty by RK Marine.

Last year both his seawater pump drives failed within 2 weeks, and as a result he overheated both engines, and had a generally awful time getting the boat back from the west Coi8ntry, after he gave up and took the family home by hire car ! Whereas VP sorted this for him under warranty the problem was I understand an badly machined undercut on the pump drive shafts, BUT he lost approx 6 weeks use of his boat at the beginning of this season (before we lost the next half to the never ending rain), and had to have the engines virtually removed from the boat just to undo the overheated exhaust flanges.

Princess may be the icing on the cake, but not much use eating cake whilst the boat is being forever repaired, when the Fairline can actually be used, which he is now seriously thinking about.

So 42' a shed load of cash and not yet out of the Solent this year !
 
Sounds like "Volvo" problems rather than "Princess" problems.

Not sure how a Fairline is better in this respect, unless I have misread your post?
Many installations will require major uncoupling to get access to replace a cooked exhaust pipe.

.
 
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Were these the D6 400 engines?
It's really hard to understand why Volvo hasn't sorted out the problems on their engines. I hear/read quite a lot on problems with Volvo out drives. I know the whole outdrive concept is a complicated set up, but after a few years I would assume that they sorted out the issues.
 
Alwaysbyboat said:
Were these the D6 400 engines?
It's really hard to understand why Volvo hasn't sorted out the problems on their engines. I hear/read quite a lot on problems with Volvo out drives. I know the whole outdrive concept is a complicated set up, but after a few years I would assume that they sorted out the issues.
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They won't be the D6-400's, these are a very recent variant. Probably D6-330's, or possibly D6-370's.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
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