Looking at a Princess 61 - any opinions?

PEJ

PEJ

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I am thinking of getting a bigger boat and looking around the interweb the Princess 61 has caught my eye as ticking most of my boxes. Can anyone who owns or has owned one tell me what they like (or hate) about it?

Are there any owner specified options that make one boat better than another?

One I saw has bigger engines than another - does that make much difference if you don't do much long distance stuff?

I have loads of kids so bunging the little one in the crew quarters sounds good - is it?

I have not had the chance to look on board one and the closest one for sale is in Dartmouth (I am in Southampton).
 
Funny
Thats exactly how we got into the P67
Went to the boat show with the idea of doing a deal on a used P61 and ended up with a new P67.

So, I agree, the step from the T51 to a P61 is a very logical one - we nearly did it - looked at several.
And I bet they are much more affordable now.
 
while the kids in the crew cabin sounds like a nice idea i find the female motherly contingent can sometimes be a bit concerned with kids 'out the back'

Why not also look at the P65 - not a huge amount bigger but has a useful internal 4th bunk cabin which might be a better option for a kids cabin

The 65 also has the master cabin amid ships, though not full beam like the more modern boats it is at least in the centre of the boat
 
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Whitelighter said:
while the kids in the crew cabin sounds like a nice idea i find the female motherly contingent can sometimes be a bit concerned with kids 'out the back'

Why not also look at the P65 - not a huge amount bigger but has a useful internal 4th bunk cabin which might be a better option for a kids cabin

The 65 also has the master cabin amid ships, though not full beam like the more modern boats it is at least in the centre of the boat
Click to expand...

Yep the P65 was on our list when we were looking but at the time, I couldn't imagine a boat as big as that.
You may remember me asking you what you thought about a p67 vs a P64

The P61 is a fine boat but I do agree that the crews quarters is a bit tight to be comfortable.
However, we have only used our crews cabin on our P67 three times (one of the times you may remember well) - and our P67 is only a 3 cabin boat - just like the P61.
 
Whitelighter said:
while the kids in the crew cabin sounds like a nice idea i find the female motherly contingent can sometimes be a bit concerned with kids 'out the back'

Why not also look at the P65 - not a huge amount bigger but has a useful internal 4th bunk cabin which might be a better option for a kids cabin

The 65 also has the master cabin amid ships, though not full beam like the more modern boats it is at least in the centre of the boat
Click to expand...

Yes, I looked at the P65 but as far as I can tell the P65 came in to production later than the P61 so even the oldest ones are out of my budget.

I looked at the Ferretti 620 as well. Now that looks like a nice boat to but I can't find one sub 350K.
 
PEJ said:
Yes, I looked at the P65 but as far as I can tell the P65 came in to production later than the P61 so even the oldest ones are out of my budget.
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No, I think you are wrong.
The P65 was the predecessor to the P67
The P61 is the same vintage as the P67
So that generally makes the P65 older than the P61.

When we were looking, the P65s that were for sale were about £200,000 more than the P61s
But that was 10 years ago and I would expect the difference to be much smaller now.

If you can find one and afford to keep it, I go along with Whitelighter - the P65 in the Med would be a fine boat.
Loads of space.
I have lots of pics of P65s and P61s if you are interested.
They would both be about the same to handle - easy step from the T51.

EDIT
A couple of extra points
Both the P61 and the P65 have internal stairs to the flybridge.
The P65 has space for a dinghy on the flybridge and some may have cranes etc.
Getting the dinghy out of the way was a key point for us on a 65 foot boat - giving more space etc.
Beware that the P65s are old enough for some to have old style engine controls - swings and roundabouts on that point though.
Also beware of one particular P65 - "Only been to the bottom once!!" - I have some pics of it after it had been refurbished.

Anyway, I agree with Whitelighter - the P65 could be a good alternative.
 
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Mike is correct - i was thinking of the older 1999-2004 P65 that was the predecessor of the P67.

Here is one near your boat in Mallorca on for £299,000 which for a 2001 boat sound ok - http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1163445/?searchid=12847110&page=1

To give you an idea of the layout difference, here are the two side by side:

P61
pics.2.jpg


and P65
princess65-layout.jpg


Not only does the P65 have the fourth bunk cabin in the main boat, the crew cabin is very simlar to the P67 with side by side berths rather than the more awkward L shaped arrangement of the P61 (and I think maybe the T51).

Another advantage with the P65 is I think they had a crane with tender storage on the fly bridge (this may have been a cost option I dont know) - so you get a free swim platform or space for more toys. And you can see the location of the master cabin nicely in the middle of the boat
 
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Whitelighter said:
Here is one near your boat in Mallorca on for £299,000 which for a 2001 boat sound ok - http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1163445/?searchid=12847110&page=1
Click to expand...

That one definitely isn't the one that has been to the bottom.

The 4th cabin, however, can be dual purpose.
This is how it was fitted out on the one we looked at:-

IMG_2824_Small_zpsfenzvmgl.jpg


IMG_2823_Small_zpsytja365p.jpg


So on the boat we saw, the 4th cabin was mainly a utility room.
Nothing wrong with that - a place for laundry when you are away from home is a good thing.
 
I think that was probably a rarer option than the norm - I think most boats will have the 4th bunks but even in that one it looks like they have retained the top bunk if needed.

My point around all this was sticking kids in the crew cabin sounds great until SWMBO gets wind and vetos it (i speak from experience, so i ended up in mine)
 
PEJ said:
I looked at the Ferretti 620 as well. Now that looks like a nice boat to but I can't find one sub 350K.
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I understood from your OP that you were looking at the UK, but if you don't mind shopping in the Med, I can point you to one - and I'm talking of sub 350k in Eur.
Btw, the F620 is a fair bit larger than the P61.
And around that price, you might consider also the F590, which is even a bit larger than the F620, and as beamy as the P67.
Remember, in terms of onboard spaces, width matters much more than length - and Ferrettis in general are very beamy.
 
MapisM said:
I understood from your OP that you were looking at the UK, but if you don't mind shopping in the Med, I can point you to one - and I'm talking of sub 350k in Eur.
Btw, the F620 is a fair bit larger than the P61.
And around that price, you might consider also the F590, which is even a bit larger than the F620, and as beamy as the P67.
Remember, in terms of onboard spaces, width matters much more than length - and Ferrettis in general are very beamy.
Click to expand...

Mapis - I am British but the boat will be based in Mallorca.

I looked at the 620 and then the 590. The 590 seemed to be very similar to the 620 in much the same way that the P61 is similar to the P65. Both lovely looking but I guess like most brits I have tunnel vision for Princess/Fairline/Sealine. So, please, point me towards any nice Ferrettis you know of.
 
Hurricane said:
The P65 has space for a dinghy on the flybridge and some may have cranes etc.
Getting the dinghy out of the way was a key point for us on a 65 foot boat - giving more space etc.
Anyway, I agree with Whitelighter - the P65 could be a good alternative.
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Hmmm...... Got me looking at P65s now!

Am I right in saying that the space on the P65 flybridge for the dinghy is at the expense of the sun pad on the P61? I know which my 20-something girls will want (and its not a space for the dinghy!)
 
PEJ said:
Hmmm...... Got me looking at P65s now!

Am I right in saying that the space on the P65 flybridge for the dinghy is at the expense of the sun pad on the P61? I know which my 20-something girls will want (and its not a space for the dinghy!)
Click to expand...

You are correct, though the sun pad on the P61 isnt huge. plus on the P65 the table drops with infills to make a sunpad if that's really required. A consideration all the same.
 
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