New build Princess F55 flybridge

[MapisM]

It's a good job Henryf's new boat has shafts

Haha, yeah, in this respect both himself (for his choice) and Princess (for a proper construction) deserve to be praised.
Other builders gave in to IPS temptation also for larger boats, and even - heaven forbid! - for boats supposed to be meant for long distance cruising.
IIRC, Princess only adopted them in their smaller models, which I guess are more targeted to newcomers and/or to be more competitive costwise.

 

[MapisM]

Have you ever seen what barnacles can do to the seals around pods?
If you have, you would never buy a boat with pods.

Same if you grab a line with one pod, let alone both.
With shafts, all it takes is some patience and a good knife.
With IPS, internal oil gets emulsified PDQ, you must stop using that pod(/s, possibly!) there and then, and call the nearest yard to arrange a haulout.

 

[henryf]

Well it's been quite a day. Got picked up from Gosport by Alan from Argo / Princess Sales and driven to Swanwick for our technical handover. We had Chris, a senior tech for the day and he talked us through the boat front to back, top to bottom covering every aspect. I'm not new to boating and we've had the Princess 50 for 11 years, a P42 fly before that so I'm familiar with the basics but it was still a lot of knowledge to cram into an old brain. Many of the systems have been updated and modernised since our last boat was manufactured.

First things first we were greeted with a nice box of flowers and of more interest to me a Garmin SD card containing chart info for our glass helms. I had assumed I was going to have to buy the charts so this was a very nice surprise. We've also got a couple of nice Princess Jackets which are actually being swapped out size wise. I won't lie mine is going to be bigger Sharons needs to be smaller. There's a message in there somewhere

The shore power set up has grown up a bit. We have 2 inputs. Previously one did the main boat, the other did the AC / Heating. Now the primary input does both and has a 64 amp connection where available. Put me with the super yachts I can plug straight in....

We also have a 64A to 32A adapter for the lead and another lead which is a 32 amp plug. When you connect the second shore power circuit the AC / Heating is disconnected from the the primary shore power feed and dealt with on its own allowing you to share the load over 2 supplies. I will get a couple of 32A socket / 16A plug adapters so we can use a pair of 16 amp supplies where that's the only option obviously being careful to monitor loads which we can do accurately from the breaker panel. I feel we've joined the big boys now when it comes to shore power connector bragging rights, I'll post up a photo of my impressive plug....

 

[henryf]

On the subject of power we've acquired a load of USB charging points powered from a variety of sources. Some are mains powered, some are based around the Fusion head units and some are independent battery powered so hopefully we won't go short. I've even got a weather proof outlet at the flybridge helm station that allows you to charge during inclement weather.

We went round the boat and looked at all the pumps, valves and hull fittings including the toilets and associated plumbing. With each boat we buy the toilets get every quieter, I don't have the specific model to hand but I will post up tomorrow when I'm with the relevant handbook - and boy do I have a selection of handbooks in my 2 flight cases. Bedtime reading for the next 2 months !

We declined the £35k audio upgrade package but the budget peasant offering seems fairly decent. Everything is Bluetooth these days so I can stream Shaking Stevens from my phone onto the various zones around the boat. The TVs also play through the \fusion head units if you want to fully immerse yourself in homes under the hammer. Everything was named correctly making set up on the phone simple enough even for a luddite such as myself.

I'm not a huge fan of blasting out music and imposing my superb musical tastes on everyone else on the water but I can see a bit of chill out music enhancing the mood when appropriate inside the boat on charters.

 

[henryf]

What we currently lack in scatter cushions - there were mutterings from the ladies that this is in hand unfortunately, we more than make up for in the lighting department. Things have moved on from an illuminated cabinet to store your drinking glasses. We have accent lighting, mood lighting, low level lighting and outside lighting. We have also made the switch to LED, gone are the energy sapping halogen bulbs meaning time spent on the hook need no longer lead to range anxiety.

In addition I found some amazing lights that can be moved around the boat inside and out. I'm going to save the reveal for their own post when I get chance to photograph or video them.

Part of the deal was arm wrestling some Princess crockery out of somewhere onto our boat. Discussions were had at a director level and we must have won because for the first time in my Princess ownership history we have china that fits the storage. Far too posh to be drunk from or eaten off clients can gaze and admire from a safe distance whilst using the paper cups and wooden cutlery

 

[henryf]

On the subject of unexpected wins I have to mention to tool kit. I do have some tools which are kept onboard for special occasions but for a factory tool roll this takes some beating in my humble opinion. On the one hand I hope never to use it, but on the other hand when rendering assistance to others I will surely look as though I know what I'm doing.....

Another industrial area is the former crew cabin. We never once used the crew cabin fitted to the P50 and I know everyone says you need a crew cabin for re-sale but I don't care. There's no point in having space for 1 person when the boat needs two people to operate on charter and I would much rather have a dedicated space for all the stuff we need for boat operation and front of house pleasantries for charter guests. I'm planing to approach a firm that do kits to fit out vans for some funky shelving. Watch this space.....

 

[Bouba]

What we currently lack in scatter cushions - there were mutterings from the ladies that this is in hand unfortunately, we more than make up for in the lighting department. Things have moved on from an illuminated cabinet to store your drinking glasses. We have accent lighting, mood lighting, low level lighting and outside lighting. We have also made the switch to LED, gone are the energy sapping halogen bulbs meaning time spent on the hook need no longer lead to range anxiety.

In addition I found some amazing lights that can be moved around the boat inside and out. I'm going to save the reveal for their own post when I get chance to photograph or video them.

Part of the deal was arm wrestling some Princess crockery out of somewhere onto our boat. Discussions were had at a director level and we must have won because for the first time in my Princess ownership history we have china that fits the storage. Far too posh to be drunk from or eaten off clients can gaze and admire from a safe distance whilst using the paper cups and wooden cutlery

Are you saying that all that fitted cutlery and china that you see in those bespoke drawers at boat shows don’t come with the boat after you’ve handed them a seven figure check

 

[Bouba]

On the subject of unexpected wins I have to mention to tool kit. I do have some tools which are kept onboard for special occasions but for a factory tool roll this takes some beating in my humble opinion. On the one hand I hope never to use it, but on the other hand when rendering assistance to others I will surely look as though I know what I'm doing.....

Another industrial area is the former crew cabin. We never once used the crew cabin fitted to the P50 and I know everyone says you need a crew cabin for re-sale but I don't care. There's no point in having space for 1 person when the boat needs two people to operate on charter and I would much rather have a dedicated space for all the stuff we need for boat operation and front of house pleasantries for charter guests. I'm planing to approach a firm that do kits to fit out vans for some funky shelving. Watch this space.....

I think you’ve made the right choice...all that space can be used for extra chairs and trestle tables and water toys diving gear etc etc....besides it looks a little claustrophobic

 

[rafiki_]

Sharon looks very much at home on board H. What are you calling the boat?

 

[EricJ]

Looks absolutely superb! I see the obligatory bottle with bubbles was in the fridge….
Does the boat come with standard antifouling or did you opt for Coppercoat perhaps?
look forward to the details on the shore power and toilets. Do you have diesel heating next to the reverse cycle aircon?
Thanks for sharing about what must be a very exciting day.

 

[henryf]

The light wasn't long about to start fading when we finally left Swanwick to made the trip back round to Haslar so we didn't really have much time to play around. We had spooled the Seakeeper Gyro up to 9,000 rpm only to be greeted by a mill pond. I wasn't going to waste time trying to create my own wash so I'll save that test for next tine out. Similarly when we arrived at our berth it was almost dark so the joystick didn't get a workout but, and it pains me to say it, even on shafts there may be a benefit.

I haven't had variable thrusters on a boat before and they are glorious. A subtle nudge here and there, a bit of patience and there is no need for rope pulling or stress. Add to that a one stop shop for input commands and I can see myself making friends with the one handed wizard. It seems to respond to a gentle touch and if you know what you were going to do anyway with the throttle levers and side thruster toggle it might just work. I need to have a play and you have to forgive me in that I've been running CATs for 11 years so I still need to reacquaint myself with the language of Volvo Penta - I'm damned if I could sync the throttles to a single input !

I didn't go wide open throttle but we saw over 31 knots and at a nice steady fast cruise I saw 220 litres per hour which isn't at all out of place compared to the P50. In nice calm water there was nothing at all to complain about. Even the helm seats felt lovely and the Princess emblem remained upright on the steering wheel a-la Rolls Royce wheel trims.

We only glanced over the glass electronics package today. I've had a trusty Raymarine C120 for 11 years coupled to some analogue gauges and an autopilot that was second nature so this lot is like going to the moon. Part of buying a new Princess from Swanwick includes a couple of days with a skipper to show you the ropes and help you settle in. I'm reasonably OK at finding Cowes and even further afield to Lymington on occasion but I'm going to have half a day with a Garmin Guru who can impart their knowledge and enlighten me as to the benefits of the navigational equipment I've already purchased. I suspect it's quite clever stuff, let's see.

 

[henryf]

Sharon looks very much at home on board H. What are you calling the boat?

Mango, and the tender is Sticky Rice.

Sharon will be ruling things from the control centre / galley

 

[MapisM]

Wow, 7.9 kts at idle?!?
Or did you have some current, possibly?

 

[henryf]

Looks absolutely superb! I see the obligatory bottle with bubbles was in the fridge….
Does the boat come with standard antifouling or did you opt for Coppercoat perhaps?
look forward to the details on the shore power and toilets. Do you have diesel heating next to the reverse cycle aircon?
Thanks for sharing about what must be a very exciting day.

Yes, opened the fridge door and there it was

The hull moulding is interesting in that the areas to be anti fouled are left clear so as to allow full inspection. They are then anti fouled in the usual way. The boat comes out every year and we are happy to treat in the traditional way. We are very lucky in having a fantastic valeting / under water prep team.

I'll give full details of the toilet set up when I'm on the boat.

We only have the reverse cycle heating on board. I have to say it's worked really well on the P50 throughout the year. If we were based in Scandinavia then possibly we'd need to fit a supplementary diesel heater but in the UK I think we'll be good.

 

[henryf]

Are you saying that all that fitted cutlery and china that you see in those bespoke drawers at boat shows don’t come with the boat after you’ve handed them a seven figure check

Different people want different things. Princess are perfectly open with what is and isn't included in the standard spec. I was surprised when looking at some manufacturers that items essential for safe operation weren't included within the standard price list. We can operate safely with or without fine china coffee cups.

 

[henryf]

Wow, 7.9 kts at idle?!?
Or did you have some current, possibly?

We were heading towards low water so a bit of tidal assistance.

 

[Commercial Dave]

You've barely even touched the joystick and already you're a convert. My work here is done

On a more serious note, make sure you properly read the manual for it. There are some clever features, like the side push (holding you alongside without needing ropes), single/double/triple tapping the joystick to move a predetermined distance etc. I hope you do have the skyhook feature, you'll never want to faff around with the real anchor for short stops again

 

[henryf]

You've barely even touched the joystick and already you're a convert. My work here is done

On a more serious note, make sure you properly read the manual for it. There are some clever features, like the side push (holding you alongside without needing ropes), single/double/triple tapping the joystick to move a predetermined distance etc. I hope you do have the skyhook feature, you'll never want to faff around with the real anchor for short stops again ☺

I don't think I have those features. I'll spend some time with it and get back......

Happy to view with an open mind.

 

[benjenbav]

I don't think I have those features. I'll spend some time with it and get back......

Happy to view with an open mind.

Good luck with all the kit and familiarisation. Pretty sure it would be beyond me; the rock’n’roll years have taken their toll.

 

[Parabolica]

Very well done. Aside of it being chillier out on the water today than my bones could cope with, what an enjoyable day you must have had. It also seems like no time ago to me that you ordered this boat but i must be mistaken as i thought lead time was well over 12 months.
Looking back to the beginning of the thread, i see your comment re Princess’s CNC 5-axis mills, well trust me, they are baby machines

Princess outsource their big stuff to a company based near Gosport which also has five of these machines. One of them being 46m x 8m. Now that is a large CNC indeed !