henryf
Well-known member
Don't worry if you don't have them to hand, I'll allow you to cushion yourself on the feather duvet like comfort of some F55 ones....
New build Princess F55 flybridge
- Thread starter henryf
- Start date
Don't worry if you don't have them to hand, I'll allow you to cushion yourself on the feather duvet like comfort of some F55 ones....
rafiki_
Well-known member
Phew. At last. I’ve been looking for this regularly. I had pretty much given up on this forum with some of the rubbish that is spouted on here. Your new thread, and JFM’s to follow, make the forum a place to spend valuable time. I’m looking forward to seeing this boat in the flesh, and maybe you passing me down a glass of water onto the pontoon?
jfm
Well-known member
You don't need a passerelle in Thailand. They have wisely emulated the very effective alongside berthing technique as per UK marinas.
Did you want to reciprocate with photos of Antibes or just admit defeat and spare your dignity
Happy with the price / reward balance between the 2 boats
Fair play - that does look like it's beautiful boating territory
sharpness
Active member
I think this review by Jack Haines of the F55 is great. Such a fantastic boat for it's size, it ticks all the boxes in my opinion
Henry, as others have said, thank you for taking the time to post this thread, it's great to see whats involved.
jfm
Well-known member
That's the one - thanks.
jfm
Well-known member
Are you having the hardtop Henry?
Hooligan
Well-known member
Very interesting. I think you will enjoy the new gyro. I have the same one and having come from a boat without one I wouldn’t go back. The only pain is that the gen needs to be on and they take about 45 mins to power up. But they make gentle cruising and anchorages where there may be swell easy on the Rose spillage! One quick question and apologies if technically dumb. Can they set the gyro up so it works from the engines when on? This will save money as gen won’t need to be on when underway and means you just shove the gyro on whenever you are on the move?
henryf
Well-known member
No. I always worry about having extra weight high up on a boat. I think there’s a minimum size below which a hardtop looks out of place and possibly doesn’t work. The F55 is probably on the cusp.
we’ve gone for the Bimini and because of the increased size over the one on our P50 opted for power operation. I like to have the Bimini up all the time. At the moment there is a concern over maximum wind speed, it may be an abundance of caution on the part of Princess and I have spoken to an owner who fitted a couple of rigid support poles supplied by the Bimini manufacturers. We will do the same.
He was actually really helpful having bought an F55 second hand we spoke at length around some changes he made through the Swanwick after sales dept. It helped me decide options like the high / low dining table and so on.
The girls have said they don’t want any scatter cushions (not entirely true), but whilst staying at a resort in Thailand we discovered some fantastic lights to use inside and out. The resort kindly ordered me 3 and had them delivered. I guarantee you will want some when you see them. They’re like scatter cushion but much more high tech…… ?
MapisM
Well-known member
I agree that hardtops look "heavy" and out of place (sort of) on any boat under 60/65 feet at the very least.
And it takes 80+ feet to make a boat more elegant with rather than without the HT.
But, and it's a big but, in terms of practicality HTs are in another league compared to even the best and strongest biminis.
In fact, I'd love to have an HT on my 56 footer, but a half decent retrofit on a boat not originally designed to include it is very difficult and expensive.
BTW, the weight concerns (while rather widespread) have zero reason to exist.
In fact, at this size, what makes boat movements annoying is the shortish roll period of the hull, more than anything else.
And by raising the CoG, the roll period increases, which in turn makes the boat more comfortable, not less.
The trade off is the slightly lower stability of course, but even in this respect there are pros and cons.
For instance, counterintuitive as this may be, stabilizers effectiveness is inversely related to the hull stability.
Just think of catamarans, which is the most stable hull form and as a consequence roll frantically and very uncomfortably, but at the same time are practically impossible to stabilize...
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jrudge
Well-known member
The gyro is a total game changer. The gen is always on, there is always AC, the water maker is running and the boat does not roll.
I was with a friend last night who as just back from Thailand. He had wanted to do it for a while. Said it was fine, but prefers the med / Caribbean. He charters large CATs. I suspect it is rather warm!
I was with a friend last night who as just back from Thailand. He had wanted to do it for a while. Said it was fine, but prefers the med / Caribbean. He charters large CATs. I suspect it is rather warm!
dustywings
Active member
Thanks for sharing this Henry and many congratulations, it is breath of fresh air! The prospect of two great build threads is a real boost to the forum...it feels a bit like the old days!
jfm
Well-known member
Exactly - the weight up top helps user comfort. The hard top would make the gyro perform better. (As does, by the way, full fuel tank, though the effect is less because the COG of fuel isn't far from the roll axis, and the maths contains a "radius squared" proportionality).
rafiki_
Well-known member
In my opinion the Azi 50 looks great with its hardtop.
henryf
Well-known member
henryf
Well-known member
I didn’t know you were a fan of Azimuts…. ?
henryf
Well-known member
Interesting comments about additional weight of a hard top and I can understand the physics. In essence a damping effect. I noticed a similar thing with windage when we got the P50. Being taller than our previous P42 I was initially worried about the additional windage but because of the extra weight things weren't actually as bad as I feared. The boat didn't suddenly get blown to one side as a lighter craft might do, rather a slower movement which could be counteracted.
Speaking of the P50 we had her on the Sealift today for the purchaser's out of the water survey and sea trial. We've already had an extensive in water survey done but it was too windy at the time to pop her out. Today's 35 knot winds and "rough occasionally moderate" was ignored and I managed to guide her onto the brilliant Sealift floating dock.
Passed with flying colours but when we headed out to sea for the sea trial element everyone agreed it was a bit of a waste of time. The sea was going to dictate performance not the boat so we headed back into Portsmouth and will await a calmer day when it's less "mildly moist". A shame as I was really looking forward to showing the new buyer what a great boat she is on the water.
Speaking of the P50 we had her on the Sealift today for the purchaser's out of the water survey and sea trial. We've already had an extensive in water survey done but it was too windy at the time to pop her out. Today's 35 knot winds and "rough occasionally moderate" was ignored and I managed to guide her onto the brilliant Sealift floating dock.
Passed with flying colours but when we headed out to sea for the sea trial element everyone agreed it was a bit of a waste of time. The sea was going to dictate performance not the boat so we headed back into Portsmouth and will await a calmer day when it's less "mildly moist". A shame as I was really looking forward to showing the new buyer what a great boat she is on the water.
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rafiki_
Well-known member
Unfortunately I don’t get the same commission from them that you get from Prinny H.?
rafiki_
Well-known member
I’m surprised you’re not offering brine ?
MapisM
Well-known member
Well, there must be quite a few others around, on top of rafiki.
They wouldn't be the industry leader (by far!) if nobody would buy what they build...
roa312
Active member
Congratulations on the new boat and thank you very much for the excellent writeup and all the great photos!
I think the F55 was unveiled in mid 2017 (?) and with 134 boats delivered it sounds like it is quite a successful model. Can I ask what is the total expected build time for your boat?
You mentioned the long lead time and how prices can move between order and final delivery but do you know if Princess had to increase prices significantly in these super-inflation times? Maybe you know if this has affected new orders or if the order book is still going strong?
I think the F55 was unveiled in mid 2017 (?) and with 134 boats delivered it sounds like it is quite a successful model. Can I ask what is the total expected build time for your boat?
You mentioned the long lead time and how prices can move between order and final delivery but do you know if Princess had to increase prices significantly in these super-inflation times? Maybe you know if this has affected new orders or if the order book is still going strong?