New build Princess F55 flybridge

[rafiki_]

@Parabolica I think they might be on the new industrial estate where we had covers made for the old P50. In a former life I was an industrial modelmaker, we were the interface between design and engineering. CNC was just starting to be a thing so I learned on traditional machinery where you had to account for backlash, then advanced to digital measuring. CNC was outsourced, the closes I came was a vinyl cutter which fascinated me.

I have been informed today that we've got 15, I say again 15 scatter cushions arriving from various sources and apparently more still need to be ordered. I am not happy at the thought of my nice clean boat being messed up but will try to bite my lip on the basis there may need to me more masculine purchases ahead....

Just realised I never posted up a photo of the tool kit. Better than a dozen cushions

Beta are pretty good tools.

 

[mil1194]

Beta are pretty good tools.

FWIW I have stacks of Beta tools on and off-board and some Beta tool racks and have never managed to break or bend anything.

 

[henryf]

@jfm - you aren't helping my quest for minimalist living here

It's been a day of trying to find homes for stuff and working out how we're going to use the boat logistically. Ultimately we'll settle in and see what happens. What is good is that we keep finding storage places we forgot were there - I'd forgotten there was a set of shelves behind the door to the master cabin as an example and it's got masses of space.

One strange area is the cupboard under the stairs. For 11 years this has been the go to cupboard during charters. Loads of stuff we use lived there to the point where it's a very familiar area that you just keep grabbing bits from. Now the galley has moved up top it no longer gets used for that purpose. I'm feeling a bit odd not having it used any more. I must be a really strange person but I keep looking at the cupboard as I walk past and I feel a little bit sad for it

A lot of people fit a washer / dryer there. I have no desire to fog the boat up with humidity from a dryer nor try to fathom out how we replace it after a few years when it goes wrong. I'm not even going to mention the water consumption....

On the subject of water I leaned an interesting thing on the handover. Hot water is heated from a calorifier warmed by an engine which runs at 90 degrees Celsius. This would be too hot for humans so it gets blended with cold water to ensure a more pleasant washing experience. This means that you get more hot water than the capacity of your calorifier. I'd never thought about that before. I also discovered that the fresh water pump on the F55 is actually 2 pumps stacked one on top of the other to ensure adequate flow even when demand increases.

On then to the toilets. Every time I've bought a new boat the toilet has been a pleasant surprise, better than the boat being replaced. The P50 had fresh water Dometic toilets which performed flawlessly over a decade to the point where I wouldn't have been disappointed had the F55 gone down that route. It turns out we have Planus Vortex toilets. They sound like a ride at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, a thrilling end for your poop I shall see how things pan out. There's a very definite fill process and the flush takes a funny little gulp at the end, they've certainly got character !

 

[Greg2]

On then to the toilets.….. I shall see how things pan out.

Pardon the pun

 

[EricJ]

[On then to the toilets. Every time I've bought a new boat the toilet has been a pleasant surprise, better than the boat being replaced. The P50 had fresh water Dometic toilets which performed flawlessly over a decade to the point where I wouldn't have been disappointed had the F55 gone down that route. It turns out we have Planus Vortex toilets. They sound like a ride at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, a thrilling end for your poop I shall see how things pan out. There's a very definite fill process and the flush takes a funny little gulp at the end, they've certainly got character !

it looks like this is a special Planus model for Princess. Your toilet with the footprint with edges and bolts is not on the Planus website. They do have a model called Match though
very nice heads; Princess does a very fine job there.

 

[henryf]

Princess popped round with re-sized jackets for us which was very kind and they added one for Emily as well. So if you see a painfully good looking family dripping in Princess logo that'll be us !!

Something else Princess supply is a starter kit from Ecoworks who produce marine friendly cleaning products. To call it a starter kit is actually a bit of an insult. We could set up shop, you name it we can clean it. Eco foam Hand Sanitiser, Eco rib cleaner, Eco varnished wood and leather cleaner, Eco Yacht wash, Eco teak deck cleaner, eco washroom and toilet cleaner, eco drain cleaner, Eco degreaser, Eco bilge cleaner, Eco all surface cleaner, Eco laundry liquid, Eco washing up liquid, Eco glass cleaner, Eco fabric cleaner, Eco sanitiser, some coconut mat cloths, some spray dispensers because a lot of this stuff dilutes at 10:1, oh and a hemp carry bag.

The boat will be shiny and the marine life happy and full of the joys of spring. I'm looking forward to seeing how this Eco stuff performs compared to the more industrial gear we normally use. Watch this space

 

[henryf]

A final thought for today. One of @jfm 's bug bears over the years with Princess has been exposed screws in door shuts. On the F55 we have rubber seals which not only ensure a snug as the door closes fit but also neaten up the door shut with the door open.

Oh, a final final thought - I had a play with the Garmin plotter for 10 minutes and it automatically produces a route if you tell it where you want to go. Wow - that's clever. I can't wait for some quality one on one time with a Garmin guru.

 

[henryf]

it looks like this is a special Planus model for Princess. Your toilet with the footprint with edges and bolts is not on the Planus website. They do have a model called Match though
very nice heads; Princess does a very fine job there.

We had a similar thing with cutlery on the P42 flybridge in 2007. I knew it was Villeroy and Boch but sadly couldn't find it in Gunwharf Quays.

 

[MapisM]

A MAN ( motor manufacturers) tool kit in a metal box .inc a spare new injector tips

The usefulness of which I can't for the life of me understand.
Have you ever seen the test workbench used by Bosch shops for replacing/calibrating injectors and their nozzles?
You don't want to carry that around with you, trust me.
In your boots, I'd rather drill a hole in that spare and use it as a key holder.

BTW, if you think that also replacing a prop can be a DIY job (let alone with the boat in the water!), well, think again.

 

[MapisM]

Every time I've bought a new boat the toilet has been a pleasant surprise, better than the boat being replaced.
The P50 had fresh water Dometic toilets which performed flawlessly over a decade to the point where I wouldn't have been disappointed had the F55 gone down that route.
It turns out we have Planus Vortex toilets.

I'm not arguing with your experience with Dometic bowls - if they performed well, good for you.
But I can safely bet that you won't be disappointed also this time by the replacement!

 

[Hurricane]

@jfm - you aren't helping my quest for minimalist living here
On the subject of water I leaned an interesting thing on the handover. Hot water is heated from a calorifier warmed by an engine which runs at 90 degrees Celsius. This would be too hot for humans so it gets blended with cold water to ensure a more pleasant washing experience. This means that you get more hot water than the capacity of your calorifier. I'd never thought about that before. I also discovered that the fresh water pump on the F55 is actually 2 pumps stacked one on top of the other to ensure adequate flow even when demand increases.

On then to the toilets. Every time I've bought a new boat the toilet has been a pleasant surprise, better than the boat being replaced. The P50 had fresh water Dometic toilets which performed flawlessly over a decade to the point where I wouldn't have been disappointed had the F55 gone down that route. It turns out we have Planus Vortex toilets. They sound like a ride at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, a thrilling end for your poop I shall see how things pan out. There's a very definite fill process and the flush takes a funny little gulp at the end, they've certainly got character !

Hot water - be aware that the mixing valve needs to me watched. It is a simple device with a spring that can get stuck over time. Just a warning. If you are looking at a set of spares, one of those would be a good addition.

Toilets - if we are getting all emotional over toilets, you didn't mention the soft close to the toilet seat.
That would have been higher on my SWMBO's list - higher than the little gulp at the end.

 

[paradave]

Oh, a final final thought - I had a play with the Garmin plotter for 10 minutes and it automatically produces a route if you tell it where you want to go. Wow - that's clever. I can't wait for some quality one on one time with a Garmin guru.

Finally they’re doing what the Navionics app has been doing for years. I’ve never understood why the permanent chartplotters don’t have this feature.

 

[colhel]

When you have charter guests staying on board, is the owners cabin the best one, and does the owner sleep there? Or does the owner become Skipper and have to go 2nd class? Sounds a silly question but I'm genuinely curious, for some reason

 

[henryf]

Hot water - be aware that the mixing valve needs to me watched. It is a simple device with a spring that can get stuck over time. Just a warning. If you are looking at a set of spares, one of those would be a good addition.

Toilets - if we are getting all emotional over toilets, you didn't mention the soft close to the toilet seat.
That would have been higher on my SWMBO's list - higher than the little gulp at the end.

You are absolutely correct, a soft close toilet seat - the next level in luxury. Initial thoughts were that the seat felt solid and industrial to the point where the soft closure was a surprise. It seems our European cousins have taken the mantle of British Victorian sanitation and run with it……

 

[henryf]

When you have charter guests staying on board, is the owners cabin the best one, and does the owner sleep there? Or does the owner become Skipper and have to go 2nd class? Sounds a silly question but I'm genuinely curious, for some reason

Most of our charters are day charters only because housing 2 crew means there are only 4 berths left for charter guests and often we have more than that on board. This boat opens up slightly new horizons in that the third cabin is either twin or a double as opposed to bunks in the P50.

We would normally host the primary in the master which is now a wonderful space. Kids could take twins in the 3rd cabin or additional guests could use the VIP forward obviously sharing facilities with the 3rd cabin.

But 95% of our charters are day charters. We have had it where guests stay ashore and the boat remains on station in the harbour ready for the next day, that works well.

 

[TonyR123]

Good choice. People do say you need a crew cabin for resale but it's not true because if someone wants one it can be retrofitted, it's not a dealbreaker. They might bid you £10K less, but that will be the £10K you saved not having it in the first place.

I also have not specced a crew cabin for my v55. Will never be used so no point.

 

[TonyR123]

Garmin - you can get the "garmin active captain app" then along with the navionics app, plot any routes on your phone/tablet and download to the boat.

 

[TonyR123]

Toilets - how quiet are they actually? Also how quiet is the water pump, i.e. when you turn on a tap do you notice the pump? Both quite nooist on current prestige

 

[henryf]

I also have not specced a crew cabin for my v55. Will never be used so no point.

The crew cabins on many sports boats is extremely limited to the point of being virtually unusable.

When buying a new boat you have the chance to buy what you want and what works for you. Always take advice from the sales guys because they know what sells but within that get what you want. I’m genuinely delighted with the walk in storage area gained by not opting for a crew cabin. It was quite hard to understand exactly what we would get until I visited the factory and saw some Scandinavian ordered boats because they tend not to go crew. The only issue is they often use the space to house diesel warm air heating gear

 

[henryf]

Garmin - you can get the "garmin active captain app" then along with the navionics app, plot any routes on your phone/tablet and download to the boat.

Thats on my list of go to things. Today is all about sorting out wifi and passwords on TVs etc. I cant wait …….