New build Princess F55 flybridge

jfm

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Henry thanks for the Vircru recommendation. I read about it in MBY and it seemed good, so it's useful to have your thumbs up based on real-world use. All noted regarding the bulk clearing of alerts. Can you remotely switch off a sensor (the door sensor) from your phone?
 

xcw

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Always try to be as friendly as I can be out there on the water. We have some yachtist’s food on board as well just in case we have to host them.
What ... no Frey Bentos pies?????
Always try to be as friendly as I can be out there on the water. We have some yachtist’s food on board as well just in case we have to host them.
WHAT - no Frey Bentos pies?????? No gastronomic evenings at Haslar then :cry:
 

henryf

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Henry thanks for the Vircru recommendation. I read about it in MBY and it seemed good, so it's useful to have your thumbs up based on real-world use. All noted regarding the bulk clearing of alerts. Can you remotely switch off a sensor (the door sensor) from your phone?
Yes you can. It's very easy to toggle alerts on and off from your phone as well as changing the name of sensors etc.

You can change your status between away, on board or at sea if you remember / can be bothered.

Another little sub feature is that the GPS stores your journeys independently of chart plotters etc. it's quite a crude representation but it gives an oversight. Ultimately it's an easy way to keep eyes on a few essential metrics when you're away without spending thousands of pounds. I also like the way you don't have to mess around with SIM cards. Check geographic limits but I think I'm right in saying they cover quite a large area.
 

henryf

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Hi-lo platform remote control.

I’m new to the world of Hi-lo platforms and have yet to try a recovery / launch of the tender but advice on here suggested a remote control was desirable. Princess don’t supply a remote on the grounds of health & safety. They are quite risk sensitive and conservative in the design in this regard. I can see their point, potentially not looking at the platform in the way you would be from the control panel might increase injury risk.

I signed a little bit of paper to say I understood the potential dangers and the Swanwick team sorted me out. Because we don’t have a crew cabin access to the pump and electronics is really easy but it was still just as cheap to get them to supply and fit. No one on line advertised the remote and receiver and if I did see them anywhere they were always list price.

Simply a case of plugging in the receiver unit onto the pump (about £280 from memory) and then getting a remote (just under £200). Remote paired via the button panel and hey presto.

There’s a bit of a knack to using the remote, you need 6 fingers. Whilst holding the remote you press & hold both side buttons and then press & hold the up or down button.

All I need to learn now is how to launch and recover without getting wet feet. Any tips ?
 

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rafiki_

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Hi-lo platform remote control.

I’m new to the world of Hi-lo platforms and have yet to try a recovery / launch of the tender but advice on here suggested a remote control was desirable. Princess don’t supply a remote on the grounds of health & safety. They are quite risk sensitive and conservative in the design in this regard. I can see their point, potentially not looking at the platform in the way you would be from the control panel might increase injury risk.

I signed a little bit of paper to say I understood the potential dangers and the Swanwick team sorted me out. Because we don’t have a crew cabin access to the pump and electronics is really easy but it was still just as cheap to get them to supply and fit. No one on line advertised the remote and receiver and if I did see them anywhere they were always list price.

Simply a case of plugging in the receiver unit onto the pump (about £280 from memory) and then getting a remote (just under £200). Remote paired via the button panel and hey presto.

There’s a bit of a knack to using the remote, you need 6 fingers. Whilst holding the remote you press & hold both side buttons and then press & hold the up or down button.

All I need to learn now is how to launch and recover without getting wet feet. Any tips ?
Get the crew to do it H😉
 

47GC

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Hi-lo platform remote control.

I’m new to the world of Hi-lo platforms and have yet to try a recovery / launch of the tender but advice on here suggested a remote control was desirable. Princess don’t supply a remote on the grounds of health & safety. They are quite risk sensitive and conservative in the design in this regard. I can see their point, potentially not looking at the platform in the way you would be from the control panel might increase injury risk.

I signed a little bit of paper to say I understood the potential dangers and the Swanwick team sorted me out. Because we don’t have a crew cabin access to the pump and electronics is really easy but it was still just as cheap to get them to supply and fit. No one on line advertised the remote and receiver and if I did see them anywhere they were always list price.

Simply a case of plugging in the receiver unit onto the pump (about £280 from memory) and then getting a remote (just under £200). Remote paired via the button panel and hey presto.

There’s a bit of a knack to using the remote, you need 6 fingers. Whilst holding the remote you press & hold both side buttons and then press & hold the up or down button.

All I need to learn now is how to launch and recover without getting wet feet. Any tips ?
Have the same remote on my V39 Henry. Octopus fingers required to activate the receiver! Decent bit of kit though when you want to get onto the platform and recover the tender. I find it quite difficult to get lined up above the platform whilst pressing all the buttons to get it to work though!
 

henryf

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At the moment I don’t have a tender on the boat. The one I want to buy is a 12 month waiting list and quite expensive for what it is so I’m exploring other options. We may just get a conventional replacement for the aluminium hull Ribeye which has been a great tender.

Once we’ve got something on I’ll have a play around to see what techniques I can establish. With a Williams you obviously don’t have a prop to worry about but I struggle to spend the cost of a very nice Porsche on something to get us ashore when we’re anchored up.
 

MrB

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Henry, have you finished coding the boat and did it take much? (sorry if this has been covered already)
 

henryf

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Henry, have you finished coding the boat and did it take much? (sorry if this has been covered already)
We have the surveyor down Friday and Saturday to do inspections and also the stability test on Saturday (if anyone is in Gosport / Haslar Staurday let me know as I need bodies).

I will answer your question fully after the surveyor has been.
 
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henryf

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In another thread I touched on deciding whether or not to add options. By default I’m a mean man when it comes to that sort of thing although when buying a new boat it does almost become if it’s under a grand just chuck it on :)

There were 2 items which initially I declined but later added. The first was a power operation for the Bimini. We didn’t have it on the P50 and I never missed it but the F55 Bimini is massive and so I bit the bullet and spent a small car on electro hydraulic operation.

The other item was the saloon table. Initially I was going to have the fixed table but after mentioning on here that we’d put in an order I had a couple of lengthy conversations with a member of the parish who’d bought an F55 and he gave me quite a few pointers - thanks Tim :)

Having bought a used boat his didn’t come with the adjustable table and his journey retro fitting one made me option it. Having used the boat a little he was absolutely right to suggest I reconsider.

Far from the gimmick I thought it’s actually proved invaluable being able to alter both height, size and also depth from the seating. There are all sorts of configurations ranging from full on dining for 6 to a small coffee table.

Operation is slick, quick and self explanatory. From thinking I’d wasted £5k I’m actually delighted.
 

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henryf

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jfm

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In another thread I touched on deciding whether or not to add options. By default I’m a mean man when it comes to that sort of thing although when buying a new boat it does almost become if it’s under a grand just chuck it on :)

There were 2 items which initially I declined but later added. The first was a power operation for the Bimini. We didn’t have it on the P50 and I never missed it but the F55 Bimini is massive and so I bit the bullet and spent a small car on electro hydraulic operation.

The other item was the saloon table. Initially I was going to have the fixed table but after mentioning on here that we’d put in an order I had a couple of lengthy conversations with a member of the parish who’d bought an F55 and he gave me quite a few pointers - thanks Tim :)

Having bought a used boat his didn’t come with the adjustable table and his journey retro fitting one made me option it. Having used the boat a little he was absolutely right to suggest I reconsider.

Far from the gimmick I thought it’s actually proved invaluable being able to alter both height, size and also depth from the seating. There are all sorts of configurations ranging from full on dining for 6 to a small coffee table.

Operation is slick, quick and self explanatory. From thinking I’d wasted £5k I’m actually delighted.
The adjustable table makes perfect sense. When you’re just loafing you definitely want a low table slid away from the seating. (y)
 

henryf

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The adjustable table makes perfect sense. When you’re just loafing you definitely want a low table slid away from the seating. (y)
Yes, I hadn’t really appreciated the different rolls the space would cover. Having a very large TV means you actually settle down for a good film rather than just watching it on the boat. I find myself feeling this in a lot of areas. More like being in a nice hotel room rather than on the boat where you accept compromises.
 

henryf

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A busy weekend. We’re sorting out the coding for our commercial charter work and had Martin Pitillo on board Friday to do the technical inspection / survey. Even though I knew what to expect it’s still quite an involved process. Unfortunately the lift at Sealift Haslar was cancelled due to high winds. It’s the second time this has happened now, we had a lift cancelled when selling the P50. Thankfully Princess have managed to blag us a quick lift and hold on Monday and Martin is able to attend. Although it’s a new boat he still needs to see the underside to make sure there is no damage etc. which is fair enough.

We also had to do a stability test which was undertaken today. We put a message up on the Solent Facebook group, offered tea, coffee, cake and biscuits which was enough to encourage a friendly bunch to rock up and be used as ballast. You can use weights / water filled containers but it’s hard work. If you can get enough bodies this is quicker.

we’re coding for 12 guests plus 3 crew which means 15 times 75kg. In the end we had about 16 people’s worth of weight. The boat heeled over 4 degrees with everyone on one side. I think I’m right in saying the allowance is 7 degrees plus an allowance for extra freeboard which in our case means we could have passed at 10 degrees of heel so well within margins.

So Monday we come out of the water briefly.
 

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Bouba

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A busy weekend. We’re sorting out the coding for our commercial charter work and had Martin Pitillo on board Friday to do the technical inspection / survey. Even though I knew what to expect it’s still quite an involved process. Unfortunately the lift at Sealift Haslar was cancelled due to high winds. It’s the second time this has happened now, we had a lift cancelled when selling the P50. Thankfully Princess have managed to blag us a quick lift and hold on Monday and Martin is able to attend. Although it’s a new boat he still needs to see the underside to make sure there is no damage etc. which is fair enough.

We also had to do a stability test which was undertaken today. We put a message up on the Solent Facebook group, offered tea, coffee, cake and biscuits which was enough to encourage a friendly bunch to rock up and be used as ballast. You can use weights / water filled containers but it’s hard work. If you can get enough bodies this is quicker.

we’re coding for 12 guests plus 3 crew which means 15 times 75kg. In the end we had about 16 people’s worth of weight. The boat heeled over 4 degrees with everyone on one side. I think I’m right in saying the allowance is 7 degrees plus an allowance for extra freeboard which in our case means we could have passed at 10 degrees of heel so well within margins.

So Monday we come out of the water briefly.
That’s amazing !....imagine if JFM needed to code his new boat...he’d need the whole forum 🤪
 

MapisM

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we’re coding for 12 guests plus 3 crew which means 15 times 75kg.
In the end we had about 16 people’s worth of weight. The boat heeled over 4 degrees with everyone on one side.
Interesting. Just out of curiosity, is there any tankage requirement as pre-condition for that test?
I mean, like tanks empty, full, one side empty and one full, or whatever?
Even without knowing the exact capacities for fuel and water, that's bound to affect stability much more than 15x75 Kg...
 

Elessar

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A busy weekend. We’re sorting out the coding for our commercial charter work and had Martin Pitillo on board Friday to do the technical inspection / survey. Even though I knew what to expect it’s still quite an involved process. Unfortunately the lift at Sealift Haslar was cancelled due to high winds. It’s the second time this has happened now, we had a lift cancelled when selling the P50. Thankfully Princess have managed to blag us a quick lift and hold on Monday and Martin is able to attend. Although it’s a new boat he still needs to see the underside to make sure there is no damage etc. which is fair enough.

We also had to do a stability test which was undertaken today. We put a message up on the Solent Facebook group, offered tea, coffee, cake and biscuits which was enough to encourage a friendly bunch to rock up and be used as ballast. You can use weights / water filled containers but it’s hard work. If you can get enough bodies this is quicker.

we’re coding for 12 guests plus 3 crew which means 15 times 75kg. In the end we had about 16 people’s worth of weight. The boat heeled over 4 degrees with everyone on one side. I think I’m right in saying the allowance is 7 degrees plus an allowance for extra freeboard which in our case means we could have passed at 10 degrees of heel so well within margins.

So Monday we come out of the water briefly.
I’m coding Maia at the moment Henry. The rules haven’t changed but the application of them seems to have got stricter. Yes it is involved.
 
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