New Princess 43 - lighter, faster, sleeker....better?

hull windows in particular are disappointing imho ... these can be quite easily changed in the mould.

They can, but Princess wont, of course :-)

I like Princess's big glazing/thin mullions in the saloon, which they do on other models eg 82 and 60, and it works very well on this boat. It's a good looking boat imho. It will be interesting to see the final pricing and detailing, plus spec details like fuel capacity and so on which can be real disappointments when you finally get past the CGI and see the spec sheets
 
" plus spec details like fuel capacity and so on which can be real disappointments"

Wonder if it is deliberate to keep fuel capacity to a minimum in order not to have owners brimming the tanks and then complaining that the boat is slower than the opposition ?
Plus of course it not quite so heart stopping when the man at the fuel bunker punches in a few numbers on the credit card terminal.
Fuel tanks do not appear to have got bigger despite the undoubted increased fuel consumption over the years.My present boat can take 1100L and the previous P33 900L both with very economical engines.
 
I agree, I think you can see a fair amount of Sealine influence...

Sealine
F42%20360.jpg


Princess
image-1.jpg

I agree with you and if I was a director I would be thinking

" oh sh. t , they've just gone bust because people didnt like it after all "

Flybridges are great , lovely open flybridge to sunbath, dine, lovely cockpit to dine in the shade.

Saloon is a retreat where you can still enjoy a little privacy , many marinas have tourists wandering round and the new 'sealine style' interior is just a little goldfish bowl for my tastes and all that glass means aircon required even for UK use.

Over all though 9/10 love it :cool:
 
I dunno oldgit, but my thinking is that Princess's philosophy is to make the interior as big as possible becuase that sells boats at boat shows. Their interiors are indeed very nice indeed, and no doubt DO help sell their boats at boat shows. The price of this is too-small fuel tanks, and engine rooms that look like train wrecks - possibly the worst engine rooms in their class, with wing fuel tanks even in the big boats and stuff like airco chillers hanging from the ceiling above the engines. This topic came up in Henry's Princess 82 review thread after LIBS2013, and also you might recall Lozzer's recent thread about batteries (he works as skipper on a Princess 85 flybridge) where he described his engine room. As we all know, boats these days have a lot of compromises...
 
I dunno oldgit, but my thinking is that Princess's philosophy is to make the interior as big as possible becuase that sells boats at boat shows. Their interiors are indeed very nice indeed, and no doubt DO help sell their boats at boat shows. The price of this is too-small fuel tanks, and engine rooms that look like train wrecks - possibly the worst engine rooms in their class, with wing fuel tanks even in the big boats and stuff like airco chillers hanging from the ceiling above the engines. This topic came up in Henry's Princess 82 review thread after LIBS2013, and also you might recall Lozzer's recent thread about batteries (he works as skipper on a Princess 85 flybridge) where he described his engine room. As we all know, boats these days have a lot of compromises...

I love my P42 as it does what it says it will do and is right size for my use. But JFM has brought up a good point. I recently had a battery problem and could not even get the lid off the stb battery box, there was just no room and if you wanted to put a new battery in I think you would have to remeove the whole box.

Then I have this lovely diesel bug, which I am treating with chemicles, but if I needed to get the inspection hatch off one of the tanks, which they provide it only has about 100mm before it is to the cockpit sole, which is why I am trying to avoid cleaning the tanks.
 
the styling modern and fresh
I don't see anything modern and fresh. The exterior styling is very much generic Princess and the interior is exactly the same layout as the P42. Mind you, seeing as Princess are the only member of the 'Big 4' (now Big 3 of course) who don't seem to have got into financial difficulties recently, I guess they know what they're doing. However, I'm not sure I can see why any P42 owner would be trading up to a P43 other than just to have a newer boat
 
I don't see anything modern and fresh. The exterior styling is very much generic Princess and the interior is exactly the same layout as the P42. Mind you, seeing as Princess are the only member of the 'Big 4' (now Big 3 of course) who don't seem to have got into financial difficulties recently, I guess they know what they're doing. However, I'm not sure I can see why any P42 owner would be trading up to a P43 other than just to have a newer boat


To be fair I'm not sure any manufacturer has produced a boat so radical that owners of the same sized boat would rush out and swap for. Not unless the old model was an absolute dog which the P42 isn't.

For you to change your 1 or 2 year old boat for the same thing but newer is probably going to cost you the thick end of £200k wait a couple more years and your then 4 year old boat has probably only dropped a few £k. Possible now the rush is over on the new model you might even get a better deal on the newer model meaning the price to change hasn't really grown that much.

I think people swap for the same size when they feel the current boat is getting a bit tired.

There are times when a model change is significant. Our Mk3 P50 is significantly different to a Mk2, masses more volume, full beam owners cabin and so on. Then changes might come a bit quicker. The problem with 42 foot flybridges (they are actually 45 foot) is that the layout has been refined to the point where it would take a radical (read potentially polarising) design change to come up with "better" use of space.

I'm not saying it's right, just the way I think things are.

Ironically a cheaper boat like the P43 is probably a harder purchase for the owner than something much bigger in the range.

Henry :)
 
To be fair I'm not sure any manufacturer has produced a boat so radical that owners of the same sized boat would rush out and swap for. Not unless the old model was an absolute dog which the P42 isn't.
Yup I take your point although of course Sealine RIP took a bold radical step when they introduced their new F range of flybridge cruisers which were so different to the previous generation that I'm sure existing owners would have considered trading in for the same size. Anyway they got it wrong. I guess the P43 then will be a 'starter' flybridge boat for some buyers and a trade up for other buyers with 35-40ft flybridge models. Princess rarely get it wrong and their conservative approach has paid off over the years
 
Imho, you are all missing the #1 reason for making a "new model" nowadays, be it a boat, a car, a dishwasher, whatever.
Trying to make it more appealing is of course a factor, but actually the first goal is cost reduction, both in terms of components/equipment installed, and of manpower necessary to screw the thing together.
We might not like that, as boaters, but that's how yards survive: by building cheaper - and selling as better - their products.
 
Yup I take your point although of course Sealine RIP took a bold radical step when they introduced their new F range of flybridge cruisers which were so different to the previous generation that I'm sure existing owners would have considered trading in for the same size. Anyway they got it wrong. I guess the P43 then will be a 'starter' flybridge boat for some buyers and a trade up for other buyers with 35-40ft flybridge models. Princess rarely get it wrong and their conservative approach has paid off over the years

Mike, I'm not sure that Sealine failed due to its styling, rather than its business approach. While the original F46 didn't hit the spot, the revised F48 and F42 were great boats imho, and the SC35 was stand-out in its class. Hanse will reprise the 35/42, and I'm hoping successfully.
 
Mike, I'm not sure that Sealine failed due to its styling, rather than its business approach. While the original F46 didn't hit the spot, the revised F48 and F42 were great boats imho, and the SC35 was stand-out in its class. Hanse will reprise the 35/42, and I'm hoping successfully.

Just a small point, but important.

Sealine have NOT been bought by Hanse. They have been bought by the same parent company that own Hanse and a number of other brands.
 
Mike, I'm not sure that Sealine failed due to its styling, rather than its business approach. While the original F46 didn't hit the spot, the revised F48 and F42 were great boats imho, and the SC35 was stand-out in its class. Hanse will reprise the 35/42, and I'm hoping successfully.
I didn't quite mean it like that. What I was trying to say was that radical design didn't save them rather than it was the cause of their demise. Yes I agree that their current design style is brave but attractive and IMHO Hanse have the basis for a marketable range of boats and I hope they succeed.
 
Be interesting to see if there's standing headroom in forward cabin, at 6' 4" I couldn't stand in P42.

I'm guessing there will be no more available headroom based on "averages" ........i.e. The number of 6 foot plus people who buy a boat.........whatever next........ " I'm so pissed off because I cannot stand in my saloon............I'm 7 foot tall!!!
 
not quote spot on :)

"they" have not been bought.

The sealine name, some tangible things and some IP has been bought.

I guess it all comes down to what you consider the 'company' to be. I think that the identity - or the IP is the most important thing but yes, in terms of the company as listed on companies house etc you are quite right.
 
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