Princess 330 - SD vs Planing Hull

[phockit]

It appears that the P330 was built with both plaing and semi-displacement hulls, is this true ?? I've seen some pictures of hulls from alledgedly SD versions but they don't appear to have any noticeable keel which would be my typical identifier of SD.

Assuming they do come in both flavours, what would the differences be in sea-keeping, speed, fuel consumption, etc ?? We are looking at SD boats like the Aquastar 33's and Corvette 32's, are the P330 SD characteristics going to be similar or closer to those of the P330 planing hull ??

Thanks

Paul

 

[jimg]

I do not think there were 2 models, if you look at the Princess site they show the 37 as 2 variants, but not the 330.
http://www.princess.co.uk/princess-boats-heritage.html

 

[Whitelighter]

the 330 was only ever an Olisinski planing hull - it was amonng the same range as the P35 and the 310.

Should handle fairly well, and are built to be strong

 

[blueglass]

in terms of seakeeping the aquastar and corvette are in a different (higher) class altogether inmho. If I have got the right princess model in mind, they are mostly seen on the rivers. Nice enough boat for that but if its a seaboat you are after then aquastars and corvettes are among the best.

 

[Whitelighter]

I have to question your logic there. Not doubting the pedigree of the Aquastar, but the Olisinski hull is one of the best offshore (as in deep coastal) hulls around and set the benchmark for modern powerboat design.

Both with get you were you are going, but you will take longer, get wetter and use more fuel in the Aquastar.

 

[oldgit]

The boat which comes in two flavours is the Princess 33. and was a Bennett design.

 

[hlb]

Olisinski Designed boats only for river use. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

We'd better all stay at home then. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hlb]

The P330 is my P35's little sister and looks identical. As said above Olsinki?? designed plaining hull. A revolution in hull design, which has changed little since.

 

[oldgit]

MBM did something a little while ago in a series called Cumberlidge Cruises ???when he took a P33 down and around the Channel Isles.

 

[phockit]

Thanks all, I knew I had heard that there was a Psomething with the Y hull but got confused by the number of P330's on brokerage listed as SD hulls /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

My preference for SD may yet be a mute point anyway as SWMBO first needs to decide what she likes the "look" of, which is obviously the most important criteria /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

If it's a flybridge then I think I'd be guiding her towards a P35 rather the 330, based on previous discussions on here.

Anyone got a view on the Fairline Turbo 36 ??

Paul

 

[hlb]

Fairline Turbo 36 ??

Always been good reports about them on here.

 

[jfm]

Deleted User had a turbo36 and iirc he liked it lots. He'll be along later I expect

I don't want to get into/criticise your plan to buy SD rahter than P but remeber the SD fuel econ generally wont be better - has been discussed and analysed at lenght here on threads over the last 6mths or so!

 

[hlb]

Yep, till the 80's,there might have been good arguements for SD, cos planing boats were just basicly a plank. Then Bernard Ols.... came along and changed all that. Bet your boats bottom is just the same as mine. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Kawasaki]

'Olisinski Factor'




Wasn,t that a 70's film Michael Caine starred in?

Anyway fellow forumites.

I have been in an old Olienkski , Oleskinsi, Oliwho the hel, was He hullski boat.


It's a bit of an Old Clunker. (sorry hlb, poetic licence?) /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

But it has impressed me with the way it bashes through the lumpy stuff.

Today I had to test an engine.
It was a British hull from a design of 1980 ish.
A Planing hull.
It bashed about and was not good.
Not a Princess a Fairline a Sunseeker.
Corvette has been mentioned.

Now there is a boat I fancy.
They don't look right!

But apparently they are right!

I have never been on one cept in a boat show.
As I tootled around a Marina today I saw one ashore.

Still looked odd below the water line, ref the Olienski, etc etc stuff.
Confused /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
K

 

[blueglass]

apologies _ I was on the wrong boat. I was thinking of the 30 DS which I have definitely seen many lower powered examples of on the rivers. Possibly because of their age and yes I know Olesinki is something of a god to you planing guys. still rather be in a corvette or aquastar at sea.

 

[timbartlett]

Back in the days when MBY ran a "company boat", Prospector 1 was a Fairline Turbo 36, Prospector 2 was a Princess 330, and Prospector 3 was a Princess 35. (BTW, they were all Olesinski planing hulls) Being technical editor at the time meant I got a chance to play with all three.
The Turbo 36 was significantly bigger than either of the Princesses, and the aft cabin design gave it much more spacious accommodation, but having the saloon below the level of the aft deck made it feel a bit like going down into a cave. High topsides made it a bit tricky for kids and old folk to get on and off. OTOH, it is probably the most popular cruising boat of its size ever built.
The P330 that followed felt tiny, by comparison, but it handled beautifully, and was a far better seaboat than one might have expected. Personally, I really liked having a cockpit instead of the T36's aft deck, and I liked the airier feel of the saloon.
The Princess 35 was very much a big version of the P330 -- she somehow felt much more of a step up in size than the nominal 2ft increase in length suggests. She was more spacious and capable as a result, so she was a better "company boat" boat but my personanl favourite was always Prospector 2 -- the little P330.
FWIW and IIRC, we took the Turbo to the west coast of Ireland, the P330 to the Morbihan, and the P35 to Poland. Took one of them (can't remember which, but it was probably the P35) to Scotland, as well, and used them for countless shorter trips and equipment tests.
Hope this isn't just stating the obvious
All the best
Tim

see www.timbartlett.co.uk for news, nav and comms product news, and even more forthright comment than you get in MBY!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Yup, I had a Turbo 36 and it's a great boat. In fact it's considered a bit of a classic. It was also an Olesinski hull and I believe he acknowledges it as one of his best. It slams a bit going upwind but no more than any other similar sized planing boat but it was brilliant in a following sea. We had ours out in some really dreadful conditions (that was before we knew better) and it always looked after us. My SWMBO and I still shudder over a particular trip off Brittany in a F8 gale and a horrendous cross channel trip in similar conditions
The other big plus about the T36 is the accomodation which is vast for it's length. The reason for that is the aft cabin which is huge and so is the saloon. Not many 36 footers have large sofas on both sides of the saloon
Downsides? The aft deck is a bit exposed and drafty and there is little on deck storage. Engine access is not good, especially to the aft end of the engines. The exhausts are noisy because the boats were designed before wet mufflers were introduced and the aft cabin furniture doesn't allow a retrofit. Actually, I can still tell a T36 is near just be hearing it's distinctive exhaust note! T36's are also quite pricey because they're sought after
Earlier models between 1983-87 had a blue or red stripe on the hull and a steel radar arch and were fitted with Volvo TAMD 41A 200hp or TAMD60C 235hp engines. Don't buy a T36 with the 200hp engines 'coz they're not powerful enough and don't buy a red striped one, unless it's cheaper, because they're much less popular. In 1988/89, the T36 was upgraded with an all white hull and a grp radar arch and TAMD61A 306hp engines became standard which should give the boat close to 30kt performance. Just before the model was phased out in about 1992, it was renamed the Turbo 38 to reflect it's true length. These are old boats now so make sure you get a detailed hull and engine survey but a good T36 should give many more years of reliable service

 

[hlb]

Oi. My P35 has two huge soffas and I bet M Farter makes much more noise than yours did. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[photodog]

If you like the Turbo 36, but dont need the aft cabin... then there is also the 36 Sedan.... I had a 89 with the Volvo 306hp engines.....excellent interior size wise with two good sized cabins and a good heads...

As mentioned previously acces to the forward part of the engines is a pig, how you would change a impeller underway is beyond me... we gave some thought to cutting access panels through the fwd bulhead into the accomodation...

I also found access to the oil filters very difficult...
We had some minor blistering and the trim tabs came unstuck and needed to be reattached, and this was when the boat was 11 years old or so..

The boat had spent quite a bit of time inland, and we had some cooling problems, which eventually resulted in us spending around £3k to sort out the stb engine...

The boat was very solid and reasurring in all conditions, but was very thirsty, in the end we sold her for more than we paid... and I understand that the new owner was very happy and had no problems.. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif 1990 version... not as nice as ours... and 20k more than we paid!!!

We replaced her with a S34 which was not as quick or as seaworth, but cost a lot less to run and was more reliable in our experience..... (and is now again on the market with Ancasta in Dartmouth... looking from the pictures not much different than when we sold her! )

If your handy, the 36 Sedan would make a great alternative to a P35, much bigger down below. But you need to be happy with the engine access, and bear in mind the age.

 

[capsco]

The 36 Sedan that I had, already had an access panel to the starboard engine impellor, to get to it properly you needed to remove the central draw unit between the berths.