Princess 366 Riviera- Opinions and advice

crossy

crossy

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 Jun 2010
Messages
178
Location
Bradford on Avon, Boat in Poole
www.horizoncharterboats.co.uk
All,

We (my wife and i) had some longer term thoughts about selling our (in fairness only recently purchased) Merry Fisher 925 and trading up into a more comfortable sports cruiser. We have longer term plans of taking some extended breaks on a boat (perhaps as far as the med) and want something comfortable, twin engined and well built.

Having no real intention of doing a lot about it until next year we have stumbled across a Princess 366 Riviera which we have been to look at it twice now and on the face of it absolutely love it. She is a 1996 boat with twin Volvo KAD42's with 500 hours on and plenty of extra's.

My real problem is that i know almost nothing about these boats. I had it in the back of my mind to look at something similar aged from Sunseeker (a Comanche 40 or a San Remo perhaps) but this cropped up and has really caught my eye. She has lovely classic lines and I know princess are renowned for their build quality.

Has anyone on here owned or had some experience of one that could shed some light on this for me? Things like how she handles at sea, what the fuel burn is like, things to be wary of?
My only real concern at this stage would be the fact the she is on outdrives and I have heard horror stories about them (I've only ever had outboards or shafts) and it's age (is an 18 year old boat really that old?).

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks,
Andrew
 
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Great boats , avoid the ones with yamaha engines and drives .

Kad 42 will need an expert eye on them before you buy as there 20 plus year old motors and drives.
 
volvopaul said:
Great boats , avoid the ones with yamaha engines and drives .

Kad 42 will need an expert eye on them before you buy as there 20 plus year old motors and drives.
Click to expand...

Hi Paul,

Thanks for this, much appreciated.
Is there anything in particular to be worried on with this engine/leg combination? Engines look in great condition but clearly it's what's underneath that matters.

Thanks,
Andrew
 
crossy said:
All,

We (my wife and i) had some longer term thoughts about selling our (in fairness only recently purchased) Merry Fisher 925 and trading up into a more comfortable sports cruiser. We have longer term plans of taking some extended breaks on a boat (perhaps as far as the med) and want something comfortable, twin engined and well built.

Having no real intention of doing a lot about it until next year we have stumbled across a Princess 366 Riviera which we have been to look at it twice now and on the face of it absolutely love it. She is a 1996 boat with twin Volvo KAD42's with 500 hours on and plenty of extra's.

My real problem is that i know almost nothing about these boats. I had it in the back of my mind to look at something similar aged from Sunseeker (a Comanche 40 or a San Remo perhaps) but this cropped up and has really caught my eye. She has lovely classic lines and I know princess are renowned for their build quality.

Has anyone on here owned or had some experience of one that could shed some light on this for me? Things like how she handles at sea, what the fuel burn is like, things to be wary of?
My only real concern at this stage would be the fact the she is on outdrives and I have heard horror stories about them (I've only ever had outboards or shafts) and it's age (is an 18 year old boat really that old?).

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks,
Andrew
Click to expand...

Hi, the 366, and 346r before it were great boats but at the wrong time. Early 90's and all that with a slow market and strong pound (where have I heard that before). Terrific sea boats like the old 266 with loads of power, RELATIVELY speaking. I am unaware of issues with properly maintained yamahas, they were a popular alternative as they sounded and were as smooth as little jet engines, unlike the KAD's that coughed and wheezed and whirred a bit as various forms of power enhancements kicked in. Not many were built, and some had a slightly odd laminated and lacquer interior. Find a good one and you won't go far wrong. Good luck......R
 
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Princess SD said:
Hi, the 366, and 346r before it were great boats but at the wrong time. Early 90's and all that with a slow market and strong pound (where have I heard that before). Terrific sea boats like the old 266 with loads of power, RELATIVELY speaking. I am unaware of issues with properly maintained yamahas, they were a popular alternative as they sounded and were as smooth as little jet engines, unlike the KAD's that coughed and wheezed and whirred a bit as various forms of power enhancements kicked in. Not many were built, and some had a slightly odd laminated and lacquer interior. Find a good one and you won't go far wrong. Good luck......R
Click to expand...

+1 - I know of a couple of friends who had these boats years ago with these engines no probs - suggest you speak to a Yamaha specialist re survey if you are concerned :sleeping:
 
A friend has a 366....lovely boats and well built. He has the Yamaha set up and the drives are, I would suggest, superior to the VP offerings from the same era. Very smooth and well engineered....only trouble is that they no longer make them. Redbay Boats in Cushendall NI can do re-furbs if you have a problem and tell us that they don't envisage an issue with parts for some time yet. Can't comment too much on the Yamaha engines.....they seem okay in a boat at work but Volvopaul may well know more.
 
Greg2 said:
A friend has a 366....lovely boats and well built. He has the Yamaha set up and the drives are, I would suggest, superior to the VP offerings from the same era. Very smooth and well engineered....only trouble is that they no longer make them. Redbay Boats in Cushendall NI can do re-furbs if you have a problem and tell us that they don't envisage an issue with parts for some time yet. Can't comment too much on the Yamaha engines.....they seem okay in a boat at work but Volvopaul may well know more.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks very much for the info.

Does anyone have any idea on fuel burn for either the Volvo or the Yamaha? I am assuming something in the 80lph at cruise mark but don't really have anything concrete to base that on.
 
Yamaha base unit is old 4.2 single cam 12 valve motor. Base unit a great engine , it's the coolers, sea water pump and associated pipework items that fail, rot away etc. if you think Volvoparts are expensive you haven't bought yamaha parts!

The drive are a unique design in the fact they have hydraulic drum clutches with plates a bit like a marine gearbox, all good but require oil changes every year, they don't like sea water resulting in a new drive should this happen.

Remember moody of the forum way back, he had these in his Draco Zircon, one year we had to take the engines out just to correct the steering issues, just worn parts on the shields, there a mercruiser copy basically.

I've seen inside main dealer workshops, lines of scrap engines and drives.
If you don't like spending these yamaha engines and drives are not for you.
 
I can confirm the parts costs. Looking at a couple of spare raw water pumps to have on the shelf and they are £1500 each new stock!! Fifteen hundred squids!!! They should be gold plated for that price!
 
Greg2 said:
I can confirm the parts costs. Looking at a couple of spare raw water pumps to have on the shelf and they are £1500 each new stock!! Fifteen hundred squids!!! They should be gold plated for that price!
Click to expand...

Price some other parts up like an exhaust manifold .
 
The Kad 42 improved a lot after 1995, so if it was well kept and looked after should be your best engine choice on the 366. Also IMO very important for residual later on.

The 366 Riviera is a great boat, and its bigger competitor will always be Fairline's 37 Targa. In reality new sales wise Fairline sold 4 with may be 1 366 sold by Princess at the time.
Now the Fl has a livelier ride (she is also a bit faster, lighter and smaller in both length and beam) but I see the Princess is that bit of a more solid ride in rough conditions.
Saying all this you should also consider the Fairline 36/37 Targa, and why not have also a look at a 38/39 Targa. This last would be my favorite....
 
There is one at NYA which we liked but decided to stick with a flybridge (although the price of the Princess was appealing!). The one at NYA has been for sale for a few years now (did come off for a short while) and I am genuinely surprised it hasn't sold as she has some lovely lines and is well presented. When I researched I did find some 'known' issues with particular engine combinations but can't remember what they were now. Outdrives were the nail in the coffin for me although I appreciate they are a marmite conversation, I've had nightmares with an older Fairline Targa with outdrives and decided to stick to shafts but that is just my preference. I have friends who have outdrives and prefer them to shafts so horses for courses.
 
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boatingdave said:
There is one at NYA which we liked but decided to stick with a flybridge (although the price of the Princess was appealing!). The one at NYA has been for sale for a few years now (did come off for a short while) and I am genuinely surprised it hasn't sold as she has some lovely lines and is well presented. When I researched I did find some 'known' issues with particular engine combinations but can't remember what they were now. Outdrives were the nail in the coffin for me although I appreciate they are a marmite conversation, I've had nightmares with an older Fairline Targa with outdrives and Decidd to stick to shafts but that is just my preference. I have friends who have outdrives and prefer them to shafts so horses for courses.
Click to expand...

I am having the same dilemma over outdrives at the moment. I would be really nervous about owning a set of 18 year old outdrives but there are very few shaft driven alternatives that I can find unless we go down the flybridge route as you have done. Can't see the 366 on NYA website, maybe they have sold it after all.
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
The Kad 42 improved a lot after 1995, so if it was well kept and looked after should be your best engine choice on the 366. Also IMO very important for residual later on.

The 366 Riviera is a great boat, and its bigger competitor will always be Fairline's 37 Targa. In reality new sales wise Fairline sold 4 with may be 1 366 sold by Princess at the time.
Now the Fl has a livelier ride (she is also a bit faster, lighter and smaller in both length and beam) but I see the Princess is that bit of a more solid ride in rough conditions.
Saying all this you should also consider the Fairline 36/37 Targa, and why not have also a look at a 38/39 Targa. This last would be my favorite....
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info, we are also looking at a Fairline Targa 37. They are a much more modern looking boat but doesn't look like they have the same space inside as the Princess.
 
crossy said:
Thanks for the info, we are also looking at a Fairline Targa 37. They are a much more modern looking boat but doesn't look like they have the same space inside as the Princess.
Click to expand...

We looked at several Targ 37's as they were on our wish list at one point. Lovely boats and plenty of space below....certainly similar to the 366. Engine bays are very tight though....and I mean very tight :)
 
Greg2 said:
We looked at several Targ 37's as they were on our wish list at one point. Lovely boats and plenty of space below....certainly similar to the 366. Engine bays are very tight though....and I mean very tight :)
Click to expand...

+1. I had one for two seasons - had a great time with it and was sad to see it go. Greg2's comment about the engine bay is spot on.
 
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