Princess 42.

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I have been looking at the 42 fly 2 cabin layout. Seem quite a few on the market, some quite overpriced but I am thinking nearly new low hours etc.

Anyone any experience of the model and its handling as a passagemaker as we do tend to try to get about wahtever the weather within reason. Also they have been around a while so is the style still popular and practical. ? Appreciate your thoughts and experiences
 
I've got a P42 which is for sale - if you've been hunting around then you may have seen details of mine at PMYS? I bought it because I wanted to try a flybridge - and we quickly realised that in fact we prefer sportcruisers, which is why we're going back to one.

In terms of northern european spec I think mine's probably the best there is on the market at the moment, it's certainly the youngest brokerage P42 on the market - and the only one that is still has full warranties.

In terms of passagemaking - our maiden voyage on the boat was from Swanwick to Guernsey, in the esteemed company of Hurricane from this forum. Style and layout is very practical - loads of space inside, big lazarette, easy engine access, flexible space on on the flybridge.

There's some photos of mine here. Let me know if you've got any other questions...

Cheers
Jimmy
 
And here's a pic from the actual passage to Guernsey.

Stunning

IMG_4918eMedium-1.jpg
 
Very smart and capable vessels.

We chose the Fairline P40 over the P42 mainly because of the layout of the flybridge.

1. The helm seats are right up against the side. i.e. if the "navigator" has to get out - to refil the glasses etc. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif then the helmsman has to move out as well.

2. The fly on the Princess has a layout for a sun bed. Personally, SWMBO and I are passed sunbathing - we prefer the dining area upstairs.

3. I may be a dinosaur, but there is no provision for a paper chart on the console of the P42.

Downstairs, I think the P42 is better.

All IMHO, naturally.
 
From Princess's own figures:

Princess 35 LOA 35'3"
Princess 42 LOA 44'3"

Not sure the bathing platform is 9 feet!!! Also 2 heads, proper second cabin, bigger galley and bigger flybridge on the P42
 
I would take issue with those figures because AFAIK, at some stage in the last few years, boatbuilders started quoting loa from the pulpit extremity to the end of the bathing platform whereas previously loa was just the hull length. IMHO, the true indicator of how long a boat actually is, is the waterline length and I bet the waterline length of the old P35 is much closer to the P42 than these figures indicate
 
Thanks for info on P42. I did want a 3 cabin p45 till they stopped production. Anyway looks like the 42 for me as the next logical step up Anyone know if Princess are doing deals yet?
 
I'm possibly the wrong person to ask that question of, given that I'm trying to sell a P42 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. However - mine's 7 months old, and £100k saving off the list price - and I am absolutely certain that you wouldn't get that kind of saving off a new boat with Princess. Want to come and have a look over mine? It's in commission, in Brighton.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
[ QUOTE ]
I bought it because I wanted to try a flybridge - and we quickly realised that in fact we prefer sportcruisers, which is why we're going back to one.

[/ QUOTE ]

I bet I've missed this in previous posts, but give me a quick synopsis of the reasons, why go back?
 
It's a slightly disappointing tale, to tell the truth - I had speedboats for a few years, went up to a Fairline Targa 37 which I absolutely loved, thought I'd got the cruising bug and started going to the boat show. Fell in love with the P42, without really realising quite how fundamental the differences are between helming a sportcruiser and a flybridge. Really wanted to give it a try; sold the Targa to work away for a bit; came back and bought the P42.

In my view the P42 is best in class as a 40-something foot two cabin flybridge - generously proportioned everywhere, well engineered, beautifully finished. And the attitude of Princess towards customer service is exemplary. But the whole flybridge thing really didn't do it for me, right from the word go.

In fairness - moored up on a hammerhead at Dartmouth during the summer, it felt like there was no better place to be than upstairs on the P42, idly watching the world go by on the river. But in reality most of my boating is day boating from Brighton - and single-handing at that.

So it's a hard-top sportcruiser for me, almost certainly another Princess, partly because the ownership experience has been excellent, partly because they are a well-founded company with strong reserves - and most of all I really like their boats.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Jimmy was the sportier driving experience of the sp/cruiser (compared to trudgy flybr?) that you preferred? Or is it to do with the arrnagement of the living spaces? Or is it that you dont want a full-on cruising caravan cos you mainly dayboat? :-)
 
I spose I want my boat to be more boaty. I do enjoy the whole outdrive thing - you know, let's do a flat-out full lock turn and see if we can get the gunwales underwater (copyright D. Marsh). I like the occasional weekend trip along the coast, and maybe once or twice a year I'd like to go further afield for a week at a time. But life is busy, busier than I expected it to be when I bought the P42, and day boating is the best I can get, in the main.

Plus, to my surprise, there is more canvas to deal with on the P42 than the old Targa 37, and because there's so much boat to deal with, it seems to take an age to put everything away before you can actually put to sea - which after all, is the main event.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Yes, I also cant understand the concept of sports boats. Unless only used as day boats, and only through good weather. Not something seen recently.
I want a boat thats good in any weather, even if tied up.

Are sports boats just a dream, a hopefull memory of the passed. They seem crap for British weather and seem even worse for the med heat. Does air conditioning actually work under canvas.! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
"Does air conditioning actually work under canvas.! " Nope !
.....and that bit of blue canvas stretched across a couple of metal poles is a blimming feeble barrier at keeping the heat of the sun off you during the day.
Sports boats are fine when you are actually moving(if you like eye watering bang bang bang for hours on end) but the second you stop,its hotter than hades,you could go downstairs ,but of course its so pokey below and prob even hotter unless youve got the A/C blasting away.....Thrum Thrum Thrum ah the joys of sports boats eh.
At least in Uk they keep the rain off...Oops sorry forgot they leak like hell. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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