Princess 435

[TheBishop]

A friend of mine is looking to buy one of these ( 1990 build ) for river ( ie Upper and Lower Thames ) and occasional offshore work.

Comments/views?? Right type of boat for this usage ( planing??) and any points of note on this model?

The Bishop

 

[asteven221]

To the best of my knowkedge and knowing people with them, the 435 is very good boat without any negative's assuming the boat is okay conditionwise. It's easily capable of offshore passages (within reason) like Channel Isles trips and mainland Europe. If it's kept in fresh water I believe blistering is more likely and will need checked, but the surveyor would do all that anyway. I think it's an Olesisnki designed boat which is a n excellent pedigree. All in all I don't really think it's a boat that you can go wrong with.

 

[BGW]

A friend of mine is looking to buy one of these ( 1990 build ) for river ( ie Upper and Lower Thames ) and occasional offshore work.

Comments/views?? Right type of boat for this usage ( planing??) and any points of note on this model?

The Bishop

It's quite a tall boat, so heights of bridges would need to be taken into account, and if there are speed limits, it may be a pain trying to comply with big engines - even on tick-over. Also long hours at tick-over is not very good for the engines.

Perhaps someone who has (or had) one could post the minimum speed.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

A friend of mine is looking to buy one of these ( 1990 build ) for river ( ie Upper and Lower Thames ) and occasional offshore work.

Comments/views?? Right type of boat for this usage ( planing??) and any points of note on this model?

The Bishop

I had a 435 in the early 90's and it still is one of my favourite boats. As already mentioned, it is an Olesinski hull and I believe he rates it as one of his best. It was one of the first Princess hulls to have what they called a 'bustle' at the back of the hull which extended the waterline length by 2-3ft which aided planing and seakeeping. It has a huge amount of space inside although the Princess teak finish of that era was fairly basic. We found the flat saloon seating in our boat to be uncomfortable so we had it re-upholstered. The aft cabin is of course palatial in size. It's an excellent sea boat that will plough through most anything the sea can throw at it.
Like any planing boat it's not ideal for river work. I seem to remember mine did about 5 kts at idle speed so some cruising might have to be done on one engine. My particular boat had a fold down radar arch which I would think is essential for upper Thames cruising. I don't think mine was done by Princess so it should be possible to find a yard to modify a standard arch. Normally I say that the best engines for the 435 were the larger TAMD 71/72 series because the standard 61A engines struggle to push the boat to 24-25kts but if your pal is doing mostly river work, I think the 61A engines are better for him.
Any 20yr old boat is a potential lemon so the usual caveats apply about having the hull and equipment surveyed and the engines inspected. The only major issue I had on mine were severely corroded engine mounting bolts which, in my case, resulted in one engine falling off it's mountings in the middle of the E Channel. Volvo did introduce much larger bolts as a result of this so it's worth checking if they have been retrofitted. Apart from that, check the davit mounting pads as the ones on my boat needed re-glassing. Another Princess issue of that time was corrosion of the aluminium window frames leading to leaks; white powder at the base of the frame is a giveaway. This is an expensive fix

 

[neale]

A friend of mine is looking to buy one of these ( 1990 build ) for river ( ie Upper and Lower Thames ) and occasional offshore work.

Comments/views?? Right type of boat for this usage ( planing??) and any points of note on this model?

The Bishop

Stick this on the Thames forum. Byron, a frequenter of said forum, used to have one of these on the Thames.

Personally I think they are great boats.

 

[PlanB]

We have had a 1991 model, with TAMD71B (380hp) engines, since 2002. It's the dinette version, which gives an enormous amount of space for living aboard. The aft cabin makes it especially roomy. Although they are of their day, the interior finishes, particularly the wood, are of good quality and the whole thing is very solidly built.
We sailed it from London to the Med ourselves (Biscay route) and apart from the "normal" problems you might encounter with a 20 year old, have not had major problems. On economy grounds we cruise at 12-15 knots but on the Thames/Medway found speed limits a bit difficult. We don't have a bow thruster, but I find it handles well at slow speed.
It's a superb sea boat (our trip down featured in MBM in 2006) - another post here has been a bit more technical about this.
We haven't seen another boat which we would prefer to have. If you have any specific queries, feel free to PM me.

 

[TheBishop]

Princess 435 - Oxford

Thanks for the input so far. Anyone taken on of these up the Thames to Abingdon?

The Bishop

 

[neale]

Thanks for the input so far. Anyone taken on of these up the Thames to Abingdon?

The Bishop

See my earlier post. Get yourself on the Thames forum and speak to Byron!!!

 

[oceanfroggie]

There's a few very nice 435s on the Shannon, based on Loughs Ree and Derg, but they can't handle the upper shannon due to the low bridges. Neither can they get out to sea via Limerick as their airdraft is too high for Killaloe bridge and the 102ft lock at the hydro dam. Very nice boats but wonder about airdraft on the upper Thames.

 

[volvopaul]

Dont get me started on there ive always wanted one but as time has gone by they seem a little dated now, but a fantastic boat all round.

As mike says the engine side will now be showing a lot of wear and tear, the 306hp engines are not up to todays wants of high speed cruise, however are better for slower cruising than the 357 and 380 engines.

As they are tucked back in the engine space the gearbox area tends to get overlooked so get a good survey.

I have replaced all mounts on 2 boats now, its not a cheap job, ive seen them as mike says literally hanging on the shafts! not good, and you dont know till its too late.

Survey a must, the generators also were a standard fit but by now unless nursed to death will be ready for replacement.

The sea keeping is better than some aft cabs of today, a mark which was made earlier with the first 45, the 435 is nearly as good.