Princess 45 Flybridge

[Sundays_Child]

I've been offered a 4 year old one of these.

Does anyone have any comments/advice, good or bad, on her seakeeping and general quality?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

good quality
very spacious flybridge
third cabin (with bunk beds), salon and cockpit is not the most spacious around

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Any Princess will be a good sea boat so no worries there. Yes the 3rd cabin is a squeeze but fine for kids and better than having no 3rd cabin at all. Quality will be on a par with other mainstream Brit builders which means good but not brilliant. Princess styling is a bit conservative so maybe you won't like it if you're a flash git

 

[Sundays_Child]

Thanks.

With the kids being small, compact cabins are fine. Also like conservative styling.

 

[Nickcf]

Great sea vessel with superb handling, and top quality construction. If the covers are the originals they will be looking pretty shabby and will cost £2k to replace.

Check the autopilot and pump carefully (should be very quiet with no grinding noise from the pump!)as the pump can fail due to vibration and can also take the autopilot computer with it! The computer can be repaired with £10 of parts (pump is £250) if you know how, but otherwise a £1500 bill at least.

With V-P 74P engines, good for over 32 knots and effortless cruising at 22 knots (2000rpm). Pretty good access to the engines as you don't need to remove the floor for servicing. That is except for the starboard impeller- which is a pig....

Nick

 

[Sundays_Child]

Thanks again.

This has got CAT 3126s... have heard very mixed opinions on these.

 

[Nick_H]

The guy berthed next to me had one the last 3 years and was singing its praises. He used it in Denmark, frequently in choppy seas, and reckoned the handling and build quality was great.

Personally I like the Azi 46 more cos it has a better saloon, but i don't think you'll go far wrong with the Princess at the right price.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

For good reason. Some of these engines suffered some valve related problems which Caterpillar fixed under warranty even though the engines were often outside the warranty period. However, this goodwill would not last for ever so it would be wise to delve into the history of the engines in your P45. It might be worth speaking to Cat themselves with the engine nos to see if they have a record of any warranty repairs
I once bought a Fairline Targa 48 with these same engines and I was pleased that both engines had already been repaired by Cat for this very problem. Otherwise they're good engines, smooth and powerful. Another thing to check are the exhaust manifolds. One of mine cracked and I understand this is not uncommom on these engines
I'm surprised that the P45 has Cats as I thought pretty much all had Volvos

 

[Sundays_Child]

All good advice. Much appreciated.

Volvos don't seem too popular in these parts. One big dealer (not for Princess) basically laughed at me when I asked if they had Volvos as an option.

 

[Sundays_Child]

I should add, that my take on the dealer laughing was more to do with servicing options here than powerplant quality.

 

[bvickers]

We have a five year old P45 which we have owned from new; the build quality is great and we have had very few problems with her, seakeeping is very good and I have never felt concerned or unsafe having been caught out in some rough stuff a couple of times. Styling is completely subjective; some say the styling is conservative others think it's 'timeless' I would recommend the P45 ; a thoroughly good boat.