Princess 45

[Renegade_Master]

the panels opinion sought on this model please, Mr D'Arcy maybe.
year 1990 375 Cats.

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[Dave1258]

You may struggle here Clive, I asked the panels opinion on a P38 merc deisels on shafts, a week or so ago and got a zilch response!

Mebbees not enough Princess owners hereabouts mate...

<hr width=100% size=1> A man should have two things in life, a boat and a wife willing to let him have one.

 

[oldgit]

Re: Ooooo finally on the road to Damascus.Clive.

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gifPrincess.you know it makes sense.Yippee

<hr width=100% size=1>If it aint broke fix it till it is.

 

[ari]

Re: Ooooo finally on the road to Damascus.Clive.

The old P45 a bit of a classic IMO. Superb sea boat and good accomodation/layout. Prefer the dinette layout unless you really need three cabins. Cat 3208TA's well regarded I believe and should provide solid performance. Princess quality should ensure good residuals/resale too.

I'd say go for it!

Ari.

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[oldgit]

Rerogical son.

All you have to get rid of now is that Honda and head on down to your local Porche/BMW/Audi Dealer and be able to hold your head up in polite society once more./forums/images/icons/laugh.gif/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>If it aint broke fix it till it is.

 

[RIN]

Have you tried posting on the Princess Owners site?
http://www.princessownersclub.com/


Richard

<hr width=100% size=1>No! No! - I mean the other Starboard

 

[Renegade_Master]

Dont wanna join the owners club when I'm not an owner just to ask one question. Perhaps some kind forum person who already belongs could ask the question. Cue Oldgit?

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[miket]

Friend owns one and well pleased. He has the larger (not 306hp) VP engines.
Speaks very highly of sea keeping.
For a late 80's boat it does not seem to me to be waring very well. He is always re attaching bits of vynil and other sundry bits that have fallen off.

Another friend has similar aged F Phantom 38 which seems much better screwed together. May be it has just had an easier life.

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[kimhollamby]

Princess 45 is a classic, and quite clever for its time. To get around the problem of wanting more interior space at sitting and above height versus keeping wetted area (and hence drag) down the boat had quite a clever hull form with relatively narrow beam at waterline and a flare to generate the width.

Couple that to the CAT 375s (the nicest version of the 3208s in my opnion) and you have the potential for a very nice boat. If I was in the market for that size that boat/engine combo would be high on my shortlist

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[adarcy]

Re: Unbiased as I am......

I think they're brilliant.

Clive

BTW you may remember we have a 1988 with 375 CATs and dinette so I am totally unbiased as I have declared an interest.

I always fancied one after reading the first test on one in MBY in er 84 or 86. Subsequent opinions said it was the first of the sucessful modern hull designs and remained a benchmark for a long time. Olesinski (all bow now) said in a recent article in MBY that it was one of his favourites and he still used it as one of his models when designing new hulls.

Lovely sea boat, good visibility and an interior driving position you can use - unlike a P415 where I could not get my knees to fit in. Lots of seating room but consequently less storage space than newer designs. One possible prob for you is that the saloon seating is not that comfortable for lounging as the seatbacks "go under" the curtain gutters so you need a cushion to stop banging the back of your head or keep your neck craned forward.

We chose a dinette as we usually only have 3 aboard and it gives much more space and a table near the galley even if one eats upstairs - and one has a choice. But if you have people aboard sleeping on the dinette with the curtain around, the only storage they have is under their bed. Mind you most will have a pull-out double in the saloon ours has aircon under there instead. Officially they sleep 9 - 2 in each cabin, 2 on dinette and 2+1 in the saloon. We have had 8 and had to put all the bags etc out in the cockpit under the camper hood.

Our CATs have done > 1500 hrs and touch wood were OK yesterday but then we pay through the nose to get them serviced officially each year. With ropecutters, bow thruster and genny large enough to run the 3 A/C units we get 28-29 kt flat out and cruises beautifully at 23-25. Oh yes, we have found that it goes fster/more economically with a touch of trim tab down.

Anything else you wanted to know?

Anthony

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[Renegade_Master]

Re: Unbiased as I am......

Anthony of course I remember you've got one, I mentioned your name didnt I.


Also I was dining the other night with Rob Dunning, who spoke highly of your boat and yourgoodself. Thanks for the good advice from you and Kim and all the others, you guys have confirmed my suspicions.
Twould make young Fred happy if I bought a Princess too.



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[adarcy]

Re: Decisions decisions

Ah the problems of having to choose multiple boats with their respective advantages - it must be a hard life, quite unlike us who only have to choose one to do everything!

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[robind]

no need to join the Princess owners club to ask questions, just register . they are a helpfull friendly lot. currently discussing smokey Volvos and how to cure them.
Regards
Rob

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[adarcy]

Re: I forgot.......

You really need a double-jointed dwarf gorilla as a mechanic!
to work on the outsides of the engines eg port raw water impeller. It seems it's easier to take the pump off rather than try and get the impeller out in situ.

Later models MIGHT be better as I believe ours was initially bought by Caterpillar themselves and was the first/trial for fitting 3208s. So it's always possible they learnt something and arranged later ones better, then again........

(Ex Lotus mechanics ideal - have experience of an old Elan Sprint)

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