Princess C class

A few bits of new information (to me, anyway) in this article from All At Sea:
  • The C48 can be specced with three engine options: 3x Mercury Verado 600 hp, 3x Mercury Verado 400 hp, or 2x VP D6 480 hp.
  • The new Princess F54 (also available with a hardtop option) will be replacing the Princess F50. The F54 will be launched at Düsseldorf 2027.
  • The all-new Princess X90 will be unveiled at Cannes 2026.
 
It does, they call it IPS 1350.
On an entirely different note: It looks like the newly announced Sunseeker Ocean 74 and Azimut Fly 82 will be powered by IPS 1200/1350. I’m curious if over time even larger yachts will be fitted with IPS. I also read that Azimut has an agreement to equip the Grande series with MTU engines paired with ZF pod drives, but I don’t know anything about that - and how different it is from IPS.
 
Be interesting to know what @henryf makes of the new C Class…?
Not one for me I’m afraid. Second boat was a FairlineTarga 35 but from then on we’ve had flybridge every time. Did try to convince myself to buy a V52 prior to the P50 Mk3 but it wouldn’t have worked for our use. I am not the target audience for a C class. As others seem to be saying there is a strong market but not me in the Solent.

As for the current Princess flybridge offering…..

The F55 is a fantastic boat. Huge volume and space, good accommodation, a lovely boat in the water and I think stylish in a classic non dating way. The downside is it has jumped in price a long way from when we bought ours. I wonder if that was to help bridge the gap to the new F58 which addresses a couple of minor gripes, crew cabin / storage access and the F58 gives you that bathroom behind the bed previously only available on a 70 footer. The dining table does take up real estate well used on an F55, storage, drinks fridge, ice maker and drinks glasses / bottles.

Moving those things into the saloon means you lose the F55’s cathedral like saloon. Given the proximity of the cockpit table how necessary is the dining table opposite the galley? The F55 flybridge loses a couple of seats on the flybridge as well with the relocation of the BBQ / sink.

The F54 hs carried on some of the F58 changes in a slightly smaller boat than the F55. I will be interested to see pricing on the F54 when it officially launches. Having a F54, F55 and F58 seems excessive, I assume the F55 will be dropped but it’s a very good boat so possibly Princess are just making sure before they pull the plug.

Oh, and I still think the X80 is a peach….

Henry 😎
 
On an entirely different note: It looks like the newly announced Sunseeker Ocean 74 and Azimut Fly 82 will be powered by IPS 1200/1350. I’m curious if over time even larger yachts will be fitted with IPS. I also read that Azimut has an agreement to equip the Grande series with MTU engines paired with ZF pod drives, but I don’t know anything about that - and how different it is from IPS.
Larger yachts already launched and others in the pipeline, there's quite a few D13 IPS crew transfer vessels operating on the North Sea including hybrids.
Sanlorenzo unveils SX120 | Sanlorenzo Yachts UK
 
Thanks Henry, yes I wasn’t thinking this was one for you personally, but wonder what you made of the model and perhaps Princess’ decision to jump into that space.
I know absolutely nothing about these type of boats but given the response on here there is clearly a market. Princess build a good boat, the fit & finish will be lovely inside and presumably they’ve crunched the numbers.

The UK dealer sells Pardo boats so they also see a future in that type of vessel for their European outlets. Clearly Princess aren’t going to ditch “my” sector of the market. Far from it, so I can’t see a problem.

Maybe having the C Class people will think Princess owners are cool when we rock up at the marina bar 😂
 
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Not one for me I’m afraid. Second boat was a FairlineTarga 35 but from then on we’ve had flybridge every time. Did try to convince myself to buy a V52 prior to the P50 Mk3 but it wouldn’t have worked for our use. I am not the target audience for a C class. As others seem to be saying there is a strong market but not me in the Solent.

As for the current Princess flybridge offering…..

The F55 is a fantastic boat. Huge volume and space, good accommodation, a lovely boat in the water and I think stylish in a classic non dating way. The downside is it has jumped in price a long way from when we bought ours. I wonder if that was to help bridge the gap to the new F58 which addresses a couple of minor gripes, crew cabin / storage access and the F58 gives you that bathroom behind the bed previously only available on a 70 footer. The dining table does take up real estate well used on an F55, storage, drinks fridge, ice maker and drinks glasses / bottles.

Moving those things into the saloon means you lose the F55’s cathedral like saloon. Given the proximity of the cockpit table how necessary is the dining table opposite the galley? The F55 flybridge loses a couple of seats on the flybridge as well with the relocation of the BBQ / sink.

The F54 hs carried on some of the F58 changes in a slightly smaller boat than the F55. I will be interested to see pricing on the F54 when it officially launches. Having a F54, F55 and F58 seems excessive, I assume the F55 will be dropped but it’s a very good boat so possibly Princess are just making sure before they pull the plug.

Oh, and I still think the X80 is a peach….

Henry 😎
X80? Should’ve gone to Specsavers…………
 
Oh, and I still think the X80 is a peach….
If by "still" you imply against all contrary evidence, well, that makes it an opinion, and as such respectable.
As the old saying goes, opinions are like something else that everybody has, and everybody thinks theirs smells nicer than all others... :p
 
There. Will come a time when you all see the light, until then trust me….. 😂😂😂

The X95 I will grant you is a challenge. I’ve seen few now and I’m yet to find an angle that doesn't upset me. But the X80….. purposeful lines hinting at an interior which caters for all eventualities and lifestyle choices. If the transom opened up to reveal a dual purpose beach club / crew mess then everyone else could stop making boats.

😎
 
There. Will come a time when you all see the light, until then trust me….. 😂😂😂

The X95 I will grant you is a challenge. I’ve seen few now and I’m yet to find an angle that doesn't upset me. But the X80….. purposeful lines hinting at an interior which caters for all eventualities and lifestyle choices. If the transom opened up to reveal a dual purpose beach club / crew mess then everyone else could stop making boats.

😎
LOL

Then Princess should stop making the X80, because some already do that... On also on sportier style boats and smaller sizes.

Always late to the Party....
 
LOL

Then Princess should stop making the X80, because some already do that... On also on sportier style boats and smaller sizes.

Always late to the Party....
I have to agree…people like Beneteau are probably on their third iteration of this design…which means they have feedback from the fleet and know what works. Princess start from scratch and the first owner is the tester
 
So...is Princess going to start making even bigger day boats if this is a success ?
My idea would be to do what Princess do best....making cruising boats. I think they should introduce a new sub forty footer as their entry level. Of course there might not be much profit per hull at that size...but it’s entry level and will hook customers into the Princess ecosystem....and hopefully they will continue with Princess as their needs and bank balances grow. So the profit might not come for a while but is an investment in the future
 
I also think Axopar hit the nail on the head....a boat that does the business on the water...and has the wow factor in port...I think the average person walking past wouldn’t realize that Axopar is at a different price point from its more prestigious neighbors
 
So...is Princess going to start making even bigger day boats if this is a success ?
My idea would be to do what Princess do best....making cruising boats. I think they should introduce a new sub forty footer as their entry level. Of course there might not be much profit per hull at that size...but it’s entry level and will hook customers into the Princess ecosystem....and hopefully they will continue with Princess as their needs and bank balances grow. So the profit might not come for a while but is an investment in the future
Don’t disagree with any of that, but… they’re discontinued the V40, and yet apparently they’ve got a 32m in the pipeline, above 24m LLL. Which I very much doubt will be able to compete with the established players in that market. Probably will be a disaster financially.
 
So...is Princess going to start making even bigger day boats if this is a success ?
My idea would be to do what Princess do best....making cruising boats. I think they should introduce a new sub forty footer as their entry level. Of course there might not be much profit per hull at that size...but it’s entry level and will hook customers into the Princess ecosystem....and hopefully they will continue with Princess as their needs and bank balances grow. So the profit might not come for a while but is an investment in the future
It's too early to know, if this will be a success or not. The first in Open deck and with outboards will arrive in Fort Lauderdale 2026, followed by the enclosed with inboard stern-drives in Dusseldorf 2027,
I am sure they have scheduled a minimum production of say ten units.

The real problem Princess has with the C class, for a boat which is very USA market centred, is that its US Distributor Viking, has the Valhalia which offers a near identical product which is also faster (70 mph versus 60). But also more expensive.
Valhalia 46 starts from 1.8 million US$.
I heard that the C48 will start from 800k EUROS, probably the D6 480 version.

I can see the C48 enclosed version having success in Europe, mostly Northern Europe to be fair, and probably also in the North American market / Canadian market.
She is a bit unique as an offer on the enclosed version is, with the new Viking 55 Sport Yacht offering similar features. Bigger and also much costlier.
It will be interesting if Viking will offer a 46 SY, someone told me it is in the works.
For the Open version probably it might be harder, considering the very competitive nature of the market.

Projects: Princess C48, Princess C48 Open
 
Don’t disagree with any of that, but… they’re discontinued the V40, and yet apparently they’ve got a 32m in the pipeline, above 24m LLL. Which I very much doubt will be able to compete with the established players in that market. Probably will be a disaster financially.
Yes, they want an entry level for someone who eventually moves up to a mini superyacht….rather than an entry level for someone who aspires to a mid size boat
 
Unlikely I'll ever be able to buy a new Princess so its all a bit academic from a personal point of view, but I'd be very happy to upgrade from my 460 to say an F54 in a few years time. Don't think anyone would call that a mini superyacht though.
Princess are definitely on my list of who to visit when my lottery numbers come up
 
Princess are definitely on my list of who to visit when my lottery numbers come up
I thought one of the stars of this years Cannes show (based on video reviews!) was actually the new Beneteau Swift Trawler 37 Fly. Base price at EUR 315k (ex. VAT) and it seems to me that there's a significant step up in interior quality with this model. I really look forward to seeing one in person once they make their way here.
 
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