DrSpock
Active member
Anyone have any ownership experience of these - late 90s era? Have been looking at Superhawk 34s, Windy Khamsins etc and going to see one later in the week.
Princess V40
- Thread starter DrSpock
- Start date
BruceK
Well-known member
What engines
DrSpock
Active member
Twin Volvos on outdrives (Kad42s I think)
BruceK
Well-known member
Well I am reasonably familiar with them as I cruise in company with one regularly and with it's current owner we help each other out with maintenance and repairs side by side. I rather like it.
Built to a high standard in fit and finish with good access to most items. Failings I have found involved aluminium fresh water tanks susceptible to crevice corrosion and leaking as they sit above a wet bilge and gather condensation. I removed them, rewelded the holes and crevises closed (about 200!) and put a coating on the exterior to protect against condensation. Access to remove them involves stripping down the aft cabin bed and wall coverings. Tanks on the small side too at about 200 litre, as are the fuel tanks re range. Seawater loos and the thru-hull and sea cock is a little awkward to get to in the diner as it sits under the table. We had problems with the seacock failing shut as the shaft snapped as a consequence of the hassle getting to it. KAD's are slightly underpowered imo but will give a cruising speed of 22-24 knts, big bonus is the engine room is spacious and access is really good. I believe the shaft drives do provide better performance with bigger engines but have no experience on that. Cabin arrangement isn't palatial and imo a bit small given length of boat but the cockpit is large and works surprisingly well when it comes to entertaining guests with lots of storage space. Check veneer finishings on doors and panels for any moisture ingress. The boat planes well and level with hardly any noticeable bow rise and seems to cut through the water very well indeed and at displacement speeds tracks much straighter than mine which can be an effort to hand steer for any distance thanks to the wander. About the only real negative I can give on the boat apart from the engines being perhaps marginal is it's range. The current owner gets an estimated 160 nm out of his but fills every 120. When we cruise in company this is more my issue as we have much further range. It makes a difference for it costs us 2 days in delays when out doing the usual summer cruise and sometimes longer because a fuel stop will become an overnighter in most cases. When you have 10 or 15 days this accounts for a lot. Usual KAD 44 issues apply, ours mostly around throttle calibration and gear change. We once had the joy of changing a shift cable while in the water as the actuater pulled the cable out of the crimped end on the outdrive leaving the boat in gear, the wrong gear. It's a great boat, not sure about the size of tanks and larger engines though, but otherwise I'd probably look for the shaft driven models
Built to a high standard in fit and finish with good access to most items. Failings I have found involved aluminium fresh water tanks susceptible to crevice corrosion and leaking as they sit above a wet bilge and gather condensation. I removed them, rewelded the holes and crevises closed (about 200!) and put a coating on the exterior to protect against condensation. Access to remove them involves stripping down the aft cabin bed and wall coverings. Tanks on the small side too at about 200 litre, as are the fuel tanks re range. Seawater loos and the thru-hull and sea cock is a little awkward to get to in the diner as it sits under the table. We had problems with the seacock failing shut as the shaft snapped as a consequence of the hassle getting to it. KAD's are slightly underpowered imo but will give a cruising speed of 22-24 knts, big bonus is the engine room is spacious and access is really good. I believe the shaft drives do provide better performance with bigger engines but have no experience on that. Cabin arrangement isn't palatial and imo a bit small given length of boat but the cockpit is large and works surprisingly well when it comes to entertaining guests with lots of storage space. Check veneer finishings on doors and panels for any moisture ingress. The boat planes well and level with hardly any noticeable bow rise and seems to cut through the water very well indeed and at displacement speeds tracks much straighter than mine which can be an effort to hand steer for any distance thanks to the wander. About the only real negative I can give on the boat apart from the engines being perhaps marginal is it's range. The current owner gets an estimated 160 nm out of his but fills every 120. When we cruise in company this is more my issue as we have much further range. It makes a difference for it costs us 2 days in delays when out doing the usual summer cruise and sometimes longer because a fuel stop will become an overnighter in most cases. When you have 10 or 15 days this accounts for a lot. Usual KAD 44 issues apply, ours mostly around throttle calibration and gear change. We once had the joy of changing a shift cable while in the water as the actuater pulled the cable out of the crimped end on the outdrive leaving the boat in gear, the wrong gear. It's a great boat, not sure about the size of tanks and larger engines though, but otherwise I'd probably look for the shaft driven models
DrSpock
Active member
Thanks Bruce, always useful.
Shafts would be nice but considerably more expensive from what I've seen. Not into too much cruising - mostly coastal around the Solent with the odd trip to Dartmouth & the CI so range not too much of an issue.
Shafts would be nice but considerably more expensive from what I've seen. Not into too much cruising - mostly coastal around the Solent with the odd trip to Dartmouth & the CI so range not too much of an issue.
joae
Member
Great boat! Solid and well built. Mine has KAD44 EDC and I would go for the EDC controls instead of wires. Also look out for cracks in the clear coat on the doors inside as Bruce mentioned. Shaft drives may be more solid than outdrives but estimat additional 1 litre/NM for shafts.
