Princess V42 HardTop (Mark3 2007 and up) opinions...

[Nick1150]

Hi to all,

As a happy 2005 Cranchi 41 Endurance owner, I am looking for opinions to upgrade to the above boat...

Opinions welcomed

Thanks

 

[Portofino]

It’s not much of a step .
My opinion =
Consider a 4 m + beam on shafts and rid yourself of VP outdrive hassle(s) , perceived , potential and very real in aged boats .Avoid aged IPS .
New fill your boots wrapped in the comfort blankets of warranties .But this is 15 y old ish .

 

[marcochi76]

as owner of a V39, and considering that the V42 is a little bigger and heavier,
I am as well not convinced this is a big upgrade.
Yes, certainly you are gaining huge interior volume compared to the 41 Endurance.
But you are also loosing something in terms of seakeeping.
Also the V42 is on the upper weight limit for those fragile DPH legs.
But certainly, it is a wonderful boat and the layout is super well thought.

 

[marcochi76]

We have to admit that in terms of volume and usable space, it is a real step up compared to the Endurance 41:

 

[volvopaul]

Hi to all,

As a happy 2005 Cranchi 41 Endurance owner, I am looking for opinions to upgrade to the above boat...

Opinions welcomed

Thanks

Would you consider a V45 with manu extras uk based ? One of my clients is selling .

 

[Nick1150]

Let me explain.....

Berth limits my preferences, so it is max 44 feet, with stern drives (unfortunately shafts is not an option, long story....)

There is no perfect boat, as we all know, but Cranchi 41 Endurance is almost perfect for me, except a) interior cabin layout which was fine till kids grew up, and now we need to have separate space for friends and 2nd bathroom, b) small tender... V42 can fit a williams 285!, c) very very important water capacity which is 200 lts and V42 has almost double, and d) which is not an con/prο but a preference, hardtop is very appealing to me

With that said, I would appreciate opinions from owners or ex-owners to learn more.

This move is due to Nov-Dec 2023, so I have time for this...

Thanks

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

You have a boat with DPH so basically what you do atm, but careful by two for the stern drive maintenance especially the steering rams who Volvo never really resolved although they did improve it.

 

[marcochi76]

As a super happy V39 owner, I would say go for it.
I think every detail of this boat is simply perfect.
And the V42 is just more, (60cm longer, 10cm larger) with the tender garage and the 2nd bathroom.
We all know about the DPH legs...but as you said, we have no alternatives.
But be careful about the weight of the boat.
My V39 is specified at 9.100kg, the V42 at 12.000kg.

 

[Nick1150]

Yeap!!! As said, there is no perfect boat....

 

[matt8442]

We made the move from a 2007 Targa 40 to a 2011 v42 last year, as I kept popping my shoulder out of joint fighting with the canopies. The idea of an electric roof was tempting us, so we looked at the V45, V40 and V39 but then we went onboard the V42 and saw you could still get two cabins and two toilets and two showers. The roof aperture is huge, and on such a thing as a sunny day you get plenty of light. We brought the boat in September and absolutely love it, looks pretty, handles well and albeit the rubbish weather have still managed to get out many times along the south coast. We’ve had a seakeeper fitted, which was worth the extra weight and have fitted a minijet 280 into the tender garage. Engine room access is great, but with the tender floor in, it’s a squeeze to check the Stbd engine oil level, but you can make it work.
A few things that we noticed through ownership were that I struggled using the joystick that was fitted as she’s on outdrives so doesn’t handle as responsively as IPS boats, sometimes I’d found the joystick would over cook the manouvere, so now don’t use it and prefer the thrusters and engines.
Other thing I had to do was fit a step up by the helm, I’m 5ft 7 so when looking out of the open roof, all I could see was the fibreglass window frame, now with my jimmy krankie step I can feel the wind in my hair and see where I’m going.
One final thing is the roof, on extremely wet and windy days the roof could blow up slightly allowing rain into the cockpit, not much, but enough to make you curse. To combat this we had an external cover made by one of our local companies, now if rain and wind forecast I’ll go down and fit it, and no more wet cockpit.
Overall we love the boat and for the UK it’s great, as for people commenting on the outdrives, being in poole harbour I can get places I couldn’t on a shaft or IPS boat by raising the drives, so that’s a plus one for us. If you have any other questions feel free to Pm me.

 

[Nick1150]

Thanks Captain Matt

That was what I was looking for!

Great to hear you are happy. We, Greeks, live onboard for weeks during our August vacations (I am onboard now) and we do island hopping in the Greek seas, so it is very important for a boat to check our boxes. A weekender may pass few requirements but when you are 3-4 weeks onboard you need all to be perfect.

Thanks again.

 

[EricJ]

One final thing is the roof, on extremely wet and windy days the roof could blow up slightly allowing rain into the cockpit, not much, but enough to make you curse. To combat this we had an external cover made by one of our local companies, now if rain and wind forecast I’ll go down and fit it, and no more wet cockpit.
Overall we love the boat and for the UK it’s great, as for people commenting on the outdrives, being in poole harbour I can get places I couldn’t on a shaft or IPS boat by raising the drives, so that’s a plus one for us. If you have any other questions feel free to Pm me.

Very interesting user experience. Does the V42 have the same mechanism for the canvas roof as the V39/V40 with the wires that come loose? This was mentioned in one of James Brake’s videos as an unresolved issue with these boats.

 

[matt8442]

Yes I believe its the same mechanism, but the issue we found was not that the wires were loose, it was just that there is a certain amount of give in the canvas roof, not normally an issue, however add wind and rain and the canopy can lift up a few cms, which is enough to then blow the rain in. Our neighbour had a V39 and when we first met he had a towel covering the helm to absorb any water that did make it in. Since we fitted the outer cover we've never had an issue and it only takes five minutes to fit, so its not the end of the world for us. Regards the mechanism though, we keep it clean, keep the rain channels clear and keep the wires greased with silicone grease, so hopefully shouldn't have any issues with that in the future.