Princess V58 opinions

Nick_H

Nick_H

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www.ybw-boatsforsale.com
Up till now we've been confirmed flybridge devotees, but i'm starting to see some of the attraction of the sliding roof boats. No question you get more space on a flybridge, but it seems the sliding roof boats would be more sociable, safer for a toddler, less to go wrong with one set of instruments, and perhaps a bit less top heavy.

We viewed a couple of V58's at the weekend (we were shown round by Bernd Olesinki's son, nice chap), which I like because of the huge opening which makes it more like an open boat with automated covers, than a closed boat with car type sunroof. The fabric does need replacing every few years though. Having walked round them SWMBO was convinced, and to be honest i could really imagine poncing round the med in one of those.

So does anyone have one, heard any good or bad experiences, spotted any problems with them we might have missed, or just have an opinion on using that type of boat?

Also anyone interested in an immaculately maintained, fully loaded T46? I've got my 1,000 post stripes so I think i'm allowed to plug it here /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
The V58 is certainly very popular in the med. I know 4 run as charter boats from St Tropez and are very popular. Its certainly alot of boat for the money in comparison to others i.e. Pershing 56. The top end speed is not too bad either, i think 38knots? with the biggest option.The P58's white gelcoat is a massive bonus in the med!. I'm not dead keen on the saloon layout downstairs but that's personal opinion. Certainly looks a solid boat, don't think you'd go far wrong there.
 
FWIW and thats probably not a lot, IMHO a hardtop sports cruiser might make sense in the E Channel where you need the shelter but in the Med where you're planning to go I think, you might find the cockpit too hot. When we had our soft top Targa 48, we often found it uncomfortably hot in the cockpit because the screens and the bimini top stop any breeze getting in and I can only see it being worse with a hardtop boat. With a flybridge boat, the height and openess of the flybridge allows you to sit upstairs and catch any breeze thats going and you always have the option to sit in the cockpit when it gets cooler. Best of both worlds
The second issue is whether the cockpit of a hardtop boat has aircon because there will be times when you do want to cool off and you dont want to have to retreat to the poky dark saloon below just for that. A flybridge allows you to get cool (or warm up) in a bright airy saloon and watch the world go by at the same time
I can see that hardtop sportscruisers are arguably more stylish and I'm sure a V58 is a fabbo boat but a flybridge boat is a more practical and usable. All in IMHO of course
 
Thanks for the comments Mike, based in the UK you forget that it gets that hot! Most V58's i've looked at have air con to the cockpit as well so at the hottest times i guess we would have the option to close the roof, fit a fairly small rear screen, and crank up the chilly air, or just jump in the water of course.

I'm sure as a living on boat it wont be as comfortable as a flybridge, for an extra 12 feet in length we wouldn't get any real increase in accomodation over the current boat. However the benefits of a single level deck that adapts to the weather at the push of a button is a major attraction, as well as making it easier to keep an eye on the boy when he gets old enough to start exploring.
 
Definitely sportcruisers are better for keeping an eye on kids although a flybridge boat with internal steps is nearly as safe if you keep the patio doors closed
How reliable are the roof closing mechanisms? We saw one owner of a hardtop Sunseeker in Menorca recently getting very aeriated with his sliding canvas roof that had somehow managed to get stuck half open. V entertaining
 
Spare parts would'nt have helped in this particular case. One side had got stuck and the other side had kept moving until the roof was skewed across the opening. The entertainment was provided by the owner who attacked it with a hammer whilst shouting instructions to his poor wife at the top of his voice and liberally sprinkled with choice swear words
 
I think as long as you have air con in the cockpit it should'nt be a problem. I was on a hardtop sunseeker portofino 53 in the summer ( during the heatwave) and the cokpit on that was wonderful. It had had an upgraded air con system fitted.
In regards to sunseeker hardtop getting stuck, not sure if that was on the 53 but they have since redesigned the hardtop on the 53, to match the 47s.
 
Not sure what it was but could have been a 53. It was certainly around that size. Why did they redesign it?
 
I would imagine it did suffer from problems because it was quite a complex design. The original would slide back as far as the back sundeck, to act as a back bimini. The new design just seems to be back to the standard hardtop, opens and closes over forward cockpit. The new one also contains windows in the hardtop ( akin to 47). Could have been a change based on demand?.
 
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