Princess X80. Have they just won motor boats?

TonyR123 said:
like all threads they go off topic! Back to the X80. I can see why people might like it and as this thread has shown we all want different things from boating. I kind of want to like the X80 due to being different, as I also wanted to like the Prestige x70. But ultimately I don't really like either. x80 being enclosed on the fly is a def no no for the med. Although I guess at this size then most people have crew so you then dont care and the space comes into play.
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It’s an interesting point and up to now you have had the best of both worlds with a flybridge. I like the feeling of being in control and organised when using the lower helm, I like the added spatial awareness from the flybridge.

Sadly Princess weren’t offering weekend test drives - I know, even for an upstanding member of the boating community such as my good self :)

So whilst I can’t be sure for me it would probably be a win / win with my professional helm AND great awareness but having never been there I don’t know. Deep down I probably see myself as a proper ship captain :)
 
MapisM said:
I'm with you on this one.
Strictly in terms of design, comparing the X80 with a Skoda Yeti is beyond a joke, and Porto should apologize to all Skoda Yeti owners.
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Oh Thx P I can see what I’ve done .
Therefore I unreservably apologise to all Yetyi owners for mentioning such a fine car in the same sentence of the PYx 80 .

Fixed that .
 
hinch said:
Being Italian I can fully confirm their styling is terrible, their sense of taste is terrible for decoration etc and their workmanship is shoddy.
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Shouldn't that be "...our styling, our sense of taste..., our workmanship..."?
We real Italians can smell a rat at some distance, you know. :unsure:
 
henryf said:
It’s an interesting point and up to now you have had the best of both worlds with a flybridge. I like the feeling of being in control and organised when using the lower helm, I like the added spatial awareness from the flybridge.

Sadly Princess weren’t offering weekend test drives - I know, even for an upstanding member of the boating community such as my good self :)

So whilst I can’t be sure for me it would probably be a win / win with my professional helm AND great awareness but having never been there I don’t know. Deep down I probably see myself as a proper ship captain :)
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I actually quite like this (Skylounge) concept - even for the Med
MCY Skylounge Collection | Monte Carlo Yachts | Luxury yachts
On hot days, it would be air conditioned and a nice patio on top for fresh air.
And the flybridge could be easily kept clean.
And there would be no need for a lower deck helm position thus giving more space on the main deck.
It is a bit American but, for me, there is a lot going for this concept.
 
Out of interest , if you have the latest "must have" side garage for the tender and toys, how do you access it in a jammed in stern to med mooring, (for maintenance / cleaning etc ) ?
 
MapisM said:
Shouldn't that be "...our styling, our sense of taste..., our workmanship..."?
We real Italians can smell a rat at some distance, you know. :unsure:
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no i try to distance myself from the poor quality, even from my own family managed 15 years so far without needing to go back
 
This tread is making so much noise that I had a brief look ?
I’m surprised that it brought up the Sanlorenzo brand several times, while it used tobe a fairly unknown brand on here,
Some here know that I have a soft spot for them, and a few weeks ago I was nearly convinced to buy one,
In my eyes those boats have beautiful and timeless lines, and I have lots of passion for that,
and that’s a big deal in my boating experience! I used to call them “Character boats”.
And in case there is any doubt, I feel ZERO passion for the X80, rather the opposite !
While I liked the styling of the older generation of Princess Flybridges
But hey who cares, discussions on taste don't make any sense.
 
andy59 said:
Out of interest , if you have the latest "must have" side garage for the tender and toys, how do you access it in a jammed in stern to med mooring, (for maintenance / cleaning etc ) ?
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Never let practicality get in the way of “great” design.

We must be the boring people on the planet actually using the damn things……

We’re out of the water early March for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to giving the old girl her annual ceramic coating again.
 
Hurricane said:
I actually quite like this (Skylounge) concept - even for the Med
MCY Skylounge Collection | Monte Carlo Yachts | Luxury yachts
On hot days, it would be air conditioned and a nice patio on top for fresh air.
And the flybridge could be easily kept clean.
And there would be no need for a lower deck helm position thus giving more space on the main deck.
It is a bit American but, for me, there is a lot going for this concept.
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Usually when done it looks a bit Heath Robinson often with soft covers. In this case the 3 spaces work really well together and you can easily imagine yourself enjoying either of them. Having the calm to hear the VHF and a great view of the electronics thanks to the forward raked screen would make for well organised passage making. The visibility was good as well and you could see the bow clearly which you can’t on the X95.

You would spend all your time admiring the internal staircase :)
 
[QUOTE="henryf, post: 7899750, member: 25831"
You would spend all your time admiring the internal staircase :)
[/QUOTE]
:)
But, I love the idea/concept.
Perhaps you could get Princess to think along the same lines???
Not the internal stairs (I have one of those) - the Skylounge, I mean.
 
andy59 said:
Out of interest , if you have the latest "must have" side garage for the tender and toys, how do you access it in a jammed in stern to med mooring, (for maintenance / cleaning etc ) ?
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There will be an internal access door to a crew cabin or ERoom or something .

go to 4:0
@ H if you really like design view the whole vid .
Picks up on the usage or potential usage of the spaces .As I said Prinys x 80 is nothing new really .Infact it feels like they are following design a bit behind .
Considering the SX range of SL is well established now .

Importantly the vid goes on to talk about how the spaces will be used .It does major on the outside space Med theme .I d say they know the market what people want how they use the boat .
Youngish Co started in 2010 .
As I mentioned earlier the solar thing , the design of the glass where are PY with this currently ? Just seems a lost opportunity .


 
Hurricane said:
[QUOTE="henryf, post: 7899750, member: 25831"
You would spend all your time admiring the internal staircase :)
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:)
But, I love the idea/concept.
Perhaps you could get Princess to think along the same lines???
Not the internal stairs (I have one of those) - the Skylounge, I mean.
[/QUOTE]
I suspect the X class will work its way down the line, not sure how far though. It makes for interesting layouts if you don’g need a lower helm position. The Elling range don’t have them but they are more limited in terms of internal volume.
 
petem said:
Mike, I think you're in the minority though. Go to a typical med marina this time of year and there will be nobody on board any of the boats. Take Cala D'Or for example, it's like a ghost town out of season. I fully accept that San Carles has a bit of an expat community with a few liveaboards which makes is a little unusual for the Med.

Where we are, for the peak months people come to stay on their villas and boats. They have all of their meals outside and spend little time indoors. Also, If you take a typical anchorage, everyone is outside having fun. I rarely see anyone spending any significant time indoors.

As for sports boats versus flybridges, of course I accept there's an element of camping on our boat. But smaller boats have advantages too. Keeping our boat clean and well maintained isn't expensive or onerous and preparing it for sea is a 10 minute job. We're therefore we're far more likely to go out for the day than we would if we owned a big boat.

I remember that wise soul @MapisM once saying that people should look for the smallest boat that will meet their needs, not the largest.

I know that JFM (one of the few people I know who could afford one) has a vey dim view on these X series type boats. He's said before that optimising outside space is more important than maximising indoor space for him.

I fully accept that I'm making generalisations and it's all "horses for courses". Everyone has different budgets and priorities.
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I would side sort of with Hurricane here.

I spend considerable time on the boat. Outside is important of course. However even in the summer we use the saloon a lot. It is air con and that is important when it is 35 degrees.

we are living on it for months on end so you need both.

I will also head down in a few weeks ( to dead cala dor) and whilst the days are sunny the evenings are not and we are inside with the heating on.

it depends on what you want. A day boat. Yes it is all about outside. Home from home both in and out matter.
 
hinch said:
no i try to distance myself from the poor quality, even from my own family managed 15 years so far without needing to go back
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See? I knew you weren't a true Italian.
Not that you should worry, mind. Nobody's perfect! :)
 
jrudge said:
I would side sort of with Hurricane here.
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I see your point J, and as you know I'm also in the "home from home" camp, with an average of 6+ months/year spent living aboard since 2009. Then again, overall I would rather side with petem instead, when he said that Hurricane is in the minority - also after adding your and my boating habits to his.

In fact, aside from knowing exactly by now (I could almost list them all by name!) how many folks use their boats for living aboard in my home port and in Cagliari, having spent many months off-season in both, during my last boat search I travelled extensively in winter around most marinas of mainland Italy (which are plenty!), and also elsewhere in the Med (Portugal, Spain, SoF).
And yes, here and there I saw some boats with people who seemed to live aboard, but they are definitely exceptions, rather than the norm.

OTOH, this doesn't imply that open/day boats are the overwhelming majority, anywhere in the Med.
"Normal" flybridge boats like Hurricane's, yours and mine (and as you know I could name many others) are very popular, and for good reasons.
What I'm extremely skeptic about is that, for any given length, it can make sense to trade their seakeeping and good look for even larger internal spaces.
And I'm saying even larger because it's not like the interiors in our "normal" boats are bad - quite the opposite, in fact.

Then again, as I'm told, for many Chinese new millionaires boats are only meant as platforms for sex, drug and rock & roll parties.
So, if the floating caravan this thread is about suits them, who am I to argue?
After all, boatbuilders are in their business for making money, first and foremost.
If gross boats sell, we can neither blame their designers nor their builders, I reckon.
 
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