The new Prestige 680…. strong competition for the Princess 68!

MAFWeiss

MAFWeiss

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 Feb 2013
Messages
203
Location
London / Marina d'Arechi, Salerno
Visit site
This French website has just been the first to publish as a 'scoop' images and details of the latest boat in the Prestige range.

http://www.actunautique.com/2015/04/scoop-premiers-visuels-du-nouveau-yacht-prestige-680.html

With an overall length of some 70 feet, the 680 combines some of the best features of the 550 with the innovations found in the larger 750. The amount of space on the boat, and its use, is amazing and it is first of its size to place the owner's cabin in the bow. I have been privileged to have been party to the development of this new design since September 2013, and I have been flattered that the factory has taken some of my suggestions on board during the development and build. Having seen it twice in the factory during construction, Hull 1 took to the water to begin its sea trials last week, and I have now just been invited to try the boat out for myself early next month. Subject to the usual bartering, hopefully my wife and I will take possession of the successor to our current and much loved 550, Gentileschi, in the Spring of 2016. Leaving aside the relative pros and cons of design, construction, fittings, etc between the very impressive Princess 68, and the new 680, a significant advantage that Prestige has over the British boat is the current weakness of the euro which will amplify even more the price differential between what are now undoubtedly the two main contenders for this size yacht. Princess will definitely have stiff competition!
 
Last edited:
MAFWeiss said:
it is first of its size to place the owner's cabin in the bow
Click to expand...

Why would you want the owners cabin in the bow? One of the reasons everyone else has it amidships is because you get less wave noise slapping on the hull at anchor.

It is obviously heavily influenced by the P68, but for me it misses the second sofa in the saloon, the flybridge table only has seating on two sides, the cockpit seating doesn't wrap around, and the bow seating is more exposed. The P68 is just a bit more sociable all round in my opinion.

I'm not such a fan of sunpads next to the helmsman (though I know many are) as it usually compromises bimini cover for him/her, and also usually means more wind buffeting because the wind deflector is further away. The sliding cockpit shade is a neat idea, but I imagine you're left with the two vertical supports in the way which seems too big a price to pay, and I hope the near vertical flybridge ladder is just an illusion of the renderings.

Don't get me wrong though, it's a lovely boat, and all the above points are minor issues and down to personal choice anyway.

You'd obviously need to compare prices and specs closely, but by historical standards the euro is not weak at 1.36 to the pound, it's reasonably strong.

I think Azimut, Ferretti, Sunseeker, Fairline, Monte Carlo Yachts et al may have something to say about the P68 and Prestige 680 being "undoubtedly the main contenders at this size"! :D
 
Last edited:
Dear Nick, my reply is as follows:

Why would you want the owners cabin in the bow? One of the reasons everyone else has it amidships is because you get less wave noise slapping on the hull at anchor.
We have yet to anchor overnight in anywhere other than a marina, so wave slapping is so far not an issue for us. However in the heat of a summer's afternoon on the Med, with the owner's cabin amidships, we find that the noise of the generator running the aircon too intrusive to sleep in our own cabin, so if we are alone on the boat we would retreat to the VIP in the bow, and I do not recall being put off by the sound of the waves on those occasions. So as far as I am concerned having my cabin in the bow and being able to sleep with the generator running is a major plus.

It is obviously heavily influenced by the P68, but for me it misses the second sofa in the saloon,
I disagree with you here, I think it is actually Princess that have been influenced by Prestige with the gallery aft and the owner's cabin with separate entrance amidships. As for the second sofa, its loss is not a big thing for us, and more than adequately made up by the banquette seating opposite the galley.

the flybridge table only has seating on two sides,
we have that on the 550 and if we need extra seating I use some very comfortable folding directors chairs that we also use on the cockpit.

the cockpit seating doesn't wrap around,
See my previous reply

and the bow seating is more exposed.
The bow has had to accommodate the height need for the owner's cabin, and so it has not been possible to put in what I agree is the more attractive and useful walk through seating area as found on the P68.

The P68 is just a bit more sociable all round in my opinion
Maybe, but comes down to personal usage.

I'm not such a fan of sunpads next to the helmsman (though I know many are) as it usually compromises bimini cover for him/her, and also usually means more wind buffeting because the wind deflector is further away.
Agreed! :)

The sliding cockpit shade is a neat idea, but I imagine you're left with the two vertical supports in the way which seems too big a price to pay,
Is this really a too big price to pay… I don't think so?

and I hope the near vertical flybridge ladder is just an illusion of the renderings.
Cant comment as yet to see completed boat

Don't get me wrong though, it's a lovely boat, and all the above points are minor issues and down to personal choice anyway.
​And I still think the Princess 68 is a great boat too… and if it wasn't for the price, I might well have already committed to it before seeing the 680!

You'd obviously need to compare prices and specs closely, but by historical standards the euro is not weak at 1.36 to the pound, it's reasonably strong
If I recall correctly, you have to go back eight years to find the last time the euro was north of 1.40 to the £, so from my perspective the euro can be viewed as reasonably weak!

I think Azimut, Ferretti, Sunseeker, Fairline, Monte Carlo Yachts et al may have something to say about the P68 and Prestige 680 being "undoubtedly the main contenders at this size"! :D
Maybe, but I have looked at all those makers 65-70 footers and none of them match the new Princess 68 and Prestige 680 in layout design IMHO, given my and my wife's desire to have a galley aft , four cabins and separate owners entrance. But the most stand-out feature of the Prestige 68 is the size of the amidships VIP cabin, which surpasses all the competition. :triumphant:
 
We were very impressed by the Princess 68 at LIBS not only by the design and layout but also the fact that Princess have ostensibly upped their fit and finish on this boat. We also very liked the separate access to the master cabin

There are a couple of vids on BoatTest.com on the Prestige 750 and I'm with NickH on this. I found myself asking why an owner would want a forward master cabin especially when, at least on the 750, it is at deck level and for me, privacy would be an issue with crew wandering around on deck. Also it seemed to me that on the 750, saloon space has suffered a bit in order to squeeze the master cabin in at deck level. I may be wrong but it seems like a similar compromise has been made on the 680 in that maybe the saloon is a bit pinched to fit that forward high level master cabin in and, as you say, the now de rigeur forward seating area has had to go. Like the Princess, the separate access to the master cabin is a big plus. Overall though I like the saloon design; I'm now a big fan of aft galleys and having the dinette opposite the galley is very convenient. Of course the one criticism I and a few others might have is that there are no internal flybridge steps but Prestige are not the only builders guilty of that these days

I don't agree with NickH on the flybridge though. I have a similar arrangement on my boat with a forward sunpad and for me that works very well because the helm position is further aft putting it well under the shade of any bimini and of course the sunpad is not shaded by the bimini. I've never understood why some designers put the sunpads on their flybridges out of the sun!

Yup I can imagine that an already keen price for the Prestige 68 would be made even more attractive by the current exchange rate. I like the fact that Prestige have tried to design something a bit different with that forward master cabin and they should be applauded for that. Of course, the IPS drives might be marmite for some people and it will be interesting to see whether they make a difference to fuel consumption compared to the shaft drive Princess
 
MAFWeiss said:
We have yet to anchor overnight in anywhere other than a marina, so wave slapping is so far not an issue for us. However in the heat of a summer's afternoon on the Med, with the owner's cabin amidships, we find that the noise of the generator running the aircon too intrusive to sleep in our own cabin, so if we are alone on the boat we would retreat to the VIP in the bow, and I do not recall being put off by the sound of the waves on those occasions. So as far as I am concerned having my cabin in the bow and being able to sleep with the generator running is a major plus.
Click to expand...
Non sequitur: genset in a marina?!? Or even worse, genset and a/c turned on at anchor just to have an afternoon nap?!?!?
Deleted User often tells me that I underestimate the a/c needs of British folks because I'm used to warmer climates, but blimey, if that isn't an OTT a/c usage, I don't know what else is... :D :)
 
Nick_H said:
What's wrong with that? The hottest part of the day is surely the right time to run the airco, and it's hard to sleep in stifling heat??
Click to expand...

​Thanx Nick for the support… was wondering if my wife and I were being unreasonable - having spent a huge amount of money on a luxury yacht with all the mod cons - in wanting to be comfortable when having our afternoon snooze after a good lunch moored up in 30c plus temperatures.
 
Regarding noise from A/C
Our P67 has all the A/C units inside the engine room so there is very little noise from them when you are sleeping in the mid cabin.
I do know what you mean though - some builders mount the A/C units in the accommodation space which does lead to noise.
Anyway, I would expect that the P68 is like ours and you wouldn't get A/C noise.

As far as sleeping in the bow is concerned, I agree with Deleted User and NickH - in all bow cabins you get "slap and tickle" and I'm far too old for that kind of thing these days!!!
Seriously though, the water slapping does seem to affect our visitors.

Splitting the owners cabin from the rest of the boat.
This is a new idea on this size of boat and I'm not sure it would suit us.
Like most on this forum, ours is a family boat and I'm not sure that separating the family from us would be very convenient.
An example - during the first night for visitors/family joining, there are often things that are needed - bedding etc - being in the same area means it is easier to help new comers settle in.
Also, I like to keep an eye on other ships systems - toilets and showers etc
It just doesn't sound necessary to be split from the rest of the family.
 
Deleted User said:
Of course, the IPS drives might be marmite for some people and it will be interesting to see whether they make a difference to fuel consumption compared to the shaft drive Princess
Click to expand...

Yep, I noticed it was on IPS then forgot to comment on it. It makes the boat a non-starter for me, whereas I could easily live with the other minor issues I pointed out (except the flybridge ladder if it really is as bad as it looks, but even that could be modified)
 
MapisM said:
Deleted User often tells me that I underestimate the a/c needs of British folks because I'm used to warmer climates, but blimey,
Click to expand...

Mapism, not all of us spend 6 months of the year on our boat in the Med and the other 6 months holidaying in the tropics! No wonder you are used to the heat;)
 
Our Princess 50 has the genny in the engine room which is just behind the master cabin (although the set it's self is obviously at the other end). I can't say the generator has ever been an issue. In fact if I'm being honest we might have left it running on more than 1 occasion because we forgot it was on :)

We hear the a/c system it's self far more than the generator.

I also agree that going against the norm of a full beam mid-ships owners suite is a brave move. I would have though the best times on a boat of that size would be had at anchor somewhere. I'm reminded of the Fairline Squadron 50.

I thought the big Prestige selling point was a mid owners suite accessed separately from the saloon.

Henry :)
 
I will reserve judgement until the boat is physical and viewable...the single level living with tall, beamy master may give prestige another usp, clearly designers are chasing them re midship and separate access, time will tell if main deck level master is bleeding edge of leading edge. Having met a few of the people behind the scenes I suspect that the focus is on volume, light and differential.

Re the genset, I completely agree with Mark, perhaps because ours is in a similar position. When we've had the generator on at anchorage or mooring we have tended to use the bow cabin.
Agree with henry that a big reason we did not go for the 50' FL was because it lacked the midships master but this will feel at lot different I imagine....
 
I will reserve judgement until the boat is physical and viewable...the single level living with tall, beamy master may give prestige another usp, clearly designers are chasing them re midship and separate access, time will tell if main deck level master is bleeding edge of leading edge. Having met a few of the people behind the scenes I suspect that the focus is on volume, light and differential.

Re the genset, I completely agree with Mark, perhaps because ours is in a similar position. When we've had the generator on at anchorage or mooring we have tended to use the bow cabin.
Agree with henry that a big reason we did not go for the 50' FL was because it lacked the midships master but this will feel at lot different I imagine....
 
MAFWeiss said:

Since I am a relative 'newbie' to motor yachting, keen to know why such antagonism to IPS?
Click to expand...

I also didn't realise it is fitted with IPS
There is something about pods that really turns me off.
Probably because in the Med we get a different kind of fouling - a lot more barnacles.
These little critters can get everywhere - and with IPS I'm sure they get into the seals.
For me it really is only one type of drive - shafts every time - simple and easy to maintain.
 
Hurricane said:
I also didn't realise it is fitted with IPS
There is something about pods that really turns me off.
Probably because in the Med we get a different kind of fouling - a lot more barnacles.
These little critters can get everywhere - and with IPS I'm sure they get into the seals.
For me it really is only one type of drive - shafts every time - simple and easy to maintain.
Click to expand...

Cant say there has been any problem with my seals on my 550 for the last two seasons on the Med! What else is a problem?
 
MAFWeiss said:

Since I am a relative 'newbie' to motor yachting, keen to know why such antagonism to IPS?
Click to expand...

For me it's the perceived risk of big repair bills and lost time on the water, based on my bad experiences with outdrives. Maybe that's unfair, because IPS and outdrives are different, but after eleven completely trouble free years with shaft drives, with exactly zero maintenance performed other than slapping on some antifoul, the fuel savings would have to be very significant to convince me to try IPS. As it is, I think the fuel savings are largely eaten up in scheduled maintenance costs with IPS, so I'd be carrying that risk for no gain.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top