Thoughts on two boats

[mcanderson]

I welcome the considered thoughts on two boats. We have the our sail boat in the South of France and have been thinking about buying a flat. However I have floated the idea of buying a motor boat and had a positive response.

Two that have caught my eye are a Sunseeker Manhattan 56 and Princess 50 Flybridge.

My wife will be down in France in Feb and she is lined up to go and look at the Sunseeker alone!

So what do you think of these two boats?

 

[SEARANGER ANCASTER]

Both lovely boats. I dont know much about either but did really like the Princess;s at the London Boat Show.

 

[jfm]

I welcome the considered thoughts on two boats. We have the our sail boat in the South of France and have been thinking about buying a flat. However I have floated the idea of buying a motor boat and had a positive response.

Two that have caught my eye are a Sunseeker Manhattan 56 and Princess 50 Flybridge.

My wife will be down in France in Feb and she is lined up to go and look at the Sunseeker alone!

So what do you think of these two boats?

In bit of hurry here. I know the hattan well and have been on plenty and driven them. nice. Interior accom nice but not huuge because it has a quite narrow hull. Downstairs galley is personal choice thing. you need to bid low these days for this model. Up/down platform is nice but check it works. Engines vary, some with D12 and some with man800 iirc. both are ok I think - the D12 for sure imho. You need a seatrial before signing any contract imho (to hell with the normal rules) because you must decide whether you are happy with the loud exhaust noise underway. This boat is from era when sunseeker hadn't discovered silencers, or so it seemed. Personally I would never (and didn't) buy the boat for this reason. I would buy a sq58 instead (and I did - I bought 2), which is all round the nicer boat and very quiet when cruising. Plenty for sale now at the same age as hattan 56, for £300k or less

The prin 50 is smaller. Closer comparable to the hattan is the prin 57 which is very nice. Nick H on here has one in Antibes. It and sq58 feel much bigger inside than hattan 56 due to having more beam. If you ask the relevant forumites a quick look see of prin 57 and sq58 might be possible in Antibes - do it right after seeing hattan 56

There are a few hattan 56's with central owners cabin, but the vast majority have bow master cabin

 

[Nick_H]

I can comment on the Manhattan 56 as it as one of the boats we viewed when we bought our Princess 57. It's quite a bit narrower than the Princess, and you really feel this when you go aboard, to the extent that the sofas either side felt a bit crammed in. There's also no storage under the seats (or maybe you had to lift the cushions, something annoyed us about them anyway), so it looks like they've piled one cabinet on top of another at the forward end of the seating to provide some storage.

The transom arrangement is unusual, with a central door, then a platform to walk either side, which seems to waste space, and I think this is the reason why the saloon is smaller generally than a P57 or Fairline Sq58, as is the galley. I quite like the wrap around cockpit seating though.

I've heard they are noisy boats, which would be tiring on a long run and may be worth checking out.

There's plenty to like about them though, the layout is conventional but works well, with decent size seating area on the flybridge. The hi-lo platform is also a plus in warm climates as you can swim on and off it.

 

[mcanderson]

JFM,

As ever you are a font of knowledge and I will take your points on.

Nick,

You also raised issues that we will think about.

The reason for the difference in length is the difference between a 19 m berth and a 16m berth. We love BSM and don't want to move so these are the berth brackets we need to consider. As there are only the 2 of us I am open to other suggestions.

 

[Hurricane]

My two pennyworth

If you are comparing it to a flat, then you need to be comfortable.
A good main cabin would be near the top of my list - full beam mid cabin if you can - don't know the age you are looking at but both these boats could have mid owners cabins.
I know it sounds strange - but comfort is the thing when comparing to a flat.

I definitely would recommend a Flybridge - both of the ones you have picked are - the Flybridge becomes that extra space - maybe compare it to a flat's patio.
In the med, you would use the Flybridge a lot - both under way and as a party area - in port it is a secluded open air party area as well - not overlooked as much as a cockpit.
Air conditioning - a must

At sea, though, remember that these motorboats are, essentially flat bottom and will roll much more than the boats you are used to.
W think of it differently - if the weather/sea isn't right, we don't go out.

Having said that, I would (and do) prefer a Flybridge Motorboat to a flat.
Also - you can't take your flat over to Corsica!!

 

[mcanderson]

Ah yes the flat to Corsica argument. One I have used. I think I might have deploy a secret weapon - champagne.

 

[powerskipper]

I welcome the considered thoughts on two boats. We have the our sail boat in the South of France and have been thinking about buying a flat. However I have floated the idea of buying a motor boat and had a positive response.

Two that have caught my eye are a Sunseeker Manhattan 56 and Princess 50 Flybridge.

My wife will be down in France in Feb and she is lined up to go and look at the Sunseeker alone!

So what do you think of these two boats?

Go for the one you can live on, with, interior wise, as you will spend most of your time living in that area and less time on the move, its what power boats do.

 

[SammyB]

Great to hear you are hopefully moving on with your plan to join les Moteurs!
Firstly we would agree that staying in BSM (having got in there) makes real sense. Hurricane is spot on that comfortable accomodation is what motor boating is all about. Our knowledge of varieties of boats is nowhere near as extensive as the others on the forum however, if it helps we have chosen our boats on Hurricane's principal of comfort-'transportable cottage by the sea'!
Guy's advice is order a case of champagne and get working!
See you in Corsica!
Sam

 

[mcanderson]

Sam,

We talked about you two today as potential advisors for the interior trim fit out. Staying in BSM is mandatory! I raised the potential of moving if we got a deal on a boat with a mooring. The reply was less than complementary!

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

The 56 Manhattan is not known as being one of Sunseeker's best hulls. This hull was also used in the 56 Predator.
56 Manhattan has also two design mishaps, central transom door, and a small aft deck for its size. On the plus side it was one of the first yachts with up/down bathing platform which makes tender launch easy.

Princess 50 has also two things to look for; bunk third cabin, and a look for engines. Underpowered with the Volvo 480hp IMO.

I would look for a Fairline 50 Phantom which was the best British build of the time, or a late version 55 Squadron is also very nice.

 

[beebok]

We moved from sail(Najad 460) to a motor boat.
Whatever the forecast indicates the weather from our experience
is not that predictable.Top of our list became boats with a reputation of good
seakeeping.We like the Princess/Fairline style boats but went for semi displacement
boat similar to the Pilot Boats,not as quick as Princess but at 18knots quicker than sailing.