We’re buying a new boat !!

[MapisM]

In another life during the 70 s did you attempt to sell Lancias and Afla s in the U.K. ?

During the 70s I was very young and single, and my attempts were more focused on legs rather than wheels.

 

[Hurricane]

Brilliant. I recognised quite a few areas from my tour. Didn’t see the furniture or metal shop but a lot of the other areas.

At first it’s a bit daunting, you panic a bit worrying how everything is going to come together. It seems chaotic, temporary safery rails, stairways, hatch covers and so on but the people do it every day and have a well rehearsed process. As each stage is completed you have something closer resembling the finished item. At one stage the electrical circuits come alive and the boat wakes up for the firs time, then at the end it’s just soft furnishings and other niceties.

Ultimately you just need to relax and have faith. This isn’t their first rodeo !

What you do appreciate is the work involved when someone wants a change making. The mould will have been created with recesses designed to take certain components for instance like an air conditioning unit. The wiring looms created specifically to accommodate loads and locations of key components. This can’t be done as easily in retrofit. Some stuff can be done easily but you need to choose your battles.

Anyway thanks for posting the video, I hadn’t seen it.

Yes, it is all very daunting but there is also a personal element to the guys and lasses who work there.
It was December 2007 when we first clamped eyes on our boat.
She was the last but one in the build line - engines in - flybridge on - and furnishings going in.
Being just a few days before Christmas, the team decorated her with some Christmas wishes specially for us - this is a pic:-



Just a nice touch - little did any of us know that we would still own her 14 years later.

 

[EricJ]

Very nice to see how the boat comes together. What did you choose regarding teak, fake teak, no teak? Cockpit and swim platform come standard in teak isn’t it?
Are there options to change fuel tank or water tank sizes or is this all standard?
thanks!

 

[henryf]

Yes, it is all very daunting but there is also a personal element to the guys and lasses who work there.
It was December 2007 when we first clamped eyes on our boat.
She was the last but one in the build line - engines in - flybridge on - and furnishings going in.
Being just a few days before Christmas, the team decorated her with some Christmas wishes specially for us - this is a pic:-

View attachment 126089

Just a nice touch - little did any of us know that we would still own her 14 years later.

As Sunseeker told me on 3 separate occasions from 3 separate mouths you buy from people you like. It’s on page 3 of my how to be a used car dealer manual. I actually disagree. I think you buy from the family not the person. That family extends beyond the sales person and their immediate chums and goes all the way through the people who are going to design and build your boat.

All boat builders use words like craftsmanship, care, passion and they all have huge sheds with fancy bits of machinery that cost millions but it all comes down to the individual people doing the work. If they don’t care then you don’t stand a chance. Clearly they cared and all the people I came across in the factory were getting on with their various jobs, friendly and polite if you had any interaction and you felt they cared, in your case enough to decorate your boat!

Many years ago I was invited to the Sunseeker factory and from that visit I also felt they had a group of people focussed on what they were doing, so much so that they genuinely featured in the running right up to the final stage.

 

[henryf]

Very nice to see how the boat comes together. What did you choose regarding teak, fake teak, no teak? Cockpit and swim platform come standard in teak isn’t it?
Are there options to change fuel tank or water tank sizes or is this all standard?
thanks!

At this stage we are going with the standard swim platform and cockpit with the addition of the Alure pack which adds depth to stair cappings and so on. I am currently thinking standard GRP finish for side decks and bow. The diesel fillers are mid way down the side decks and I worry spillages can occur.

For the flybridge at this stage we are keeping it GRP with a view to having flexi-teak fitted on the basis it cleans easier. We get a lot of spillages and mess on the flybridge. It’s easy to use a 2 part cleaner in the cockpit and bathing platform but I worry there’s a lot of mess to get from flybridge down to the waterline using 2 part cleaner on the flybridge.

Our current boat has white GRP which always cleans up easily enough but some form of teak, synthetic or otherwise does look nice.

 

[ari]

Yep, I think they’ve sold a dozen or so from memory.

I believe that is correct. Princess employs (I think) over 3,000 people across something like 7 sites. They didn't get there by building boats people don't want to buy - quite the reverse in fact.

Also, I suspect, the kind of person who's created enough wealth to drop several million pounds on a toy probably doesn't spend too much time worrying about what other people think of his boat.

 

[Hurricane]

At this stage we are going with the standard swim platform and cockpit with the addition of the Alure pack which adds depth to stair cappings and so on. I am currently thinking standard GRP finish for side decks and bow. The diesel fillers are mid way down the side decks and I worry spillages can occur.

For the flybridge at this stage we are keeping it GRP with a view to having flexi-teak fitted on the basis it cleans easier. We get a lot of spillages and mess on the flybridge. It’s easy to use a 2 part cleaner in the cockpit and bathing platform but I worry there’s a lot of mess to get from flybridge down to the waterline using 2 part cleaner on the flybridge.

Our current boat has white GRP which always cleans up easily enough but some form of teak, synthetic or otherwise does look nice.

On ours, Princess fitted fuel flaps and drains where the fuel is filled - you might like to check if they have something similar on the 55.

Flexiteek on the flybridge - I agree 100%
I would be tempted to do the same for the cockpit - in your case, visitors will gather there to drop their crisps that they have with their drinkies.
One flake of a crisp spreads across the teak like it was blotting paper.
I understand not having a teak/flexiteek coating over the foredeck and side decks but synthetic teak is really nice - IMHO of course.
If I was in your situation, I think I would have Flexiteek everywhere - even if it meant upsetting Princess and not fitting the cockpit area with wood (they probably offer that as standard).

I think I would choose Flexiteek over the other synthetic manufacturers even though Flexiteek goes a little pink over the years.
All the Flexiteek will all go the same pinkish colour so you wouldn't notice it.
In the following photo, you can see the bathing platform is Flexiteek and has that pinkish colour whereas the rest of the boat has been done in Trackmark



I'm sure some people on here would think that synthetic teak is sacrilege.
But they probably haven't had to keep it clean and/or replace it after 12 years.
Synthetic teak does get hot under foot but only on the hottest Med days - you won't get that problem in the UK.
And after 3 or 4 years, synthetic teak is much smoother under foot than real teak.

I've grown to hate wood teak.

 

[Hurricane]

I believe that is correct. Princess employs (I think) over 3,000 people across something like 7 sites. They didn't get there by building boats people don't want to buy - quite the reverse in fact.

We were told that Princess is the second biggest employer in Plymouth - the first was the Navy.

 

[TonyR123]

I actually "want" to get flexiteek for all the benefits, but after standing on a sunseeker 65 sport with flexiteek in the med sun it was far too hot for me too the point I could not stand on it for more than a few seconds. Back to my boat with teek and while warm I can stand on it no problem. I wonder if that is due to be a slightly dark orange(ish) colour so maybe hotter? I still need to get some samples, preferably a lighter colour to see if it is cooler and leave on the boat.

In the UK a no brainer for flexiteek.

 

[henryf]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on flexi-teak. The finish we like is indistinguishable from the real thing to the point where at every boat show I have to lift it up and check. I don’t think I’m brave enough to go off piste with the cockpit. Our current arrangement works fine and we get better at managing people by the season so I hope we’ll cope.

 

[TonyR123]

another alternative could be Lignia Teak. I have never seen it in the flesh never mind used it, but is supposedly more durable than standard teak. Just one of the other options I have noted for the next boat. Not a clue how expensive it is. Does have a 50 year rot guarantee, but that isnt much use if it has worn out.

 

[Portofino]

H s teak plan or lack of it sounds the best option to me .

Not U.K. Med based but I think I was a quick learner having had a teak S /Sker …..actually sought out as little teak as possible on the 2 nd boat .
Not just the dog , who is house trained and has shore runs anyhow , but just ease of maintenance and all the other reasons .
Going a few steps further on the “ mess “ side have you thought of sans carpet ?
Yes wood floors throughout.Wife love it and they never get dirty to the extent of a reupholster/ carpet fitter .
Just wipe clean .

Thats another first boat error …..cream carpets ! How stupid ?

As a side note the bathing platforms on Princess are solid teak planks btw .Well the recent boats .Seen them retro fitted at La Nap
Good on them btw .
As one day I saw a new Fairline ( parked next to me on a dealer berth ) get teaked up .
Horrific show .= they were ply sheets with the veneer glued on and self tapered down into countersunk holes .After the glue dried they caulked up the holes .The sheets arrived in a U.K. plated FL van .Took 2 days to do a whole 48 fter inc the bathing platform .


Mean while at one of the many dealer Priny berths it took over a week to 10 days , 2 guys a pile of planks on the jetty + cutting saw .
Prepped the surface of the BP , measures and cut each plank , spacers and black sika to fix with weights .All the corners / hatches round corners etc .The black stuff squeezed out .Left 3/4 days returned and cut n sanded off the excess squeezed out , then oiled or something.

Granted at the end they both looked very similar from the jetty .
The owner of the Priny were an old couple in there 70 s and they did not see the teak instal , nor did the younger FL guy .

So I was pretty impressed how Priny tackled the same thing adding teak .Not so with FL .This was circa 2017 fwiw in FLs ownership/ management history .

Just as side not the French have kinda adopted Priny as there premium brand .The ownership thing .
As there domestic stuff is …..well you know .

DLB in la Nap are the CdA importers. Nice family run outfit .

 

[Hurricane]

I actually "want" to get flexiteek for all the benefits, but after standing on a sunseeker 65 sport with flexiteek in the med sun it was far too hot for me too the point I could not stand on it for more than a few seconds. Back to my boat with teek and while warm I can stand on it no problem. I wonder if that is due to be a slightly dark orange(ish) colour so maybe hotter? I still need to get some samples, preferably a lighter colour to see if it is cooler and leave on the boat.

In the UK a no brainer for flexiteek.

Yep - it can get very hot but, generally speaking and whilst away from the marina, you don't notice it.
Not a big problem to us yet but if it does become an issue, I would scatter a few mats/rugs etc around.

 

[TonyR123]

Yep - it can get very hot but, generally speaking and whilst away from the marina, you don't notice it.
Not a big problem to us yet but if it does become an issue, I would scatter a few mats/rugs etc around.

That is a valid point - I was only in the marina, guess more of a breeze at sea helps it cool?

 

[Portofino]

A few yrs ago i was shown round a Pershing 108 in Monaco .
Took our shoes off , bare feet etc .While sipping a drink in the main saloon after the tour by the captain I noticed the floor covering .
It felt like wood , you could feel a tad of grain .It ran all the way through from the inside to the rear outside cockpit area .
It was a dark brown the sun was shining .The patio door submerged out of sight and I went over to the threshold more so to see how neat they had done this magic vanishing act , to do the toe stub test .

The sun drenched brown outside floor was the same temp ( cool ) as the shaded inside floor ……same material remember .

I bent down to maul it run my sweaty palms , feel the texture and temp etc .
A member of the sales team who had the California franchise told me it was special high end stuff , stain and abrasion resistant and the stewi told me it was maintenance free in terms of spillages etc .

Sorry I can’t remember the name it’s was a type of high end resin and the planks were 10 cm wide and about 3 M long or that’s how they mouldered it in ?

How ever one guy told me it was very expensive very .Even in the rarefied Monaco boaty set .
So expensive a customer was so smitten by it he enquired about being put in touch with the italian supplier to do his beach house .Turned of he was quoted €300000 and it not that large so he passed .

What ever it was it seemed ideal .This owner had it custom layered by Ferretti.

For exactly the same reasons as re teak / cream carpet as everyone else .
They came from a sunseeker Ped 108 .The wife whinged about two things apparently.
1- keeping it pristine or it soon looks grubby when they were using it .
2- interestingly like my wife the ride .The Pershing was smoother .That’s about the only two things the two women had in common btw

As serial Sunseeker owner and he wanted a boat to kill those two birds . The ride on the Pred 108 got to the point she was sick a lot , the other S / Skers the 72, 82 , 94 etc were ok .
So he moved away and ferretti put them in touch with floor surface manufacturer and did the whole boat in it .

 

[Hurricane]

another alternative could be Lignia Teak. I have never seen it in the flesh never mind used it, but is supposedly more durable than standard teak. Just one of the other options I have noted for the next boat. Not a clue how expensive it is. Does have a 50 year rot guarantee, but that isnt much use if it has worn out.

There is also Marine Deck 2000 - sold mostly in the US.
A synthetic product that is more like cork than wood.
We had it fitted to our tender - lovely under foot and doesn't get hot.
However, I'm not sure how robust it would be - ladies high heels would probably press into it.
Great on a tender though because, mostly you are in bare feet.

Marine Deck 2000

 

[petem]

They fit resin decks on cruise ships. It can get hot but just about bearable.

 

[henryf]

The Lignia decking is interesting and British so you know it’s going to be great quality. As with Flexi-teak local fitting seems possible using Moody decking. My only concern would be whether there is any benefit when compared to teak when it comes to the crisp test.
As for the cockpit area we have managed OK with the current boat and may well look at some matting or similar to further help. I wouldn’t want to upset the build process.

Don’t quote me but I have a feeling the swim platform teak is vacuum bonded to the moulding. Certainly the platform arrives at the stage fully formed. I am a little nervous going down the hi-lo platform route for the first time. I can recover a tender whilst remaining dry in all conditions using our crane, Will I be able to do the same with a hi-lo -platform? It is pretty much a standard on all boats these days so not having one fitted would make for a very oddball spec.

 

[henryf]

One of the things I noticed when I had a little sea trial of an F55 was how flat it remained compared to th 50 Mk3. The 50 is, it transpires quite a sporty little thing for quite a big thing. It banks on the turn and comes round nice and easily to make a tight turning circle. What that does mean is you find yourself tweaking the trim to achieve perfection in the horizontal as people move around the decks. The F55 remains upright in the turn and has very different requirements in terms of trim to the point where I initially thought there was a problem with the top end speed but I’d got it massively over trimmed.
I
When I saw the 55’s hull form in the factory it immediately became apparent why all this was. The rear section of the hull is much flatter with a sort of stealth bomber profile. You can see a bit of the hull profile in the attached image but the real differences can be seen when viewing from behind. There are almost wings on the outside..

 

[Portofino]

One of the things I noticed when I had a little sea trial of an F55 was how flat it remained compared to th 50 Mk3. The 50 is, it transpires quite a sporty little thing for quite a big thing. It banks on the turn and comes round nice and easily to make a tight turning circle. What that does mean is you find yourself tweaking the trim to achieve perfection in the horizontal as people move around the decks. The F55 remains upright in the turn and has very different requirements in terms of trim to the point where I initially thought there was a problem with the top end speed but I’d got it massively over trimmed.
I
When I saw the 55’s hull form in the factory it immediately became apparent why all this was. The rear section of the hull is much flatter with a sort of stealth bomber profile. You can see a bit of the hull profile in the attached image but the real differences can be seen when viewing from behind. There are almost wings on the outside..

American sport fishers are shallow deadrise wise but sharp forefoot and finer v mid sections .
This works once above a certain weight and size the mid 50 s you get away to a certain extent up to a point .

like this 90 s Riva 20 M .
Wider chine flats add lift and stability.The downer and like a see saw if ones up the other is down , is they slap the waves , kinda smack them + add drag .
Angling then down by 3/4 degrees your “ wings “ increases lift hence the “ flatter “ running .
From memory without referring to the book iirc they increase drag as the water can’t get out as quick the wider the more down angle . So you loose knots but gain lift + turning stability for a given hp .