Which 50ft flybridge would be the best bet

volvopaul

volvopaul

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Mate is looking for mid cabin fly at 50ft, Sealine T50, Sunseeker Manhatten 50 and the Princess 50 mark 3 , budget depends on what we can find at the right £££. What do you think ?
Ive given him the D9 , V drive lecture and the D12 fuel figures which of course are a major factor, the rest I think is personal taste, of course the P50 in my book is top dog but will certainly be best part of 100k more than the T 50 leaving the SS lying in the middle.
 
T50s recently have been changing hand for low £200k so with budget in mind that probably makes it number 1.

I like the boat generally but the saloon is a compromise, plus at the lower end of the market you are probably looking at 2007/2008 boats with the arch the 'wrong way'. I can't see a MK3 P50 anywhere near that price as you say

I personally like the Phantom 48, though I accept quite a few don't (though same can be said for the T50). I think P48s are probably into the high 200k range if you negotiate hard.
 
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re VP "The V drive lecture" - what joys do I need to be looking for this year.
Having had a quick look for prices on 50" flybridges, your friend can save a lot of money by forgoing the mid cabin. Although they look cool, and you can sit on the bed and watch the sea go by out the windows etc, once you are asleep you can't tell the difference. You still get slapping on the sides in the right conditions. Which is the best overall - personal preference probably the Princess, but most expensive. Most space outside - Sealine. Thirstiest - Sunseeker. I quite like Fairline 48s but too many sharp corners on the inside for me. Also if the boat is staying in the UK - go for internal room in the saloon etc. If its going to the med - outside space.
 
I'm biassed obviously in favour of the P50. It is more expensive but it will sell for more money at the other end. I specifically wanted CAT C12 engines and can confirm they are easily up to the task at hand. There were some early P50s with smaller engines.

Overall the P50 feels spacious inside, not just in the master cabin. The galley works well with its full size fridge freezer and there's lots of storage. We tend to use the 3rd cabin for storage as well but that's probably because we charter the boat and so have larger numbers of glasses, drinks, food etc to store. Whatever your views on a full beam master cabin might be they are a big appeal when it comes to re-sale. People want them as it takes the boat into the next class and is a tangible step up from their previous 2 or 3 cabin boats.

The Fairline Phantom 48 was the first boat we saw with a full beam master cabin and at the time of launch we wanted one. We had a Phantom 42 at the time and it seemed amazing. I found a really great example for sale prior to buying the P50 but was disappointed when re-visiting the model. Time has moved on and possibly I have grown wider but the boat felt very small inside. Doorways felt narrow and the 3rd cabin was a struggle to get in, I seem to remember having to lift the upper bunk up to get in. For that reason it wasn't one for us.

There was a New Sealine T50 at Ancasta on which we could have had a stunning deal, they had just lost the franchise and it was the last stock boat. I wasn't sure how the boat would last over time. Exposed contiboard edging in the shower, the curved seating in the saloon seemed to take up a lot of space. Again, in the end we decided it just wasn't for us.

The Sunseeker seemed expensive whenever we looked at them, they felt a bit more cramped inside compared to the P50 and have always though styling is allowed to get in the way of practicality with Sunseeker. No hand rails for instance when walking on the outside of the boat. I appreciate things like that can be corrected easily buring build and i may be that you find one where an owner has been sensible. Possibly I felt they were a bit too showy ?

50 feet is a good size, it's large enough to handle extended voyages and swallow up some comfort features like a decent generator, air con / heating etc.

Merely my two pence worth and as I said from the outset I am biassed being a stakeholder as it were !

Henry :)
 
Check out the Azimut 50.
They didn't sell more of them than the equivalent size boats of all the UK builders together for nothing...
 
kashurst said:
re VP "The V drive lecture" - what joys do I need to be looking for this year.
Having had a quick look for prices on 50" flybridges, your friend can save a lot of money by forgoing the mid cabin. Although they look cool, and you can sit on the bed and watch the sea go by out the windows etc, once you are asleep you can't tell the difference. You still get slapping on the sides in the right conditions. Which is the best overall - personal preference probably the Princess, but most expensive. Most space outside - Sealine. Thirstiest - Sunseeker. I quite like Fairline 48s but too many sharp corners on the inside for me. Also if the boat is staying in the UK - go for internal room in the saloon etc. If its going to the med - outside space.
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Hi Kevin, I've given him the drive plate, timing gear bedtime stories so not much more can go wrong, D9 is a great motor.
 
"I've given him the drive plate, timing gear bedtime stories so not much more can go wrong, D9 is a great motor." well thats bu@@ered it. ;-)
 
I'm also looking for a 50ft fly. Have to agree the princess mk3 wins hands down but so much more money, fine if you can stretch to it but outside of my budget. Have viewed the phantom 50 mentioned at boats and IMHO is just to plain and dated inside without any style. I know one things for sure there isn't much on the market at present which means looking in the med with the cost of bringing it back and the euro going the wrong way! Reality is I'm not going to get everything I want and a compromise needs to be made.
 
to be fair you would be looking at a Mk2 P50 as a comparison to the Phantom 50.

We looked at Phantom 50s a while ago now and they struck me as odd. There's a huge unused void under the forward section of the saloon floor. It was as though the space was crying out to be added to a full beam master cabin but it never happened.

Henry :)
 
henryf said:
to be fair you would be looking at a Mk2 P50 as a comparison to the Phantom 50.

We looked at Phantom 50s a while ago now and they struck me as odd. There's a huge unused void under the forward section of the saloon floor. It was as though the space was crying out to be added to a full beam master cabin but it never happened.

Henry :)
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I had a Phantom 50 for a couple of years from new and it was a great boat all round - the "void" on our boat had a freezer, 2 Air Con units and the water boiler.
 
Due South said:
I'm also looking for a 50ft fly. Have to agree the princess mk3 wins hands down but so much more money, fine if you can stretch to it but outside of my budget. Have viewed the phantom 50 mentioned at boats and IMHO is just to plain and dated inside without any style. I know one things for sure there isn't much on the market at present which means looking in the med with the cost of bringing it back and the euro going the wrong way! Reality is I'm not going to get everything I want and a compromise needs to be made.
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I take my hat off to you Sir.

A man with a realistic appraisal of the boat market.

To claim that it is a buyers market is only true if the seller is desperate to sell. Look at the bottom end of the price market and you find vessels that are in poor condition and in need of a huge amount of money to be spent.

Have a look at the Med market but do not expect things to be any better than in the UK. There are many brokers who are desperate to sell boats at knock down prices as they badly need their selling commission. Owners are not daft and rarely sell at the silly prices buyers seem to wish for.

You seem very realistic in re-appraising your expectations so the very best of luck in your search.

Do not get hung up on any particular make and look at all offerings. I never understand why people become so fixated on any one make.
 
henryf said:
to be fair you would be looking at a Mk2 P50 as a comparison to the Phantom 50.

We looked at Phantom 50s a while ago now and they struck me as odd. There's a huge unused void under the forward section of the saloon floor. It was as though the space was crying out to be added to a full beam master cabin but it never happened.

Henry :)
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Thing is the Phantom 50 is a better sea boat then all the versions of the Princess 50, and so is the quality of finish. In reality the Mk.2 has the best CoG of the Princess 50s and the III the worst.
In the first decade of the 2000s I would say Fairline was the best mainstream produced British boat build.
And while the hull design is very similar (both Olesinski) the balance and CoG on the Fairline 50 Phantom is so much better to the Princess.
Also and another important note, is the flybridge of the Fairline 50 Phantom which also better to that of the Princess 50.

In any case for rough sea handling and very famous commercial brand names I would go in this order;
Ferretti 500, Fairline 50 Phantom, Azimut 50, Princess 50, Sunseeker 50 Manhattan, Cranchi 50 Atlantique, and Sealine T50 (most spacious offer but rolls and rolls).

I also think for fit and finish it should work more or less in that order, altough Sunseeker would be higher up the scale.
The Princess before the LVB era had a lower finishing of a Fairline of the time, and even that took about a year to take off.
So lets say you have to speak for a Princess after 2011/2, when I think it was the year they started to raise there game.
 
re poweryachtblog: Sealine T50 (most spacious offer but rolls and rolls). no they don't - dont understand. Of the ones you mentioned the Azimut 50 in front of me in the marina, is like a metronome the minute anything goes near it. In fairness it has got two enormous satellite domes right on top of the radar arch.
 
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kashurst said:
re poweryachtblog: Sealine T50 (most spacious offer but rolls and rolls). no they don't - dont understand. Of the ones you mentioned the Azimut 50 in front of me in the marina, is like a metronome the minute anything goes near it. In fairness it has got two enormous satellite domes right on top of the radar arch.
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I do not bother much about rolling, but a client of myn who upgraded from an Azimut 39 to a T50 (mk.2) with the radar arch looking back sold it after two years cause of the rolling.
He then upgraded to a 55 and never complained about the rolling. Now an Azimut 55 rolls more then a 50.
 
Wonder if sea keeping would be of concern to many buyers ?
Possibly comes some way down the list of priorities,behind accommodation,condition,vendors asking price and perhaps residual resale value ?
 
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