USED BOAT: PRINCESS 43
This classy flybridge cruiser is the last of a line that can trace its roots back 40 years
In 1974, fledgling Plymouth-based boat builder Marine Projects took a collective deep breath and launched a new flagship model. The Princess 37 was very different to its other two models, the Princess 25 and Princess 32, both motor cruisers with an openbacked wheelhouse and sterndrive engines. It was one of the largest leisure boats built in the UK at the time and had two cabins, two heads, a galley on the lower deck, a proper deck saloon with doors on the main deck, a second helm position on an upper deck above it called a ‘flybridge’ and a pair of Ford Mermaid diesels running shaft drives beneath. It was a brave, and ultimately successful move.
In 2019 that same company, now called Princess Yachts and employing over 3,000 people, launched its latest ‘entry-level’ flybridge model, the Princess F45. A very different boat to the Princess 43 it replaced, it has IPS pod drives, a galley aft layout and a full beam mid cabin. It also marked the end of an era because the Princess 38, which was launched in 1980 using knowledge gained from that original 37, set a layout template that was so successful it remained in existence for almost 40 years!
Designed by John Bennett, the 38 featured a master cabin in the bow with an ensuite bathroom and a guest cabin on the starboard side. The galley occupied the port side with steps up to the saloon, the aft cockpit and flybridge above.
That basic layout evolved largely unchanged throughout the 80s and 90s even as the boat itself morphed into ever sleeker, larger models; the 385, 388, 398, 410, 420 and 430. Even the hugely successful Princess 42 that took on the mantle in 2004 and this stylish new 43
that replaced it at the end of 2013 stuck with the same format. It’s the ultimate embodiment of that original layout, refined and honed to perfection.
PERFECT PROPORTIONS
The 43 looks right the moment you see it, well proportioned with low wide side decks, a long foredeck and a beam that stretches to almost 14ft. In fact it’s bigger than its name suggests – although it’s called a 43, its LOA stretches to 47ft 6in. The nominally longer F45 that has just replaced it is actually six inches shorter!
Compare that with the 40ft LOA and 13ft beam of the original 38, and it’s easy to understand how the same basic layout fits so well. There’s a lack of compromise and sense of space throughout the entire vessel. Transport a new Princess 38 owner 40 years forward to today and whilst he’ll recognise the basic layout – forward cabin with central bed and ensuite, guest cabin to starboard and galley to port – he’ll be amazed by the sheer amount of space. The separate shower cubicles in both heads and the galley raised up a step to link it with the saloon also make a huge difference. But what will really blow him away is the quality and detail that Princess Yachts imbued this boat with, and the facilities on offer. Everything from the chunky cleats to the stainless-steel framed saloon doors, the quality of the woodwork, soft furnishings and fit out is a match for the larger models in the Princess portfolio. And that’s before the original owner took a deep dive into the options list, which most did.
The boat you see here is a perfect example; the options start to flow the moment you step aboard and find yourself on a high/low bathing platform capable of lifting a 300kg tender (making the new Williams Minijet a perfect fit). The teak on the platform and in the cockpit is standard, but the teak laid side decks and the teak laid flybridge are both upgrades, and they’ve worn well on this boat.
Inside, Rovere Oak in satin or high gloss finish is standard, a paler Alba Oak on the options list. But the darker walnut is the most popular finish, again in either high gloss or the satin finish that this boat has. A 40 inch retracting TV behind the port settee is frequently selected, the sideboard that replaces this settee, less so, since a bar area just inside the door caters well for this area and could be fitted with an optional fridge (this boat has a wine cooler). Step down to the galley
and you’ll find that the standard gas hob has been replaced by all electric cooking with a ceramic hob powered by either shore power or another popular option, an Onan generator (9.5kw in this boat, 4kw and 7kw were also available), and beneath the oven a dishwasher has been fitted.
About the only option missing from this area is beneath the lifting steps, which reveal a cavernous storage locker rather than the optional washer/drier. Another option worth looking out for (and this boat has it) is in the guest cabin, where the two single beds can be motored together to create a double at the push of the proverbial. A holding tank is standard, but upgrading the pump out from manual to electric is another oft chosen upgrade. The final significant interior option is a choice of air conditioning or Eberspacher heating. Being UK based, this boat has the latter. Med boats normally get the former as well as a ‘letterbox’ retracting passerelle to aid stern boarding. Rarer is the Seakeeper NG5 gyro stabiliser (and if you do find a boat with it, bear in mind that the lift capacity of the high/ low platform is more than halved to 125kg).
A STEP UP
The effect of that combination of exquisite fit out and high spec is to create a superyacht feel in a sub-50ft boat, something not lost on the owner of this boat, Andrew Carr. If that name rings a bell, it’s because he also appeared in last month’s Used Boat, the Fairline Targa 38. This is the boat that he replaced it with. “We wanted a step up and were originally looking for a larger sportscruiser,” he says. “But both Princess’s V48 and Fairline’s Targa 48 were over 50ft long, and the deck saloon versions felt like flybridge boats without the flybridge. We were at the Southampton Boat Show and Guy Barke of boats.co.uk (who sold us the Fairline) showed us the Princess 43 and we realised that there was no reason not to.
“It ticks a lot of boxes, it has the size but also the volume, and there’s more variety of seating for guests: the flybridge for a great view, the cockpit for more sheltered outdoors or the saloon with its big windows. Having two large cabins, both with ensuites, is also far nicer if away with friends. And whilst the galley down layout might not be as on point as the fashionable aft galley, I like the way that it doesn’t eat into the social space. But the clincher was the finish and the quality, which is exquisite. My wife in particular absolutely loves the interior of this boat. We work hard to achieve these things, and that sense of quality makes it feel worthwhile.”
Of course not all the options were extra equipment, there was one fundamental option introduced in 2014, bigger engines. The boat launched with the same twin Volvo Penta
D6-435 diesel engines fitted to the smaller Princess 42. When MBY tested it, we discovered a 28 knot top end and a comfortable 20 knot cruise at 3,000rpm. But mindful, in part, of the options (a high/low platform, heavy tender and generator is plenty of weight back aft) Princess Yachts introduced Cummins QSB6.7 550hp engines to the options list a year later. Top speed increased by 2 knots but the big difference is further down the rev range where the extra torque of the Cummins makes itself felt, something particularly useful in big seas, conditions in which the Princess 43 excels.
BIG AMBITIONS
As boats become more accommodation biased, the 43 is a clear link to the ‘old school’ seakeeping first philosophy. 43 owner Steve Gaunt has owned a plethora of boats since his first Fletcher speedboat in 1972, so he has plenty to compare it with, including a Fairline Squadron 60 in Mallorca before downsizing to the more Uk-friendly dimensions of his current 43 in Poole. “It ‘s quite amazing for the size, I think it’s as good as the Squadron 60 in rough weather,” he says. “It grips the water well at low speed too. I prefer the shaft drive layout, it’s simple and creates a well balanced boat.”
Steve, who runs the boat with his wife, really likes the more classic style and layout of the 43 too. “The side decks are low, which helps when picking lines up in the marina and I prefer the galley down layout.” But like Andrew, he reserves the biggest praise for the quality of the fit out. “It is superb quality, the interior is magnificent. It feels exactly like a 70ft plus boat inside, just smaller.”
Next month: Sunseeker Predator 57