Princess 40M

Its positioning parallel to Collins Avenue during Yachts Miami Beach in February seemed to make the Princess 40M’s bright green topsides stretch farther than its 131-foot 9-inch LOA. I mean it really looked massive, to the point where it was causing a traffic jam along the sidewalk, with show-goers and dreamers alike stopping to take in its voluminous hull, complete with fold-down gunwale balconies. Those lucky enough to get through the gauntlet of security personnel were treated to the sight of an even more impressive beach club that easily held a Williams Dieseljet 625 tender, two PWCs, and a wide assortment of other toys.

Walking through the immense saloon doors, passing a foyer into an equal parts bright and spacious saloon and it becomes obvious that Princess pours a ton of labor into being able to go toe-totoe with most superyacht builders. And that’s what my guide, Marketing Director Kiran Haslam, is most proud of—the labor. He could have gloated over the five immaculate staterooms, or the Top Chefworthy galley complete with a dumbwaiter to the upper levels. He could have bragged about the sophisticated yet salty engine room with twin 3,509-horsepower MTU 12V 4000 M93Ls. He could have gone on and on about the upper lounge that was a favorite spot of his children when they spent a week aboard. No, instead he only touched on those things, as a well-practiced guide should, preferring to talk in-depth about the craftsmen who built the 40M.

“It takes 100 men 13 months to build the 40,” he explained as we walked into the on-deck master. He walked over to a curved closet door and stepped to the side. “Thirty-seven. That’s how many different doors we have aboard this yacht. Yeah, it would have been easier to build uniform doors, but they wouldn’t have been as beautiful.” I don’t think I’ll look at a closet door on a Princess the same way again.

I followed Haslam onto the sun-soaked flybridge; we walked up to the bar (don’t jump to conclusions) and I ran my hand over a beautiful woven wood design on the front. “All made in Plymouth” he quickly reminded me. “Everything, cleats to furniture, is made by our craftsmen.”

We walked to the end of the flybridge when he spoke of his second, or maybe it’s his first pas- sion—the environment. A marine biology student in a past life, Haslam explained that the yacht is ISO 1401 certified, meaning the yard does everything possible to reduce waste, which includes resin infusing everything, and raising $1,246,000 (1 million Euro) for the Marine Conservation Society.

A couple days later I was walking down Collins. It was night and the sidewalks had emptied when I stopped to admire the 40M, only this time with a whole new perspective. This time I saw not just a stunning superyacht, but a true labor of love that more than 100 people poured heart and soul, sweat and hard work into realizing. And as for that bright green, it was growing on me. —

LOA: 131'9" BEAM: 26'4" DRAFT: 7'6" DISPL.: 470,000 lb. FUEL: 6,455 gal. WATER: 1,100 gal. POWER: 2/3,509-HP MTU 12V 4000 M93Ls CRUISING SPEED: 16 knots TOP SPEED: 23 knots PRICE: Upon request