PRESTIGE F4

PRESTIGE REPLACES HUGELY POPULAR 52 WITH THE STRIKING NEW F4.

This past June, I had the chance to fly to Europe for an Italian job. In the charming port city of Trieste, my task was not only covering two brand new releases from Prestige, but promising to keep one of them a secret— for three freaking months. In the journalism biz, this is what’s known as an “embargo.” You get to check out something really cool, but in exchange, you agree with its creator to keep it a secret. Not a word. Not so much as an image of a piece of trim leaked to the Interwebs. Even an accidental view of that cool thing in the background could land you, if not in legal hot water, then at the very least not invited back to see more cool things.

In this case, that cool thing was Prestige’s new F4. Prestige’s brass unveiled this 48.5-foot new addition to their venerable F-Line alongside their new flagship, the 63-foot M8 power catamaran. Despite its smaller size, the gleaming, flybridge-endowed F4 wasn’t overshadowed in the least. With a Michael Peters designed deep-V hull (that nonetheless only draws a surprising 3 feet, 10 inches), Prestige is positioning this boat as a seriously upscale and heavy-sea-capable yet family-friendly torchbearer to their 520, a successful model we first covered way back in 2017.

I can happily report that I found 19 metric tons of impressive engineering and savvy space utilization in this three (with one optional crew cabin) stateroom yacht. First off, from every exterior angle, the F4 is beautiful. Polished to a mighty sheen and with a steeply back-raked cabin windshield, a forward-raked flybridge windshield, and acres of black-tinted windows along her hull, she’s a refined and muscular looking build. On deck, her faux teak flooring should endure years of abuse while an optional—

and vast—submersible stern beach pad with brilliantly inset retractable steps sets very close to the stern for safety when deployed. And on the safety topic, the F4 is laden with highly polished and functional grabrails—high enough to actually serve a life-preserving purpose.

Designer Camillo Garroni and interior decorator Valentina Militerno de Romedis have created a yacht brimming with thoughtful touches that include a galley just forward of the rear deck whose countertops run horizontal to the boat’s centerline. With this configuration, the chef can not only gaze at the retreating sea through a huge, mirror-finished window but raise it to socialize with—or serve folks on a flybridge and retractable awning-shaded rear deck without having to leave the galley. That rear deck holds a six-person dinette whose leafed table can be flipped down for more seating or lowered to create a surprisingly vast rear sunpad/lounge.

Surrounded by windows, the main cabin is anchored by a huge U-shaped lounge to port. It faces a fully-equipped lower helm with twin Garmin screens, two smaller monitoring screens, an adjustable steering wheel and a bench for two. While sharply banking with the twin 480-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS drives near her 28-knot top speed (and burning 50 gallons per hour), I found her sightlines excellent and turns pre

cise, even when bulldozing at an angle through her sizeable wake.

Inside, the window illumination combines with blonde wood, beige upholstery tones and recessed lighting to create an amply and soothingly lit interior. This is most notable in the fullbeam master cabin whose forward position also makes it—and its luxurious en suite bath—incredibly quiet even when underway. Half a flight of steps down, the VIP suite to starboard and the dual twin berth guest suite are set amidships and share ample storage and a nicely appointed bathroom that doubles as the F4’s dayhead. The guest suite holds two single berths while the VIP’s queen can split into a pair of singles.

Up top, the flybridge can be had with a hardtop or as our boat was equipped, with a retractable bimini. The single-seat, single-Garmin screened upper helm also features a joystick control and a second smaller monitoring screen. It’s conveniently set alongside a forward U-shaped lounge so the captain can converse with crew or passengers. A nifty extension slides out to turn that lounge into a sunpad, while the huge L-shaped rear sofa can accommodate several guests.

After spending a day aboard this boat, I’m ready to grab my family and spend a few weeks. —Chris Dixon

LOA: 49’ 10” Beam: 14’ 9” Draft: 3’ 10” Fuel: 343 gal. Water: 155 gal. Power: 2/480-hp Volvo Penta IPS 650