PRINCESS V60 BOAT REVIEW

The Princess V60 has been described as having a dynamic yet agile look, combined with great performance and sea-keeping ability. Barry Thompson spent a morning on Auckland Harbour savouring the delights of this English masterpiece.

It wasn’t so many years ago that finding a sports performance sedan was quite difficult as just about everything built was a flybridge. It was often remarked by dedicated flybridge owners that not having a flybridge was like having half a boat. Well, times have changed, and today there are arguably as many if not more sports performance sedans offered by the world’s leading brands, than flybridge. One of those companies is the UK based, Princess Yachts, which recently underwent a dealership and distribution change in New Zealand and Australia.

While Princess Yachts have been available on both sides of the ditch for many years, it is only recently that under new distributors, that the brand is again getting some traction. New Zealand and Fiji are now represented by Sports Marine Ltd, trading as Princess Yachts New Zealand & Fiji and Australia by industry icon Greg Haines, who markets this popular English brand under Princess Yachts Australia.

It has been some years since I have been aboard a Princess and back in the day, they were extremely popular, especially around the Gold Coast. I can remember attending a Princess function at Coomera about 15 years ago, and a scan of the car park was like looking into a luxury car yard. The boats, like the cars were expensive and Princess was favourite brand of the chic set, especially when it came to sports performance yachts. Not the sort of boat you own because you are seriously into fishing, but one that lends itself to an evening of canapes, Moet (Princess, is part of the luxury giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennesy) and when in Aussie, a bucket of prawns.

A Princess V60 is the first boat to be marketed in New Zealand by Sports Marine and right from its release it attracted considerable interest. Scott Williamson, Managing Director of Sports Marine, arranged for my videographer and myself to meet at the Viaduct Basin, shortly after he was due to return from a sea trial with a potential client.

“Were they keen?” I asked Scott. “Yes, but they felt it was a bit small, and I have quoted them the larger V65”.

Speaking to Scott a few weeks after we ran the boat he confirmed that a new 2020 F55 had recently arrived and that a V65 had been sold and was due in early 2021. It seems the market was always in New Zealand it just needed someone to kick it back into gear.

“Since we have had both the V60 and F55 on display in Auckland they have attracted a lot of interest, and I am confident both will soon find owners”, said Scott. He added that the reaction to the layouts, finishes, and the whole concept of both boats had been a significant plus with local buyers, along with the high value the brand already has amongst those that know their boats.

“There are a number of Princess Yachts in New Zealand already, and that has been a help, so we are not coming in with an unknown brand to the market”. added Scott.

Princess Yachts unveiled the Princess V60 in 2018 and is one of six yachts from 12.98m to 24.5m in the Princess V Class (series). Princess of Plymouth, England offers a total of twenty-three models from 9.1m to 30.5m in seven classes.

With the new V60 Princess Yachts filled the big gap between the V50 and the V65. The deep-cut, dynamic V hull of the 60 combined with the two Volvo Penta D-13 1000 V8 diesel engines, which can accelerate the V60 to 32-34 knots, (36-38 knots with a pair of MAN 1200s), enables sporty driving. At 2000 rpm, the V60/Volvo package cruises at 23.1 knots, using 223 lph/9.65nmpl and gives a range of just over 300nm. This luxurious motor yacht is just as suitable for fast journeys as it is for comfortable cruising along the coast.

Right from the start, I knew I was going to love driving the V60. It just felt right behind the luxurious helm, which makes you feel like you are in the Gold Lounge at the movies. Everything from the two Raymarine screens to all the controls and switches for everything is perfectly positioned and easy to operate. Visibility is excellent, and when you open the massive glass sunroof, you have all the natural air and sunlight you need.