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PRINCESS YACHTS QUALITY ISSUES

• Thread starter svetlin
• Start date 4 Jun 2009

I have recently receive my Princess P54 with more than 34 !!! quality issues (without spending more than 10 hours on boat). To name only few: loose connections of the trim tabs (all the oil was emptied in the bilges), no indication on the grey water tank, blocked pump of the guest head, blocked crew cabin toilet, damaged leather, loose conections, not aligned doors, deformed generator cover in the cockpit..., etc. etc. I have tryied to ask Princess aftersale support to rectify the damages, but until now (after 40 days from delivery date) NOTHING is rectified. I am cosntantly receiving assurances from them that they will make me a happy Princess Owner ("as many others") but finaly nothing is done. The last message from them was confirming that their team will attend the boat on 4th (today) in order to rectify everything. Unfortunately until now (2100 CET) nobody attend. Hope that they will not knock midnight. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Did somebody have similar experience ? What about legal case ?  

Well-known member

Is it thier fault that you have blocked the toilets /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif  

if you have had any boat built, you will know that on board toilets are "their" toilets for use whilst work is done on the boat.  

You should see how thorough Oysters are Commissioned /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif  

Active member

What country are you in, and who is the dealer? It's not unusual to have quite a number of problems on a new boat, they are very complex after all, but you should be getting better service in fixing the problems.  

Dear Sailormen, yes, it is their fault if you receive the boat with blocked toilet (actually full with black rubber particles) ON DELIVERY.  

Dear Princess Owner One Failed to mention it was blocked on delivery /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif  

poltergeist

[ QUOTE ] Is it thier fault that you have blocked the toilets /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif [/ QUOTE ] So whats you views on the other faults that the OP has endured???  

They have changed suddenly their dealer in Bulgaria (20 days after the boat was delivered) and the new one from the neighbouring Romania is not reacting also (although in words he is doing good support)  

Poor commissioning & Quality Control  

PowerYachtBlog

sad to hear this did you try to contact Princess directly?  

You could try speaking to the Princess factory in the UK, tell them that you are being let down by the local dealers. 34 snagging issues sounds a lot, but think of the thousands of components used, and the myriad of different systems fitted, and it's actually not so bad if you could get them fixed quickly.  

I think the dodgy bit, is being in Bulgaria. And now with Rumanian agents. Boats need mending all the time, mainly the new bits, not so much the old ones. I'd flog the new Princess to some one in Plymouth where it can properly be mended. Then buy some old ex fishing boat, that the Bulgarians can bodge. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif  

Deleted User YDKXO

Stop taking the piss. The guy speaks way better English than you speak Bulgarian  

Sorry to hear about your quality issues. However complicated the product it shouldn't have these kind of faults especially in the current market where every customer is precious. I guess your boat may be the victim of some less than motivated employees at the Princess factory where there have been redundancies recently You should contact the customer service people at the Princess factory to explain your problems. Don't be too disappointed though. The Princess 54 is a superb boat and once the faults are fixed, I'm sure you will enjoy it greatly  

who said where the OP comes from. if he has quality & or distributer probs the CEO of Princess should know about it from the OP /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif  

errm the Princes_Owner said he was from Bulgaria. Having purchased, and Princess having accepted payment for the boat, its very disappointing that a boat from quality british boat builder has so many avoidable faults.  

Er No. he took del in Bulgaria no mention of Nationality @ all. the OP has since edited the original post /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif  

jimmy_the_builder

Why are you being so aggressively unsympathetic? Cheers Jimmy  

[ QUOTE ] Why are you being so aggressively unsympathetic? [/ QUOTE ] Jimmy, ....I wonder if the aggression would have been the same if it were a list of 34 issues on some poor chaps new Oyster or Swan or Contest or Bowman or or or..(perhaps anything with Sails for old sailorman).....get the drift. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif  

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Princess Yachts Reviews

The story began on Newport Street in Plymouth in 1965. It was here that ex-Naval officer David King and two friends started a company called Marine Projects.

Their first model, which was named Project 31 , was built on the hull of a Senior 31 and fitted out in a rented shed. This historic yacht was restored in 2015 as part of the yard’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

From such humble beginnings, Marine Projects made huge advances over the following years. This led to the 1969 launch of the Princess 32 – the first model to bear the name.

The 1970s saw Princess branch out into the burgeoning flybridge market with the Princess 37 V Hull. Designed by John Bennett and launched at the London Boat Show, this model was fitted with high performance inboard diesel engines.

Six years later the company began work on the Princess 30DS with a promising young designer called Bernard Olesinski. His name has since become a byword for the deep-vee hull. 1981 saw a buyout of the company, with South African businessman Graham J Beck taking the helm – he would remain the majority shareholder for the next 27 years.

In 1984 the launch of the Princess 286 Riviera cemented this company’s status in the high-speed sports cruiser market. Its twin 270hp Volvo AQ271/DP engines gave a top speed of more than 30 knots. Just a year later, the company followed up this success with the launch of the Princess 45, which was the largest production yacht in the UK – and there was clearly an appetite for larger yachts, as more than 400 hulls produced over the next nine years.

Export and expansion

The V-Class range was rolled out in 1994 with the arrival of the Princess V39 , which in its latest guise is still one of the company’s best sellers more than 20 years later. A 1995 tie-up with Viking Yachts of Gretna, New Jersey saw Princess break into the American market.

The 1990s also saw the yard move into a new purpose-built headquarters, still on Newport Street, as well as acquiring a new site in nearby Coypool.

But wasn’t until 2001 that the company was officially renamed as Princess Yachts International, with production split over three sites in Devonport, Plympton and Lee Mill. This year also saw the launch of Princess’s first M Class superyacht, the Princess 25M.

And in 2008 a buyout by L Capital allowed further expansion, taking the Princess range over the 100ft mark for the first time. This led to another new site – South Yard was leased from the Ministry of Defence for the development of the M Class range in 2009 and Princess was granted the lease for the premises two years later.

The yard is rightly proud of its environmental record, which was underlined in 2011 when Princess became the first British yard to achieve RINA Green Plus (Y) notation for its entire range. More recently, Princess teamed up with the Marine Conservation Society to launch a 2016 book called Enid & Her Magic Yacht, which aims to spread the environmental message to the next generation of seafarers.

Today the Princess Yachts collection ranges from the entry-level V39 sportscruiser to the 131ft tri-deck Princess 40M superyacht . Its yachts are built in a state-of-the-art facility, which spans more than 100,000 square metres. With more than 3,000 staff on its books, Princess Yachts is one of the biggest employers in Plymouth, but also operates in 118 other countries across the world.

You can read all the latest Princess Yachts news, reviews and features on MBY.com

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Princess Yachts V55 Reviewed

• By Chris Caswell
• April 21, 2023

For a nation about the size of Oregon, Britain clearly understands luxury. The Brits produce vehicles that set a benchmark: Think Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lotus.

So it should come as no surprise that the Princess Yachts V55 has a level of luxury beyond just layout or speed; it’s about the details. Before I get into the amidships master stateroom or the two other staterooms, the gourmet galley or the cockpit arranged for alfresco living, consider the supple, handmade leathers and suedes used for the V55’s interior upholstery. The helm seats, with armrests and headrests, have flawless stitching that stands proud of the material, just like on fine cars. The leather couch in the master made me feel cosseted with the luxe material.

This is a highly usable yacht too. Boarding from the transom platform is via twin stairways flanking a sun pad, which conceals the garage that accommodates an 11½-foot tender. The cockpit has softly curved lines, unlike the dart-like hull with its black-window slash and sweptback windscreen. An L-shaped lounge with a folding teak table is to port, a couch is aft, and there’s a Kenyon grill and a fridge for outdoor cooking. The cockpit is protected from wind with full-glass side windows.

One particular detail caught my eye here: the disappearing salon door. The stainless-steel door into the salon slides, and the neighboring window slides down into recesses, opening the cockpit to the salon. It’s an impressive display of engineering, which, combined with the 90-inch-long sunroof and opening windows on each side of the salon, makes for alfresco living on board.

The galley to starboard has a four-burner cooktop, a two-drawer Sub-Zero fridge and a microwave, along with several drawers and a pop-up pantry. A set of Princess glassware is in a fitted cabinet abaft the helm (and a Miele wine chiller is in the master stateroom). Opposite the galley is the settee with a fold-out dining table.

The Princess Yachts design team—Bernard Olesinski penned the hull—clearly looked at luxury cars when arranging the dash, which hosts a pair of 16-inch Garmin touchscreens and a separate monitor for the engines, all tucked under the wide lip to prevent reflections in the windshield. The helm is a skipper’s delight, with a row of rocker switches, throttle shifters and a wheel. The V55 I was aboard had the optional joystick, combining the twin Side-Power bow and stern thrusters with the engines to make docking easier, even when short-handed. I also applaud the detailed, eye-level electrical panel tucked inboard of the helm in the companionway.

The master stateroom spans the full 15-foot-3-inch beam with a queen-size centerline berth and stowage that includes a 5-foot-tall hanging locker for wrinkle-free clothes. A sliding door opens to the head and its 30-by-36-inch stall shower.

Forward is a guest stateroom to starboard with upper and lower bunks for the kids. The VIP stateroom is far forward with a queen berth that can split into V-berths when needed. The en suite head here has a private entry and does double duty as the day head. An optional crew cabin can be tucked aft with its own head and berth.

Standard power for the V55 is a pair of 1,000 hp Volvo Penta D13 straight-shaft diesels, which is a change from the V50 and its IPS pod drives. The straight drives have less maintenance and more horsepower, and skippers still get the joystick for combining thrusters and engines. Of note is the hidden station to starboard in the cockpit with engine and thruster controls for docking.

The V55 I was aboard had several options that consume engine-room space, such as a Seakeeper NG9 gyrostabilizer and a larger genset (21.5 kW rather than 9.5 kW), yet I still had full headroom at 5 feet, 10 inches tall. All the systems are accessible, including the fuel filters, sea strainers and Mastervolt isolation transformer. Three Dometic air-conditioning systems are neatly plumbed on bulkhead racks for service.

With the hammer down, the V55 topped 35 knots at 2,450 rpm, which leaves the engines happy and long-lasting at a 28-knot cruise speed at 75 percent engine load and 2,100 rpm.

Speed for a yacht this size is nice, but the most striking feature of the V55 underway was something missing: noise. Rolls-Royce once promised that the loudest noise in its Silver Shadow was the clock ticking, and the Princess V55 isn’t far behind. My decibel meter barely hit 70 with the boat running flat-out. Dropping back into the high-20-knot speeds, it read just over 64. That’s about the same as background music. Dockside with the air conditioning running, I couldn’t hear the genset.

Underway, the Princess V55 handles like a much smaller yacht: light on the steering and not needing the Bennett trim tabs to climb quickly onto plane. We stuck our nose far enough offshore to prove that the deep-V hull form could easily handle the bluster of the English Channel, the Catalina Channel or the Gulf Stream.

All in all, this is a delightful offering from a land that knows luxury. Britannia still rules the waves.

Interior Matters

This V55 has the optional satin-finish walnut interior, which is pleasantly serene and modern. Standard interiors in satin finish include alba oak (light) or rovere oak (medium), while darker silver oak and walnut are options.  

Dependable Diesel

Powering the V55 are twin Volvo Penta D13 diesels, a marinized version of the Volvo D13 truck engine, which has a worldwide reputation for robust and reliable operation, fuel efficiency and solid torque. At 780 cubic inches in a six-cylinder cast-iron block, it has fuel injection and electronic control systems.  

Another Living Room

The V55 salon opens to the outdoors with a disappearing door, as well as a sunroof and lowering windows. Another outdoor living space is at the bow, with a wraparound couch, a cocktail table and another sun pad.

Take the next step: princessyachtsamerica.com

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