Princess V50 Review
The newest model in the Princess fleet is all about the transitions.
The Princess V50 at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival was immediately recognizable for her telltale Princess lines. The Plymouth, England-based builder has done a remarkable job over the last decade or so branding itself with flowing exterior profiles which give way to a certain ineffable interior momentum that is both practiced and organic in equal measure.
Dark, hullside glazing that stretches nearly the entire length of the boat plays well with a superstructure that curves gently aft. Large, rounded side windows give the V50 the solid impression of a vessel built both for speed and comfort, which is exactly what she is.
With twin 440-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS600s, this boat tops out at 32 knots and cruises from 26 to 28—an able clip for a fun time on the water, particularly when paired with twin Garmin screens and a 12-inch diameter wheel that promises racecar-like control. Princess models smaller than the V50 mostly come with stern drives, but the builder felt this boat was enough of a step up in class to warrant the bigger, more powerful, and more sophisticated engines. “There can be a stigma around outdrives in this segment of the market,” says James Nobel, marketing director for Princess Americas, in reference to some maintenance issues. “We’ve never had any trouble, but it just seemed to make more sense to us to go with the Volvos here, particularly when you account for the maneuverability and ease of use they offer.”
The open version of this boat is understandably the more popular option on the other side of the pond where dayboating is the name of the game, and thus the open yacht on display in Cannes. This boat’s main deck sprawled back to the cockpit and held built-in settees with pleasingly curvy edges. That mini-settee labyrinth culminated in a sunpad for three. In the Americas, Nobel suspects an enclosed version of the V50—with sliding glass doors between salon and cockpit and more elegant furniture—will be more popular. That version will be on display at this year’s Fort Lauderdale boat show. Notably, both versions feature a large sunroof and electrically actuated windows to port and starboard, so with the sliding glass doors pushed to the side, the “enclosed” version can still function very much as an Open. I know which version would warrant my investment.
Another step up that the V50 represents for Princess owners is on her accommodations level. This is among the smallest-sized boats the builder offers with an amidships master. Models below her in the range have a forepeak master that doesn’t benefit from the full beam width like that found aboard the V50. The en suite master also has a full head with a shower large enough for American shoulders (or bellies, if you’ve been letting that gym membership slide). There’s also a small settee with a table for morning coffee to starboard and a 5-foot cedar hanging locker that offers decent stowage for a boat of this size and type. A VIP in the forward section benefits from excellent natural light thanks in part to that aforementioned hullside glazing, as well as a hatch overhead. The cabin is also en suite and offers a large stowage compartment beneath the mattress. A very workable galley with an L-shaped counter and three-burner Kenyon cooktop sits between the cabins. It enjoys plenty of natural light from the single-pane windshield overhead.
With the V50, Princess clients can expect a very dialed-in example of what the builder is all about: Stylish lines, nimble and fun performance, and a platform driven by smart design. She represents an excellent way to step up your boating game, and will help make the transition to a bigger vessel completely effortless.
Princess V50 Specifications:
LOA: 52’7″
Beam: 13’4″
Draft: 3’7″
Displ.: 35,049 lbs.
Fuel: 341 gal.
Water: 91 gal.
Power: 2/440-hp Volvo Penta IPS600s
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This article originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/princess-v50-review
