Prestige 500 Flybridge: Review

In just three years, the Prestige 500 and 550 have become best sellers in the range. Something like 100 of the 500s are sold into the US each year, accounting for one-third of annual Prestige production. But this new iteration offers greater local application. The availability of an aft tender garage, hydraulic swim platform, and some chic new interior finishes enhance the user-friendliness and ambience of this IPS pod-driven Euro motorcruiser.

OVERVIEW
- A luxury motoryacht that woos today’s cruiser owners
Prestige is owned by Groupe Beneteteau, the French boatbuilding giant, with 16 factories in Europe and the USA. The group has four brands of yachts and eight brands of powerboats. There’s been increasing focus on the luxury motorcruisers in its portfolio of late. The marine giant sniffs opportunity for growth and is tapping into that global powerboat market with smarter and more compelling craft like this revamped Prestige 500.

Prestige are built in their own 37-acre factory in Nantes on the Loire River in Upper Brittany, using their own design team to stamp their signature on the badge. Garroni Design from Italy, which works with superyachts and a new genre of boat it calls hotel yachts, and some French influence is behind the Prestige designs and lines.

Suffice to say, it’s all very European, which is a point of difference for global buyers in parochial markets. Additionally, the production efficiencies and sheer scale of things mean this French yard can deliver boats fast, with great repeatability and quality-control checks, to the hungry and extensive international dealer network.

Enter Matt Willett Marine at The Spit in Sydney. He is a long way from the Loire Valley, where he travels with prospective Prestige customers, but he’s passionate about the brand he has imported for the past three years. He also sells Jeanneau powerboats, so the Prestige is a step up in class and a great fit for Sydney and other big-city waterways where cachet counts.

Prestige buyers tend to be looking for European design and that sense of chic, something different to the run-of-the-mill fibreglass cruisers, while demanding ease of handling, the latest technology, and more and more comforts. Dissect the specs and inventory, spend the best part of a day aboard this Prestige 500 Flybridge (Sedan version also available), and you will find a boat that ticks a lot of boxes demanded by today’s pleasure boaters.

The modest engines and IPS pod drives give predictable performance, low-engine noise and acceptable fuel bills, adding to the enjoyment of running this boat, while the designers’ non-negotiable items include walkaround decks, one-level living, an aft galley, private full-beam owners retreat with en suite, and now the new transom options.

Previous Prestige 500s had a fixed swim platform to which you could mount an aft davit and plonk your dinghy on chocks. The boat had crew quarters, which are of questionable value here and within the confines of a 50-footer.

Now there is the option of a tender garage — as fitted to our test boat— and you can order the new extended hydraulic boarding platform if you want more real estate. The new transom option does make the Prestige 500 more relevant to our market. You can fit a Williams 285 ducky and even a Zodiac 310 (partially deflated) in the boot and launch and retrieve the tender and watertoys with ease.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Value is a key part of the equation
Production efficiencies mean you get a lot of boat for your Euro. ISO factory compliance ensures strict QC processes along the way, as well as environmental checks and balances. It’s all very calculated and exact, including the packaging within this 48ft 11in hull.

Catering for global markets means dealers get quite a lot of scope with options to create boats for their markets. The way it’s imported here, the base Prestige 500 is a $1.15m boat with bow thruster, cushions for forward sun mattress, 26in TV/DVD, Bose audio system, 700W inverter, 11kW generator, induction four-burner cooktop, and more.

The weight-conscious Prestige 500 hull was built for a pair of the 435hp D6 Volvo Penta IPS 600s. There are no engine options, but our boat did have the optional cockpit joystick in addition those controllers at the dual helm stations.

At $1.35m, our test boat was priced to go. Other key options included the new tender garage with electric tender inflator; a retractable foredeck sun awning; forward sunbed bimini; teak cockpit table; underwater lights; and dishwasher.

There was an upgraded 60,000BTUs of air-con; an upgraded 2500W inverter; Bose to the cockpit and cabins, as well as extra TVs; plus twin Foxtel domes; a Simrad electronics package; and more.

Every Prestige is a customer order rather than a stock boat and, as such, fitted out to individual tastes and needs. But as a long-serving industry figure on the Sydney boating scene, Matt Willett’s input is to be valued.

He’s a qualified skipper, shipwright and a service-orientated business owner who has enjoyed boom times pre-GFC and created a loyal following in these more pared-back times. The Prestige is a nice fit for today’s savvy pleasure boater, he will tell you.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION
- Three-cabin layout with a new transom garage option
With white-leather saloon upholstery and the new Alpi light-oak joinery, our Prestige 500 test boat had a lot of internal wow factor. This is what Prestige refers to as 'the surprise inside', which actually refers to the full-beam stateroom on this 50 footer with separate private access. We’ll get to that.

Meantime, the outdoor living areas beckon. Access from the 1.11m-deep boarding platform, which wasn’t the optional extended hydraulic number, is easier enough around either side of the central tender garage.

Steps lead to the cockpit and then up to the full walkaround decks, backed by a high and supportive bow rail with lifeline. Deck gear includes a portside aft electric capstan, popular for stern-to anchoring in Europe, and mooring line and tailing storage bins.

The foredeck has a recessed 2.70m-long sunpad with a bimini option fitted that creates another ‘station’ for hanging out. That’s what you discover about this boat: it has a bunch of separate outdoor areas and private accommodation so everyone can find their own space.

The teak decks in the cockpit and on the swim platform are standard, as is the central inbuilt transom lounge. With the cockpit table and a couple of casual deck chairs you could seat six here for lunch. The shadows in the photos augur well for escaping the midday sun, as do the opening saloon doors and nearby galley with cold drinks.

At 1.65m deep by 3.6m wide, it’s not the biggest cockpit in its class, but it’s not ‘chopped off’ all the same and local boaters won’t feel cheated. The open flybridge provides another outdoor chilling zone. Easily negotiated designer steps lead up top and there’s a bimini for shade if you need it.

With seating for a crowd, a table and lounge for four, sink, fridge and griddle, you can do lunch in the right anchorage with even better views. Of course, the bridge is a social cruising platform and, we figured, ideal for a half dozen guests on a whale-watching trip.

Plenty of rails and a ladder hatch add to the family safety factor in the flybridge, while another 2.7m long sunpad creates an outdoor rumpus room. The portside helm alongside, with dash pod and twin seat, offers commanding views.

Back in the cockpit, with the saloon doors open, you can create a thoroughfare to the aft galley and the saloon. This adds further to the social aspect and entertaining side of this all-over accessible boat. Opening windows for natural ventilation and the tropical air-con ensure the saloon isn’t stuffy with all the surround glass.

The compact galley to port has a small island servery, standing fridge concealed behind the oak cabinetry, white solid stone counters, good light, storage and ventilation. Our boat had a flush-mount induction four-burner cooktop and sink with designer faucet. There is a combi microwave option. The wet bar is opposite.

White blinds, carpet, liners and leather lounge upholstery create a light Euro effect in the forward step-up saloon. There is a dedicated dinette to port ahead of the galley, with a new electric conversion option to a coffee table, and a twin settee opposite behind the lower helm, where another two-person seat calls to cruising couples.

You descend the forward companionway stairs, under which hides a secret wine fridge, to the separate guest accommodation with two cabins and a bathroom. Opening portlights, hanging lockers and drawer storage, and a sense of space are highlights.

The VIP cabin forward has scissor berths that come together from singles to form a queen on the centreline, which you’d probably keep assembled that way. There are smart lights and quasi desk and vanity. The other cabin up here has adult-sized side-by-side single beds.

The shared bathroom, with separate door the VIP cabin, has a shower stall but with fold-away screens to boost room around the toilet. It’s a compromise, but how often do guests or kids shower inside your boat?

Either way, the 120-litre holding tank should see you through a long weekend with guests aboard and the 636 litres of water is very generous for typical boating use.

As touched on, the 'surprise inside' the Prestige 500 is the full-beam stateroom with private entry off the saloon, back opposite the aft galley. The hotel-like suite has a king bed, nook with table and seats, walk-in robe/hanging locker and inbuilt storage bureau. It’s a real retreat. The en suite has a full separate shower stall, too.

For those seeking a full-beam stateroom, this is about as compact a host boat as they come and achievable thanks also to the IPS pod drive set-up. It’s the 'clincher' in the Prestige 500 for those coming aboard with a view to spending time aboard.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Built on a massive scale with QC to meet CE
There are elements of streamlined and sometimes automated boatbuilding about the Prestige 500: the way timber panels are cut, the choice of just a few timbers, and the moulded finishes. These give a production-boat feel, but that’s not something to shy away from.

Beneteau isn't about to cut corners. The Prestige 500 is built to CE standards from a factory with ISO accreditation. CAD design helps make the most of space utilisation, while the ISO system means there are quality control checks at every station.

The interior is built outside the boat in modules that are dropped into a resin-infused hull designed to reduce weight. The boat’s displacement dry is 14,100kg and 19,862kg loaded (without your gear), which isn’t heavy in the suggested 50-footer league.

The engines on this boat, 435hp D6s, are small and give a stated modest top speed of about 27-28 knots. But do you need fast? That is the question that needs answering. The 17 degree hull carries a fair bit of deadrise, so despite being light and agile we couldn’t discern it being a slammer.

Once you get to your destination, the 11kW genset and upgraded 60,000BTUs will come in handy. The upgraded inverter lets you run the AV system without the gennie and the fridges are all AC/DC of course.

Engine access is down a cockpit ladder and you can get to all the gear OK. It's a bit tight over the engines, we noted, due to the garage and its moulded pan, but that's a small price to pay for the big storage gains.

ON THE WATER
- Smooth and quiet for comfortable cruising
Groupe Beneteau is the biggest customer of Volvo Penta and there’s been a lot of shared design input. Evidently, the American naval architect in the collaborative Prestige design team kept engine weight forward using a jackshaft back to the IPS drives.

Certainly, the Prestige 500 is well balanced, with a typical free running and sightly bow-up attitude that we see in a lot of  IPS boats. It doesn’t mind a little bit of trim to keep it glued to the water when heading offshore. Even then, it’s a very dry ride.

While the 636 litres of water is generous, the 1300 litres of fuel is on the light side. You’re looking at a cruising range of about 250nm at 20-24 knots, says Prestige, which should allow you to access those nearby ports at holiday time.

Supplied dBa figures correspond to our subjective analysis on the ear. This is a quiet boat with 69-71dBa at 19-22 knots smooth cruise. In fact, we’d go so far as to say it’s super smooth, quiet and agreeable just like you would expect of a modern-day cruising conveyance.

The off-the-wheel steering circle was bigger than expected but the IPS steering settings are often conservative. Without a keel, the hulls tend to skate a bit in the turns. But sportsboating isn’t this boat’s charter. It’s just a nice cruiser for heading to your favourite anchorage.

VERDICT
- A modern-day cruiser for the masses
This isn’t the biggest 50-footer on the market, but space utilisation is excellent. There’s great access to the various deck 'stations', due consideration given to ergonomics, and good headroom of 195cm-210cm in the cabins, saloon and galley.

Underway, the Prestige 500 is an agreeable powerboat with low fuel burn, low smoke and low noise. With the saloon doors closed, driving from the lower helm station was just unreal. You could do this with the family inside and alongside in winter, a boiling hot summer, at breakfast between anchorages, and whenever. The vision is reassuringly good.

On the hook, there’s a pleasant European ambience, especially with the new oak finish and abundant natural light, and all those private deck and cabin areas. At the end of the day, the boat ticks a lot of boxes including being user friendly thanks to the joystick.

Australia’s big cities are built on harbours, ports, rivers and bays. The Prestige 500 will take advantage of those waterways without burdening you with a lot of extraneous engineering gear that only ever features on your servicing account.

From reduced running costs and easy docking to style and comforts, this is the kind of new-age luxury cruiser that a lot of boaters with old-tech boats would dearly love to get into. It will slot right into an empty waterfront berth and sidle up to a pontoon on a canal front very happily. And the price is right.

LIKES
>> New transom options with tender garage and hydraulic platform
>> Excellent utilisation of space within the infused hull
>> Full-beam stateroom with separate entrance
>> IPS pod drives for today’s joystick driver and docker
>> Modest engines mean minimal fuel usage
>> Big brand and established local backing

NOT SO MUCH
>> Wide turning circle as a result of the IPS hull without keel
>> Modest power and modest fuel equals modest cruising speeds and range
>> Not the biggest 50-footer around, despite model nomenclature

Specifications: Prestige 500
Price as tested: $1.35m with D6 IPS 600s, cockpit joystick, 11kW generator, (part of the Excellence pack), tender garage, air-con upgrade, inverter upgrade, dishwasher, AV upgrades, Foxtel, Simrad suite, retractable cockpit awning, upgraded interior fitout including light oak joinery and leather upholstery, and more.
Priced from: $1.35m with D6 IPS 600s
LOA: 15.0m
Hull Length: 14.92m
Beam: 4.50m max
Draft: 1.05m
Air Draft: 5.23m
Displacement: 14,100kg
Full Displacement: 19,862kg
Deadrise at Transom: 17 degrees
Fuel: 1300 litres
Water: 636lt
Holding Tank: 120 litres
Fridge: 173 litres
Sleeping: 6 (+2 with crew cabin option)
CE Category: B12/C14
Top Speed: 29 knots
Cruising Speed: 24 knots
Range at Cruise: about 250nm
Engines: Twin 435hp D6 Volvo Penta IPS 600s

Tested through the national Prestige Importer:
Matt Willett Marine, Prestige Australia
D'Albora Marina,
The Spit, The Spit Road, Mosman NSW 2088
Phone:(02) 9930 0000
See www.mwmarine.com.au, www.prestigeaustralia.com