Princess 40

If you've ever dreamed of living in a waterfront house with a jetty out the back, table and chairs overlooking your boat tinkling at the foot of the garden, perhaps somewhere like Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove, or Sovereign Island, you are not alone.

Boaties from across the country are packing their bags and taking up residence in sunny Queensland for waterfront amenities alone. But the question is, once you've found your house, what exactly do you park at the backdoor?

This dilemma faced a resident of one of the aforementioned addresses.

Naturally, a whole range of issues came into play. They were a couple, so he didn't want a boat that was a handful to drive. Yet he most certainly wanted something that was a cut above your average Queensland clunker.

The boat had to complement their flash new home - not dominate it as so many big boats do - and provide a seamless transition from one kind of luxury to another, on water. After much searching, our couple settled on the English-made Princess 40 flybridge cruiser.

The stylish Princess 40 has three cabins and two bathrooms - extra accommodation in case guests arrive - and is a ideal for cruising Queensland's waterways. Shifting sands and narrow channels demand a boat that is manoeuvrable, efficient at moderate planing speeds, and you really don't want bigger than 40ft.

Not holding back on the options, the owner added airconditioning, a 6.5kVa Kohler generator, a beautiful concealed Cooney 200kg-capacity power-transom crane with remote for launching the jetski, 10-stacker CD player, and a bow thruster for extra snappy parking. Though it has small-boat manoeuvrability, the 40 has a big-boat feel and the capability to cruise places.

BRITISH ENGINEERING
A contemporary deep-vee hull from designer Bernard Olesinski, with prominent strakes and down-turned chines for lift, and propellers set in tunnels for extra grip, no slip and efficiency in tight turns, forms the foundation. The recessed props also reduce draft, which is handy in many places like the Broadwater.

The hull runs right to the end of the boarding platform, which serves two purposes. First, it means the platform is strong enough to carry a tender at sea. Second, the boat gains extra lift so you can load-up the lazarette or travel at level trim with a fair crowd in the cockpit.

Build quality extends from the hand-laid hull with a balsa-cored superstructure to the Lloyds-approved engineering and the electrical systems, where each and every wire is colour-coded and properly clipped There is a logical 12/240V circuit-breaker board, auto and manual bilge pumps, first-aid kit, impressive owner's manual, tool kit and more.

The engineroom is designed to breathe freely thanks to high-volume air intakes. It is visually and audibly well insulated, with flexible engine mounts, watercooled exhaust silencers, fore and aft bulkheads, and access from a cockpit hatch. The 40 also comes with big-boat auto fire-extinguisher and fuel shut-off systems.

All the bronze sea and remote fuel cocks, strainers and filters, deck fillers and pumps are easily accessible. The twin fueltanks with cross-over system carry 1136lt and, with water of 487lt, you have a comfortable cruising range beyond 300nm. The genset provides power by night, while airconditioning allows you to drive inside at the internal helm and escape the tropical sun.

Adding to the driver-friendliness are the remote anchor winch at both stations with a self-storing 16kg pick, the quick response trim tabs, dual-station log and digital depth sounder with shallow-water alarm, remote searchlight, two-station stereo, and intercom and loud hailer so you can talk to crew on the foredeck. All of which means you can kick back and enjoy the journey on the Princess 40 without having to second guess a lot of things. This makes for carefree captaincy.

LIVING AREAS
As for the seamless sense of luxury, the interior of the Princess 40 is probably flasher than many a canal-estate home. High-gloss natural cherrywood joinery with parquetry inlays, flesh-coloured leather lounges, cream carpet and mock suede and vinyl soft touch liners provide the up-market air. Platinum and blue striped curtains, polished stainless steel features and fittings, teak decks and a navy hull complete the picture.

And you don't have to look far to find something comforting, like a cold ale, once you walk through the big stainless-framed sliding door to the saloon. Immediately to port is a wetbar with, in this case, a well-stocked fridge, and dedicated drawers carrying crystal glasses and bottles of bootleg.

The sound system and CD are next to the wetbar, along with airconditioning controls, and a two-person lounge with free-standing bases. These bases can be pulled up to the dinette and U-shaped lounge opposite to create a setting for up to six people.

If you need more beds, the loose bases lock into the U-shaped lounge to create an impromptu double berth. Headroom, shoulder-room, light and fresh air are a feature of the saloon, but with the curtains drawn around the big eagle-eye windows you will gain privacy.

Two steps lead up to the lower helmstation, from where a big view stretches across the foredeck. The feeling of driving from here is almost reminiscent of a runabout. Opening side windows can be used for fresh air or you can run with the AC going.

More than an afterthought, the lower helm contained Raytheon depth, speed and autopilot neatly recessed in the dash, bow thruster controls, switchpanels and Volvo electronic shifts, searchlight buttons, a chart light and chart area, and a raised burl-elm brow with Volvo engine gauges.

While it is set down three steps from the saloon, the galley has a good view back to the lounges and, being alongside the lower helm, you can cook, cruise and converse at the same time. Amenities include a Panasonic microwave, 12/240V fridge/freezer, receptacle on the back of a cupboard door, water gauge, and an opening porthole.

Black-ice Avonite benchtops, teak-and-holly non-skid flooring, smart joinery and a servery ensure you're not short on food-prep space. There are twin sinks with chopping board lids and dedicated crockery and cutlery drawers for Villeroy & Boch and Princess silverware.

APARTMENT LIVING
The Princess 40's accommodation is symbolic of a lavishly decorated apartment. The boat can sleep up to six people, but it's perhaps best with a family of four and even better with two adults seeking some time alone.

Guests are treated to a port-side cabin with two single berths, designer reading lights, opening portholes, a full-length hanging locker, additional overhead lockers, and a good deal of dressing room in a deep footwell. The quilted bedspreads were are a deep blue-and-gold striped pattern.

A door from the guests cabin and another in the companionway leads to the ensuite or dayhead. It's a big moulded white area, clean and roomy, with a Jabsco electric loo, standing-height shower with a curtain, numerous lockers, and bathroom fittings extending from a glass holder to an electric shaver point.

As the owner, you'll be treated to quite some master cabin. Naturally, it has an island double berth, mirror-backed bedhead, blue-quilted bedspread, his-and-her fully-lined hanging lockers, and a dressing table. There are separate lockers for personal effects, a big circular hatch through which light and fresh air can be directed, as well as opening portholes.

A door leads through to your own private ensuite with separate shower stall and electric loo. Though the accommodation is set back up under the bow, it has an open feel. If you leave the door of the master cabin ajar you can see through to the saloon, which brings us back outdoors.

MOTORYACHT DECKS
The motoryacht-like design of the Princess 40 - with the big overhanging bridge - might seem to compromise cockpit space. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of room for, say, six people to lunch at anchor. The local Princess dealer had even included a snappy electric stainless barbecue that had its own dedicated hold.

The full-length boarding platform has a wet locker for bikinis, the optional crane for the jetski, and a deck shower. A four-person lounge sits in the shade, out of the Queensland sun, and has a mile of stowage space beneath it.

Nice touches include concealed mooring lines bins in the transom corners, moulded steps to the sidedecks, designer stainless cleats, a high bowrail and optional foredeck sunpad. The lazarette doubles as an engineering space; it harbours the generator, airconditioning unit, as well as folding tables and fenders, which come gratis.

A moulded stairwell leads to the flybridge. Handrails and headroom make the seven steps up a snap to cover. Underway, you can close the hatch and still see through it to the transom for parking.

The bridge is a social space from which to drive the 40. The aft sunpad on the bridge overhang can take two bodies, a U-shaped lounge can seat another four people if you had to. A small table and a port-side helm bench seat means you aren't sitting on top of each other, and the wind-deflector screen seems to cut the breeze.

CRUISING FOR VIEWS
Mirroring the lower and main helmstation, the bridge console has a full spread of engine repeater gauges. It also had a nice array of Raytheon electronics including a RC530 sounder/GPS plotter, ST7000 pilot, VHF handset, intercom and a tremendous Interphase forward-facing sonar so you could see the sandbanks coming.

With a series of waypoints on the chart screen and the depth alarms set on both the sonar and sounder, you can travel home at night and dock the Princess 40 at the waterfront home without fear of running aground. We cast the lines and springers in broad daylight and set out for nowhere in particular.

We idled along the no-wash zone, waved to a man in a floppy hat wetting a line without upsetting his little boat, and opened throttles on a big bend in the estuary. The twin 370hp Volvos produced a top-speed of 31kt during the boat's delivery, but I found the 26kt it logged on our test just as impressive.

Coming from several other cruisers over previous days, the Princess did feel like a boat of distinction. It rides nice and level, cruises at a range of speeds without bogging down, and has a feeling of solidity that makes you think about undertaking a coastal passage.

The boat reacts almost instantly to the wheel, such is the beauty of the power-assisted steering, and with its blue hull and chrome it trots about with an air of distinction and nobility. It certainly enhances the quality of living of its owner.

He can slip down to Marina Mirage for a nosh-up and drive home without running aground, cruise to Moreton Island for a weekend away, and head to neighbouring ports when he gets the courage. And after a previous out to sea and down the Gold Coast trip, I can vouch for the Princess 40's seaworthiness.

But best of all our owner can duck about the waterways on a whim, at short notice, needing to do nothing more than step aboard, turn the keys, and cast the lines. Such are the joys of a having a boat at the foot of your garden...

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