Princess V46

We boarded the tender, traversed the busy channel and moseyed along the protected shore of the Lane Cove River. There, pitched like castles in the sky, are some of Sydney's most prestigious waterfront estates from imposingly Federation to modernistically glassy and grand.

Naturally, these big-city homes are replete with private jetties and swanky boatsheds that house various waterborne conveyances as diverse as the main abode's architecture.

But none of those boats bobbing at the foot of the well-manicured gardens caught the eye of this writer, nor his partner - a self-proclaimed aesthetician, no less - quite like the Princess V46.

For now, at least, the latest Princess to land Down Under is this river's best-dressed new tenant. Even tied to the dock the boat has a presence that proclaims: I'm here to entertain in a smart, elegant and accommodating way. Champagne, anyone?

However, the princely Princess boats are no strangers to our shores. The new V46 is now part of an elite fleet of 60-plus Princess motoryachts to arrive here since 1996.

The UK boatbuilder has a motoryacht range as well as the V-Series offshore performance sportscruiser range. One third of the imports are from the V-Series, but methinks the balance is shifting towards them. After it was released last year at the Southhampton Boat Show, production of the V46 soon sold out worldwide.

While I've long been a fan of the more accommodation-orientated motoryachts, I too am leaning towards the V-Series. My change of heart comes after observing them gadding about the waterways, lights blazing, music playing out the Bose speakers, performing the role of ready-made party boat.

FLAT-OUT CRUISING
One of the big differences between this Princess and other UK boats is the hull performance. The Princess V46 has shaft-driven inboard diesel motors, not vee drives. Because the engine weight is kept out of the blunt end of the boat, the V46 has a naturally level-running attitude.

This detail is most important when you're driving from a seated indoor position, looking out over your boat's long foredeck. Thanks to the level trim, vision was superb on the V46 without needing to rely on those nautical handbrakes (aka trim tabs).

Maintaining a proper watch is as prudent to good seamanship on Sydney Harbour and other capital-city waterways as it is offshore, where fish-traps and debris can foul a prop, and trawlers and tankers ply the ocean at night. The V46 will be handy inside and out.

PRINCESS POWER
The Princess boats are more than mere show ponies; they are built for open waters, like the English Channel. The V46 has a classic Princess deep-vee hull with props in half-tunnels, and big chines and strakes for lift, directional stability and to displace water down and away.

The hull is designed, one supposes, by Bernard Olesinski, who Princess prefers, plus CAD programs and water testing on the English Channel off Plymouth. All boats are sea trailed and pre-delivered by the factory before being shipped.

Construction is handlaid GRP, with an integral bonded girder system for hull stiffness, and balsa/foam-cored decks for weight savings. The mouldings are flash without being too contemporary; stainless deck gear is oversized and ship-like, while the interior chines have high-gloss-finished cherrywood joinery.

On the furnishing front you can have either natural or classic (a reddish tinge) finish. Galley worktops are in Avonite, in this case the Black Ice pattern, and there are various soft-furnishing choices best described as understated but elegant.

For one reason or another - read: a new boat owner champing at the bit to use his V46 - this was something of a fly-by boat test, at least by personal standards. I can't comment on the finer points of the finish other than to say that the boat appeared to be typically well appointed. I had just 30 minutes to ferret about the recesses. More time was spent on deck playing the part of passenger and pilot. 

THE HARD SELL
The hardtop, which has a very effective soft-top panel that concertinas back to create a sunroof, is a listed but must-have option. While other boatbuilders including some local marques have 46-footers with retractable hardtops, this soft-top panel worked well, with no slack canvass when travelling with the roof open or closed.

Access to the boat was via a moulded boarding platform and there were port and starboard stairwells. However, the queen-sized aft sunpad with contoured cushions was offset. The companionway that gives unfettered access to the cockpit is to port.

Impressively, the big sunpad conceals an aft garage that housed an outboard-powered RIB - or you could fit wetbike. The lid lifts on a hydraulic strut at the push of a button. Moments later, you can be slinking off to explore the remote waterfront, its beaches and landings, if not the cafes or eateries.

There is a hot/cold deck shower, concealed swim ladder and stainless-steel rails around the superstructure. Access to the foredeck was easy enough around the sidedecks.

The boat can be fitted with an optional sunpad on the foredeck, but the agent said, from his experience, that these upholstered cushions create storage hassles at the end of the day.

Anyway, at least the boat has a windlass, self-stowing anchor and 40m chain, stainless-steel rub strips, searchlight and electric winch for retrieving the tender in the garage. An aft paserelle or boarding ladder is an option.

The dealer added an optional freshwater anchor wash, chrome skin fittings, 2.6m Avon RIB with 8hp outboard, black shade-cloth around the windscreen, a chain counter and docking camera integrated with the Furuno 10in display screen, which can also show DVDs at the helm.

Life for the most part revolves around the teak-laid cockpit under the semi-hardtop - there are lots of comfortably numb places to park yourself and enjoy the V-Series cruising. A dealer-fitted stereo remote on the dash lets you dial up or down the music on the internal speakers, and the views were grand.

COCKPIT LIVING
The V46 looks modern. The outdoor living area is traced by windows with more contemporary curves than on the earlier V-Series Princesses. The raked radar arch on the semi-hardtop adds to the sleek profile.

Inside, one finds plenty of headroom and light thanks to white liners, white mouldings and white (with optional blue piping) upholstery. Seated on the upholstery I noted great views while steaming along and slipping about at coffee cruising speeds.

The cockpit seating comprises a generous U-shaped lounge around a dinette to starboard, a two-person helm seat forward, and a C-shaped lounge opposite the skipper, which can be used as a Cleopatra-type sunlounge. All up, I counted more than a dozen bumrests and as many drinkholders.

Amenities come by way of a moulded wet bar with a deep, top-loading fridge and, to be fitted locally, a griddle or hot-rock barbecue. My preference: an electric griddle from which grilled prawns, scallops and fish slide into your gob much easier than off a conventional barbie. The V46 is above being a snag-sizzler.

VOLVO POWER MATCH
Beside the aft sunlounge is a hatch leading down to the lazarette and aft engineering space. The boat's air-con was upgraded to three units (22,000BTU) and the Onan was a 9kW model to handle the load. With these things removed from the engine room forward, which had fore and aft bulkheads, that space was remarkably shipshape and orderly.

The twin Volvo TAMD 75 EDC engines are accessed by way of a separate deck hatch in the cockpit sole. The motors, flexibly mounted on integral engine beds to reduce vibration, are fed by high-volume air intake. And they are fitted with Temet shafts and five-blade props, which help generate smooth travel.

The electronic Volvos were quiet, clean-running motors during my test. The engines have wet exhausts and appear well insulated. The combination of balanced rudders and power-assisted steering, plus the optional 6hp Sleipner bowthruster, makes for an exceedingly easy boat for a couple to operate. Like all good sportsyachts, you can drive it off the wheel at speed.

On the safety side, the boat has an automatic fire-extinguisher system, auto and manual bilge pumps, and 1365lt of fuel in interconnected alloy tanks. An audio and visual alarm on the dash warns you of fuel contamination. Fuel shutoff valves are located in a cockpit locker.

I spent several hours during a brisk Autumn day enjoying life aboard the V46, mainly behind the helm or on the cockpit lounges, saving the interior for later. But down below, the boat delivers more signature pleasure. Like the exterior, the V46's interior has apparently been lifted to new levels. 

INDOOR SUITS FOUR
Immediately to port in the saloon was a boat's XOS settee, a plush U-shaped number before a sturdy dinette on two adjustable pedestal bases. With a couple of occasional chairs you could do dinner with up to six people. The boat works best below with four.

The mood lighting, lamps, air-con outlets, blinds, carpet and surrounding natural cherrywood (a lighter timber than the heavy red stain) created a timeless, upmarket, hotel-like impression. But a clock and barometer on the saloon wall remind you that this is a boat. That big timber wall also had scope to mount an LCD television.

The galley conveniently across from the dinette is an L-shaped number with a hard-wearing Amtico or teak-and-holly floor. I noted a ceramic two-burner stove, combo microwave and convectional oven and grill, which is all you need to cook anything from a roast to porridge. There are twin sinks with a stylish mixer and a decent enough fridge, whose capacity is boosted by the top-loading fridge in the cockpit.

Naturally, there are various lockers, cupboards and drawers, a waste bin and opening portholes. The boat's 364lt water capacity should suffice for entertaining and weekending away. It's a bit light on if you intend to spend a week away from the marina, but apparently that's not what V-Series owners have in mind.

PRIVATE, AYE...
The V46 sleeps two couples comfortably in two cabins each with en suites, electric loos and separate shower stalls. The cabins are at either end of the boat and, as such, this Princess delivers a high degree of privacy.

The owner optioned the aft cabin with an infill so its twin single beds became one big rumpus room or indoor daybed. It was probably king-sized. Guests also got a hanging locker, drawers, reading lights and opening portholes.

Up front, the intended master cabin and its en suite - also tucked behind a privacy door - might be more susceptible to the sound of water playing on this hull's pronounced downturned chines. But one imagines the island double bed and quilted bedhead will soon lull you to sleep. Storage space existed in a wardrobe, drawers and various lockers.

Wherever I waltzed about on my whirlwind tour, the V46 conveyed a sense of space. And, though I didn't remove the cushions to check on the finish in the less-obvious areas, the boat seemed fittingly five-star inside. Simple yet elegant.

SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY
You can sit or stand at the helm of the V46, though the former is the preferred driving position in this style of boat. I noted Volvo electronic engine shifts and instrumentation, Furuno 10in screen linked to a GPS with C-Map and autopilot interfacing, and a 24nm radar.

In other words, the boat was set up for hands-free passagemaking. Back at dock, you could use stern camera, then later, perhaps, the DVD player for some live music and moving pictures to accompany it.

One thing is for certain: the V46 hull and twin 480hp Volvo motors are efficient. Without touching the trim tabs the boat slipped to planing speed with negligible loss of vision. At 1400rpm it was planing at 12.4kt while offering a great view ahead. At 1500rpm it held a 14kt heavy-weather cruise.

But there was plenty of acceleration beyond these lazy speeds to those that are more fittingly V-Series. Comfortable long-range cruising of 20.5 to 23.2kt exists at 1850–2000rpm. With a touch of in-trim, the boat knifed along smoothly.

At 2000rpm you'll burn about 43lt a side, which - leaving 10 per cent of the fuel capacity in reserve - equates to about 14 hours and 15 minutes running. Your range at these speeds is a handy 330nm-plus, or more than 600km.

Put the single electronic shifts past 2000rpm and there's plenty more speed on tap. Top speed was 29.4kt at 2450rpm. The infamous Lane Cove River slime, and/or full fuel and water tanks, prevented us from reaching the usual 31–32kt at 2600rpm.

By the time you read this, the owner will have taken his V46 to the Gold Coast and back again. Inshore or out, it delivers excellent single-level cruising and entertaining, with the electric roof down at least nine months of the year in Sydney.

Parading in fine fettle, the V46 covets attention. It's a lovely size for a couple to manage with up to a dozen guests. And it's an attractive buy at $1.158 million with all the bells and whistles. The waterfront home and boatshed are extra. Modern architecture preferred.

HIGHS

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