Motor Boat & Yachting – May 2018

Launched in 1991 and a mild (mostly

cosmetic) evolution of the Princess

48 that launched a year earlier, the

500 was the first of a new ’90s styling

wave for Princess, introducing sexy

curved windscreens in place of the

squared-off designs of earlier boats

and toning down the distinctive but

dated double-knuckle hull moulding

halfway up the topsides of ’80s boats.

INTERIOR

In production during the introduction

of Princess’s high-gloss burr maple

‘superyacht’ finishes, the busy-looking

woodwork looks rather dated now.

This boat just predates the era, being

fitted out in tasteful grained light oak,

the alternative to standard teak. But

the big news (literally) is just how

huge the interior is on this boat. The

saloon is massive – there’s a generous

galley that hovers neatly twixt main

and lower decks. On the lower deck,

the master is forward, with matching

twin-berthed cabins either side. A

twin-berthed crew cabin beneath the

cockpit seating was a popular option.

EXTERIOR

Twin slats on the aft saloon side

windows are the key differentiator

between the 500 and the short-lived

48, though the boat is actually slightly

longer. It’s of the era that gets the

transom door but not the moulded

steps to the flybridge, so it’s a raked

ladder to the top deck, but masses

of space once you get there.

PERFORMANCE

Engineering is reassuringly classic –

simple shafts linked to large-capacity

diesel engines. Princess fitted Volvo

Penta or Caterpillar, the latter being

the big V8 3208TA 435hp motors, the

green (at least in colour) option fitted

to this boat being the straight six

TAMD 72 430hp motors. Both options

should give a mid-20-knot maximum

with a 20-knot cruise.

SEAKEEPING

Shaftdrive and Olesinski hull means

steady predictable handling and

seakeeping, combining a soft ride

with excellent directional stability.

DATA FILE

1992 £125,750

Length 52ft 5in (16.0m)

Beam 14ft 7in (4.5m)

Draught 4ft 0in (1.1m)

Displacement 17 tonnes

Fuel capacity

385 gallons (1,750 litres)

Engines Volvo Penta TAMD

72 430hp diesel

FOR SALE Clarke & Carter.

Web: http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk

Princess 500

Inevitably dated

in places

Huge boat for

the money

+++++

RATING

MY CHOICE The Beneteau MC5 is the coolest boat here,

a designer delight inside and out. With its huge circular hull

windows and neat internal detailing, it’s a real head turner. The

Prestige is a bona fide reach into the upper echelons of the motor boat

world and shows a few of the old guard some great new ideas in the process

• a clever vessel. The Princess is old school but there’s merit in that – it’s a
  very simple, very solid way of accessing the 50ft market for comparatively
  little money. But the boat that’s won my heart this month is the Squadron

52. I love the fact Fairline went their own way with this boat, creating a mini
    superyacht instead of another three-cabin motor cruiser. It was a fabulous
    boat on launch and it’s still a fabulous boat almost 20 years on. Nick Burnham

+

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• 
  

  The saloon is
  simply massive
  The lower helm
  is still in the
  overhead panel era
  The traditional
  forward
  master cabin
  The galley is
  between the main
  and lower decks