Trade-A-Boat – August 2019

TRADEABOAT.COM.AU | 51

LOCAL REVIEW | PRESTIGE 590 FLYBRIDGE

“With hardly a murmur from the Cummins,

we eased our way seaward towards my

favourite anchorage on the Lerin isles.”

Facts & Figures

FLYBRIDGE MONOHULL

PRICED FROM

$2,300,000 (sail away)

OPTIONS FITTED

Bow thruster, Seakeeper Six,

Raymarine electronics, LED TV,

Fusion stereo, canvas bimini, crew

bunk and other smaller items.

GENERAL

MATERIAL GRP

LOA 18.70m (61’4’’)

BEAM 4.84m (15’10’’)

DRAFT 1.35m

DISPLACEMENT (LIGHT) 19,490kg

CAPACITIES

FUEL 2,200L

WATER 760L

BERTHS 6 + 1 crew

ENGINE

MAKE/MODEL 2x Cummins 600hp

Zeus pod drives

MANUFACTURED BY

http://www.prestige-yachts.com

AVAILABLE FROM

Sundance Marine Australia

W http://www.sundancemarine.com.au

P 1300 55 00 89

stringers longitudinally – a stringent process that
I've personally witnessed in the Jeanneau yard
in Vendee. The classic hull shape maximises the
foredeck space with the raked bow and sculpted
outside longitudinals to give directional stability,
while a wide keel section and flat aft quarter
promote planing.
The wide keel carried aft is intended for better
directional stability, while also partly shielding the
aft-facing Cummins/Zeus pod drives.
Access to the engine room is through the aft
deck where a hatch revealed the two Cummins
600 horsepower engines.
The centralised alloy ladder guides you down
easily, but space is fairly tight between the engines.
Just ahead of them and below the Cummins
13.5kW generator (ideally placed to balance
the trim of the Prestige 590) came a steady
humming sound which alerted me to the
Seakeeper Six spinning up – a €65,000 option to
ward off sea sickness.
Having tested stabilisers like this Seakeeper, I
find they definitely work, so are ideal for sailors
with a fragile disposition or those simply wanting
some peace at anchor.
Elsewhere, wall mounted filters and electrical
boxes are at hand along with most service points.

Gearbox oil changes are done further aft, as

a bulkhead separates the Zeus pod drives from

the motors.

RIVIERA SAIL

At 61-feet the Prestige 590 looks imposing for

the amateur skipper, and this is one of the reasons

why joystick pod drives are popular – using the

joystick involves simply turning it towards your

desired direction of travel.

The precise feel of the Cummins/Zeus

combination – apart from the more seaworthy

rear-facing propeller layout – is another boon to

the amateur skipper who perhaps only puts to

sea once a month, and so, needs all the help he

or she can get when negotiating a windy marina

surrounded by gleaming million dollar boats.

This was our scenario in the Vieux Port of

Cannes, a place well known to me, but hardly less

confronting as vessels of every sort zoomed by.

But with hardly a murmur from the Cummins,

we eased our way seaward towards my favourite

anchorage on the Lerin isles.

Seated inside due to the rainy day, the view

from the console gave me confidence to accelerate

past a fleet of race yachts and watch as the Zeus

pods evened our trim automatically.