Motor Boat & Yachting - January 2016 UK

AT A GLANCE

Length 50ft 2in (15.3m)

Beam 14ft 3in (4.34m)

Engines Twin 550hp

Volvo Penta IPS

Top speed 35 knots

Price from £657,600 inc UK VAT

Hot on the heels of Princess’s first

IPS-powered sportscruiser, the V48,

comes the yards first ever IPS flybridge

dubbed the 49. The boat, destined to

hit the water next autumn, will drop

nicely into the yawning gulf between

the 43 and 52 flybridges in Princess’s

range and, despite sharing pod drive

propulsion with the V48, it’s actually

quite a different boat.

It has larger engines, for a start; the

very latest 550hp IPS which will be

mounted on short jackshafts,

presumably to keep the engine weight

amidships and give the boat a neutral

running attitude, something that

hindered the first V48 we had on test.

The hull is also ever so slightly longer

and wider than that of the V boat and

there are various small changes to the

accommodation to dispel the notion

that this is just a V48 deck saloon with

a flybridge plonked on top.

Said flybridge layout actually looks

extremely similar to the S65 (p42) with

two helm seats and an adjacent

L-shaped seating area that converts to

a sunpad plus a wrap of seating around

the aft end with a teak folding table.

There is an icebox fitted as standard

but you will have to fork out more for a

full wet-bar and griddle.

The saloon has an aft galley layout,

with timber-laid floors aft so that

HIGHLIGHTS

● IPS pods

● Three cabins

● Strong performance

Princess 49

people can grab a drink from the

galley post swim without soaking the

carpet. The main internal seating

area is up a step amidships, just aft of

the two-person helm to starboard.

Below decks there is a three-cabin

layout with what looks to be a very

spacious full-beam master suite, a VIP

cabin in the bow with optional scissor-

action berths and a third bunk bed

cabin to starboard.

With this 49, the Sealine F

and Sunseeker’s new Manhattan

all launching next year it looks like

it’s going to be a bumper year for

50ft flybridges.

Contact See Princess website for

dealers. Web: http://www.princessyachts.com

The 49 is a

typically handsome

Princess design

This basic sketch

shows a galley aft

layout and sociable

seating area amidships

NEW BOATS

JANUARY 2016 19