Princess Yachts America (PYA) will arrive in style at the 2022 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, bringing with it an entourage of yachts of incredible design and innovation. The British luxury-yacht manufacturer will boast a stately presence with an impressive display comprising seven grand yachts from each of its five distinct model lines. What is unique about this showcase, however, is that despite record sales impacting the availability of completely new models to debut, each yacht on display demonstrates the customer focus, customization, and continual design and engineering evolution that are the cornerstones of this forward-leaning brand.
With a heritage that dates back to 1965, Plymouth, UK-based builder Princess Yachts distinguishes its builds from other midrange cruising yachts with focused, dedicated design and engineering, continual innovation and evolution of its product lines, and an impressive facility that brings the manufacturing of all interiors, furniture, woodworking, and metalwork in-house.
The company’s latest model offerings span the V class of speedy sport yachts—which begins with the V40—to the X Class of super-flybridge yachts that include the newest flagship X95 motoryacht. Attendees of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show will be treated to a display that includes the F45 and F55 flybridge yachts, the thrill-seeking V50, the agile and efficient S62, the stunningly elegant Y72 and Y85 motoryachts, and the aforementioned X95.
Continual New-Model Development
The Princess philosophy of continual model development first gained momentum in the 1990s, when the builder brought nearly 40 new models to the market, including the Princess 65—at the time Britain’s largest production yacht. By 2007, the first flagship Princess 95 motoryacht was launched, with the V Class flagship V85 to follow a year later. Continued expansion spread the facilities over 1.1 million square feet to comprise six yards within a 15-mile radius, and in 2012, the company launched the award-winning 40M, its largest build to date.
What is unique about this brand is that it is a serious production builder dedicated to evolving with its customer base—and to offering a variety of yacht models that suit a wide spectrum of boating lifestyles. On average, the company brings three to five new models to the market per year, with the expectation that each will undergo a midlife refresh within its five-to-seven-year life cycle. The challenge, you might surmise, would be to maintain a consistent brand appeal with such variety of offerings, but this is where the depth of Princess’s in-house capabilities and resources comes into play.
Each new model concept begins at the Princess Design Studio—comprised of no fewer than 14 in-house design teams made up of CAD and engineering departments, design and naval architecture and, again, uniquely customer-facing consultants whose responsibilities include creating diverse design schemes intended to suit customer preference and market trends.
A Foundation of Superior Engineering
Princess’ signature deep-V hull design and lightweight yet durable resin-infused hull not only afford excellent seakeeping for every Princess yacht, but they allow for plentiful interior space as well. Every new model receives a full-scale plywood mockup of the complete interior and exterior spaces prior to build, to ensure that all details from working space to layout to sightlines and crew flow are addressed.
Having a dedicated furniture shop on-site allows the skilled carpenters to hone their craft, and Princess is known for its superior woodworking, joiner work and exquisite curved furnishings. Princess also has an on-site welding shop, which allows for the production of precise metalwork. Rather than relying on a standard part, such as a cleat, for example, this piece can be custom-designed and manufactured to fit the curve at the aft end of the transom.
The structured production of each new Princess yacht model continues through the “Loom Shop”—a department dedicated to the most efficient implementation and management of the miles and miles of electrical wiring that facilitates the yacht’s house systems, from lighting to air conditioning, entertainment and more.
Evolving With the Times
Maintaining a style that consistently stands out in an ever-changing market is what Princess does so well that it appears almost effortless. Distinguished by a signature deep-V hull and uninterrupted hull windows that dip slightly on centerline, the subtle Princess DNA is apparent in the exterior profile of every new model. Functionality and flexibility are inherent to each model’s ethos.
There is one yacht in the lineup that the builder refers to as “Quintessentially Princess,” however, and that is the Y85. Introduced to the market in 2020, the Y85 is not a new model, per se, yet it has been one of the most popular models of late; the order books are full well into 2024. A midcycle refresh has updated the window lines to be in keeping with the modern exterior profile currently distinguishing the Princess design, and also expanded the cockpit of this four-stateroom beauty to further increase the flexibility of the ample exterior entertainment space, while the open, single-level main deck and functional galley arrangement make this an all-around superior yacht.
Owner Relationship
Within the continual evolution of design is one exceptionally important consistency: the brand’s relationship with its owners. The majority of Princess owners are repeat clients, a testament to the builder’s ability to design, engineer and build yachts that grow with the clients while at the same time remaining at the forefront of modern styling.
Princess Yachts America serves as the official distributor of Princess yachts in the United States, which has been the company’s largest market of late. “As a distributor we are hands-on with our customers,” says PYA VP and marketing director James Nobel. “We deliver only about 50 boats per year, so we can work with each customer during their yacht build well through delivery. Having an enjoyable owner experience is critical, and at Princess, we view the relationship as lifelong ownership.”
Nobel says that the anticipation is palpable for the Fort Lauderdale Show. “We will have a great representation of product on display, and will have the opportunity to show the evolution of the product and demonstrate how important the owner/designer relationship and experience is at Princess Yachts.”
Visit the Princess Yachts America display in the Purple Zone at Bahia Mar, October 26-30, 2022. Learn more at princessyachtsamerica.com. Check out more Princess content at the Princess Passport.
