Princess 72 Motor Yacht: Expand your vision and take in the overview of this magnificent yacht.
Success, it is often said, is the sum of the details. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but either way, there is plenty of it aboard the Princess 72. Even at the most macro level, the attention to detail is stunning. Take just one tiny area – the galley bar – and examine it. The flawless rich brown leather panelling on the front that precisely matches the stitched leather wrap of the stainless steel handrail, itself gently backlit by the concealed ambient lighting beneath the highly polished high quality granite/quartz worktop. In just this one tiny area the detailing, from the aesthetic to the quality of the materials to the pleasing design, come together to create something genuinely special. And it is absolutely everywhere. The slim polished fillets of wood in the backs of the lower helm seats, the specially shaped cut-outs in the galley drawer to gently but firmly hold your crockery in place, the gorgeous Samuel & Heath faucets on Perrin & Rowe basins in the bathrooms. Be it practical or merely cosmetic, each individual element subtly contributes to the sensory delight that is the cohesive whole.
But phenomenally good though the detailing is – it’s when you expand your vision and take in the overview of this magnificent yacht that it really impresses. Because fundamentally, as a yacht and as a home away from home, it just works so very well. Whilst this is a vessel that can certainly be crewed should you wish (courtesy of the standard fit separate two berth en suite crew cabin beneath the cockpit), it has a layout that lends itself well to owner operation. That exquisite galley for example, is directly opposite the eight seater dining area on the level main deck – perfect for entertaining and socialising, working just as well as a bar as it does for full culinary duties. Further aft, the opulent seating of the saloon links to the expansive cockpit, sliding glass doors melding these two areas into one.
That feeling of easy space applies equally to the lower deck. Four cabins accommodate you and your friends or family in sumptuous surroundings – indeed those enjoying the en suite VIP cabin with its floor to ceiling wardrobes and dressing table might well believe that they’ve accidentally misappropriated the master cabin. It’s up to you whether you enlighten them, because one look at the full beam master situated in the centre of the vessel leaves no doubt as to where the epicentre of luxury really is. With acres of level floor space, its own dressing area, a sofa, a safe, a built in 46 inch flatscreen and a frankly breath-taking bathroom, this is lavish living.
It’s the same story out on deck. Split into four distinct zones, the hydraulic bathing platform becomes the ultimate beach for everything from ankle deep paddling to launching a scuba diving expedition. The aft cockpit offers sheltered alfresco eating beneath the shade of the flybridge overhang, or make your way forward along the safe, wide, deeply bulwarked side decks to the foredeck cockpit with its cabin top sundeck and its forward facing sofa. Aloft, the flybridge offers yet more options with a well equipped bar serving a massive C-shaped seating area around a folding teak table and another large sunpad.
But it’s the front of this area that finally gives you perhaps the greatest understanding of what this spectacular yacht is really all about. The instrument console rises ‘James Bond’ style at the touch of a button. Two further touches rumble the twin Caterpillar C32 A turbo diesel engines into life – each cylinder a whopping three litres in capacity (and there are twenty four of them spread across the two V12 engines). Bow and stern thrusters make light work of easing this leviathan free of the confines of the marina – those mammoth diesel engines making yet lighter work still of easing it effortlessly onto the plane.
Finally you begin to understand the final level of extreme detail less evident to the naked eye that goes into every aspect of this amazing high performance craft. Obsessive engineering results in whisper quiet noise levels whilst the Bernard Olesinski designed deep vee hull parts the waves with imperialistic grace. In ‘synchro’ mode you control a combined output of over 3,000hp with one slim stainless steel throttle lever – dialling up twenty five knots at a mere 1,900rpm, up to a further ten knots still in hand to shorten voyage times or increase scope within a set time frame should you wish.
We can’t promise you that success really is the sum of details, but unquestionably the care and vision that goes into every aspect of the Princess 72 results in a motor yacht that truly deserves to succeed.
