Motor Yacht Sales Director, Joe Hill, is the voice of reason on all things ‘large yachts’ and ‘superyachts’ at Princess Motor Yacht Sales. He’s been with the company for 8 years, and with over 28 years in the marine industry – many of which serving as a captain on yachts up to 100ft, Joe is the in-house expert for customers considering purchasing a 70ft plus yacht. Offering a wealth of knowledge and large yacht experience, buyers can be rest assured they are in safe hands whether they are looking at a brand-new Princess X95 straight from the shipyard or one of the award-winning M Class yachts through brokerage, either as their first purchase or upsizing.
We caught up with Joe to talk about large yachts, what sets Princess apart from its competitors and the benefits of a sub-30M yacht…
Princess Motor Yacht Sales have an incredible history with selling superyachts up to 40 metres, what’s the secret?
‘It’s quite simple really, Princess has made a concerted effort over the years to look after their clients. We’ve always created a great ownership experience from the smaller yachts right across the ranges, and those key principles carry through to large yachts. With superyachts and larger yachts, there are some more considerations and we can assist with those too such as helping to structure the ownership of a client’s SPV (special purpose vehicle), facilitating the management, finance and insurance, and even charter with our own Princess Yacht Charter company if that’s a route our clients wish to explore.
Joe continues, ‘As one of the most successful Princess yachts distributors in the world in terms of units and size of vessels, with nearly 60 years of experience, we have a deep understanding in providing the best possible service to owners throughout the entire customer journey from purchase through to enjoying the unique lifestyle on board. And with that comes customer loyalty and confidence, even moving up the model range, clients know about the quality of our product, and the quality of service and support throughout their ownership is also second to none. We offer a 24/7 dedicated concierge, service and maintenance packages, and we can assist with boat registration, documentation, captains and crew etc, making yacht ownership a lot smoother and more manageable.’
We see the Princess Yachts shipyard capitalising on internal volume and deck space by clever naval architecture and design and bringing their new ranges of large yachts under the 30M threshold. What are the benefits of this?
‘Well, there’s a magic threshold in terms of the length of the yacht that keeps it in the ‘pleasure vessel’ category as opposed to ‘commercial’ status which brings great benefits. Its all about the load line length being under 24 metres. For example, the largest yacht in the new Princess fleet is the Princess X95 and she has a load line of 23.95 metres, keeping her just within the ‘pleasure vessel’ category. Princess has cleverly designed their new X Class and Y Class yachts, in collaboration with long-standing naval architects partner Olesinski and the prestigious Italian design house Pininfarina, to conform within the 24 metre load line regulation while maximising internal volume and deck space and the LOA (length overall).
There are huge practicalities of running a sub 24 metre (load line) yacht, notably cost efficiencies. Firstly, you don’t need to have a crew member on board full-time, thus instantly reducing running costs, plus reduced costs in berthing, crew numbers, fuel and overall maintenance. And owners don’t need to worry about commercial category conformities such as surveys, meeting certain specifications, rules and regulations.’
Princess Yachts has long been famous for the creation of midsized flybridge cruisers that combine great internal space with proven hulls and premium luxury. But with a modern fleet spanning 20 boat models across six product lines from 40 to 95 feet, its modern fleet is in fact tremendously diverse. The new expedition-style X Class ‘superfly’ yachts have brought fresh opportunities at 80 and 95 feet, and the imperious Y Class remains a crystal-clear expression of Princess’ inherited strengths from 72 to 95 feet.
Find out more about the Princess Yachts range of X Class superyachts and Y Class motor yachts.
