Yacht Owners Steve and Susanne Ingarfill met Richard Clarke, Princess Motor Yacht Sales’ Executive at the Plymouth sales office, back in 2005. They have agreed to take part in our interview and reveal their truly unique experience of being Princess owners, so how did they make their choice?
Is this your first Princess? No, we have had a Princess 45 flybridge since 2005 which we wereable to buy new. We also had 3 new Sealine boats before (33, 37, 42.5) moving up to Princess was a big step in quality and the sea keeping was so much better, we always felt safe in our
Princess 45.
How long have you been a Princess owner? We have been Princess owners since 2005 and we wanted to upgrade for some time, but I am afraid the price to change was running away from us, we had put our boat on the market to see what could be done.
Why choose the Princess 54 flybridge? We saw the Princess 54 at the London Boat show back in 2006 and never thought we could be in the market for such an impressive boat. I read the reviews in the magazines and have spoken to owners of Princess 50 and 54’s on our boating trips who spoke highly of both the boats. So when Richard Clarke, the Sales Executive based at the Plymouth office, put a deal on the table for a princess 54 we had to decide if we would keep our 45 or stretch and buy the 54.
What other boats did you consider when researching your latest purchase? We had a good look at what was on the market at the Southampton Boat show, in fact we also looked at moving to sail, there were a few deals we did look at from different manufacturers both power and sail but the possibility of owning a Princess 54 was what we really wanted.
What features of your new boat do you particularly like? We really liked the full beam master cabin and the high level dining table; we knew the sea keeping of the 54 flybridge would be better which gives us more options when required. Please comment on the buying process from your first enquiry to handover of your new Princess. The buying process was fairly simple for us as Richard did most of the leg work making the experience not too stressful for us. Filling in some of the paper work took some time and the mortgage paper work seems to be a lot more in depth than before. The experience of seeing the 54 and then the sea trial made all the effort worthwhile.
Where do you keep the boat? We did keep our 45 in Brixham marina. We were there for some 13 years with different boats, so when we got the 54 we decided on a change and now have a berth in Sutton Harbour Plymouth, new boat and new cruising grounds…
Has the boat lived up to your expectations? We have only had the boat for a month now so we are still putting our stamp on things, but so far we are very pleased with her and I am sure she will live up to our expectations.
Has the after sales service lived up to your expectations? Yes, with our Princess 45 the Plymouth aftersales team and in particular Paul
Bailey and Sam Penhallurick were exceptional, especially when you compare the experiences we had with our other boats.
Have you ventured further with your new boat and discovered new cruising grounds? No, not yet but we are planning some good massages this coming season to make full use of all the features, but if the sea trial is anything to go on (Northerly Force 7 in Plymouth Sound) we can cruise with confidence.
Can you discuss one of your latest expeditions? Last year with our 45 we left Brixham for Guernsey then on to Jersey on down to St Cast in France then over to our favourite, Binic, from there to Paimpol, where the weather was going to get up so instead of moving on to Lezardrieux we went back to Guernsey. It was a fantastic trip and Guernsey is such a beautiful area – little coves, beautiful countryside – really picturesque!
A few years ago we were away on our Princess 45 celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary, we dressed the boat and drank lots of Champagne, and we had a great time! As well as the company, enjoyment often comes down to the comfort of your boat and the space available makes the boat even more perfect for entertaining.
What other expeditions do you have planned? So this season we may well do a similar thing or we would love to go to Cherbourg move East along the French Coast to Fecamp and cross back to Brighton and then move West back to Plymouth.
How do running costs compare to your last boat? Too soon to say yet but I am expecting an increase but the pleasure the new boat will give us out ways the cost.
