PRINCESS F58

Has the Plymouth yard’s latest flybridge cruiser got what it takes to leap straight to the top of its class? There was only one way to find out...

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EIther I'm getting older or Princess's model replacement cycles are getting shorter because it only seems like a few years ago that we were testing the then brand-new Princess 55. At the time of our test in August 2018 we declared it to be the new class leader, citing its 'supreme competence in every area, its 'stylish and brilliantly proportioned interior' and a hull that 'has no right to be as agile and engaging as it is.

Seven years on and those words still ring true today and yet here is a brand new F58 offering a similar three-cabin, two-bathroom formula. So why all that effort and expense to update what was still a very strong package?

The answer, as always, is ever-increasing customer expectations and the ferocious competition in this hotly-contested sector of the market. Last year's new Fairline Squadron 58 raised the bar with its beach club stern featuring folding balconies and modular furniture, while Prestige countered with its new F5.7's Ocean View galley and forward master cabin, then Galeon wowed everyone with its astonishingly big, bold and heavily glazed 560 FLY. Princess had to fight back and the F58 is its emphatic response.

SIZE MATTERS

Looking at the raw dimensions, you could be forgiven for thinking not much had changed. The F58's LOA of 59ft 8in and maximum beam of 16ft 1in means it is less than two feet longer and only 1in wider than the F55. However, this doesn't tell the full story as the beam has been carried further forward, the air draft has increased and changes to the layout and packaging has enabled the designers to eke out valuable extra inches everywhere that matters.