PRESTIGE F4.3

Can Prestige's smallest F-Line flybridge really deliver the goods at just 43ft?

- WORDS: Alex Smith

With an overall length just shy of 43ft and a package price that starts at €635,000 plus tax, we're told that the new Prestige F-Line cruiser is a boat aimed at a younger, more dynamic clientele. But having seen both the F4.9 and F5.7, that seems like a slight betrayal of Prestige's larger flybridge cruisers, because both bring to the party decent looks, bright internal spaces, fresh and modern galley arrangements, large flybridge party spaces and lower decks that sidestep the norm with raised bow cabins for owners who want that little bit more in the way of privacy and separation. The sheer individuality of that F-Line design DNA feels youthful in its own right, so implying that they are otherwise is to miss the point. But it's certainly very pleasing to see that this smallest F-Line model yet adopts the same principles that have made Prestige's “next-generation” cruisers so much fun. For proof of that, just take a look at that raised bow. Instead of crowbarring a cabin into the tapering V of the hull, they have elevated the forward space to shift it up beyond the most restrictive point of compromise and maximise the volume. In tandem with the big upper deck, that forward elevation does of course limit the dynamism of the styling but Prestige has pulled out a fair few design tricks to help mitigate that. There are long dark hull windows to cut through the fibreglass. There's lots of mirrored superstructure glazing above that, plus grey mouldings at the leading edge of the flybridge to reduce the scale of the profile. And Prestige's trademark “fashion panels” at the aft end are raked to add a pleasing sense of movement. Even then, it’s by no means the sector’s most beautiful boat but when you step inside, the impact of that design approach feels remarkably positive.

A TALE OF TWO CABINS