LOA 74ft 9in (23.09m) BEAM 17ft 11in (5.45m) ENGINES Twin MAN 1650-1800hp TOP SPEED 36 knots PRICE approx £5m inc VAT CONTACT www.princessyachts.com
Princess may have taken a couple of years to launch an sportsbridge version of the P Y72 but the minute the wraps came off the S72 on the opening morning of the show, it was clear that time had not been wasted. The new S-class model is one of those boats that just looks right from every angle, inside and out.
But while we always expected the S72’s sportier styling and greater emphasis on outdoor living, we hadn’t anticipated just how small the sacrifices would be in terms of space and practicality over the more voluminous Y72. The flybridge may be a little bit shorter and the galley/saloon a tiny bit smaller but they’ve done such a good job of rejigging the layouts that you’d barely know it.
The flybridge is remarkably large for this style of boat and with the wet bar now in the aft corner, so cooking smells get blown over the stern, this configuration almost works better. The only thing missing is the aft sunpad, but as the S72 has a big extra sunbed behind the cockpit that also creates space underneath for a tender garage large enough for a Williams 395 and a locker for two Seabobs, we’d consider that a net gain. You also get a longer cockpit with either a wet bar or an extra aft-facing seat tucked into the port corner.
