BUYING A FLYBRIDGE CRUISER

Henry Firman trawls Europe's best shows in search of a new boat

When looking for a new boat, my first port of call tends to be the Southampton Boat Show. There are lots of builders in attendance so it’s easy to see what’s out there. Another great event for serious buyers is the British Motor Yacht Show in Swanwick. Unlike Southampton, it’s mostly attended by boat owners so access to the exhibits is often easier, enabling you to step pretty much from one boat onto another.

The only problem is that these shows tend to be UK-centric and, as I’m constantly reminded by my European cousins on the YBW forum, there are plenty of well-established European builders worth considering. In a bid to address this imbalance, we also attended the boat shows in Cannes and Düsseldorf for two years running. Both shows highlight manufacturers rarely seen in the UK so, much as we love Princess, we thought it might be a good way to find someone new to supply our next boat...

VIEWING THE COMPETITION

Ferretti is a big name in boat building. The GRP work is lovely but their 55-footer felt a bit small and angular. The 2023 replacement at Düsseldorf was better but it still felt a bit cramped and visibility from the lower helm was still quite restricted. We tend to spend a lot of time at displacement speeds and the ability to do some serious passage-making really appeals so a modern trawler-style boat like the Absolute Navetta looked promising. While stylish on the inside, there was good storage and space too. IPS engines wouldn’t be my first choice, though, as I’m a traditional shaft-drive fan who likes to keep things simple beneath the waterline. For my money, the quality of engineering and installation probably wasn’t up there with Princess either and I’m not convinced we would have saved any money once the finished package had been optioned up.