PRINCESS V55

etting a head-to-head test between two boats is not an easy thing to get off the ground. Such is the pace of production and the demand for boats to be shipped to dealers, boat shows or customers getting even one for a test can be tricky, never mind two. So though we couldn’t test the V55 side by side against its closest rival, the Sunseeker Predator 60 EVO, it just so happens that the last boat I tested prior to the V55 was indeed the Predator (tested, MBY April 2020). A rare opportunity then to assess a boat against its most fierce competition made all the more interesting by the different approach taken by each yard to designing two boats whose dimensions are almost identical. The Sunseeker is slightly longer and wider but they weigh almost exactly the same, are able to carry an equal amount of fuel and are powered by identical engines with the Sunseeker’s base price coming in at just £55,000 more than the Princess. The boat from Poole is available with two shaft-drive engine options and one IPS whereas Princess has stuck with shafts and offers just one