PRINCESS V45

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Space is so often at a premium in boats – especially mid-sized ones – that engines tend to end up shoehorned into areas that take a contortionist to get into and, as many will attest to, Houdini to get out of. But to every rule there is an exception and this month we uncover a vessel where the space provided for its propulsion units is nothing short of cavernous. Accessed via a deck hatch and a five-step ladder, the engine room of the Princess V45 is a supersize void extending a third of the way along the hull. Peer aft-wards from the foot of the ladder and a pair of Volvo Penta D6s can be seen cowering in the distance up against the transom’s inner wall. In fact, there is so much room down here that a second pair of engines could be fitted in line with the first.

The reason for all this space is that when Princess set about designing the V45, the intention had been to offer the option of IPS drives, which would have seen the engines mounted considerably further forward. However, the programme stalled when a prototype revealed a new hull would need to be developed