Nick Burnham picks out four of the best 45ft flybridges on the market right now, which represent some of the most popular models you can buy
Reading road tests in car magazines often leaves me frustrated. Reams are written about the ‘on-the-limit’ handling of mundane cars – understeer, oversteer, tread shuffle – it’s all there and it’s all irrelevant because no one drives their Vauxhall Astra ‘on the limit’.
It’s easy to understand why though – give a road tester a new car to play with and they want to charge about in it. We’re the same, albeit the way a boat performs out at sea is hugely more relevant because you will actually be going to sea at some point and arranging a sea trial for yourself is often quite hard.
However there’s no doubt that for most people, it’s accommodation that matters most, and that’s why flybridge boats are so popular. As floating apartments, nothing on the water beats them. Here are four examples, from an almost quarter-century-old Princess, right up to current times with a bang up to date Galeon 460.
4 of the best 45ft flybridges
Princess 45
Built: 2001
Price: £169,950
The Princess 45 was launched in 1999 and was one of the first to be really clever with interior packaging, layering the accommodation to get more in. It’s why there are no cupboards at the front of the galley, because the third cabin extends into that area. The result is three proper cabins in a shaft-drive boat, the smallest three-cabin craft Princess had ever built at the time.
The classic cherry wood finish is good quality and inoffensive
Interior
“Classic Princess of the era” is probably the best way to describe the interior. At the time, buyers were offered a choice of natural cherry, shown here, or dark cherry. Both were high-gloss finishes and, although there were plenty of other upholstery choices, almost everyone paired them with cream leather.
It’s an inoffensive look, quality is good, and by putting the galley forward on a half deck between the saloon and lower accommodation, Princess squeezed in a third cabin with perfectly good 6ft-plus berths to complement the owner’s cabin forward and guest cabin with twin singles that infilled to a double.
Exterior
Again, of its era with its stainless-steel framed windows and (by modern standards) small hull portholes. High/low platforms weren’t yet a thing but the bathing platform is extended to allow a tender to be lifted aboard using the passerelle rather than hung from davits as had previously been the case, and, importantly, it has a transom door and steps, rather than a ladder, to the flybridge. Solid rails encircle sensibly sized side decks.
Performance
Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 74L 430hp or TAMD 75P 480hp engines were the main options when new, with Caterpillar 3126TA 420hp a rarer alternative. In 2005 the new D9 500hp motors came on line.
We tested a boat with the TAMD 74L motors that this boat has, and with a clean hull briefly nudged an impressive 30 knots, which makes the 20 knots that everyone cruises at a comfortable 2,000rpm canter.
The forward owner’s cabin is complemented by two further guest cabins
Seakeeping
With a Bernard Olesinski hull and shaft drive, you can’t really go wrong. Predictable and capable, it makes a fine long-distance cruiser.
Princess 45 specifications
LOA: 45ft 8in (13.9m)
Beam: 14ft 0in (4.3m)
Draft: 3ft 7in (1.1m)
Displacement: 15 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,636 litres
Engines: Volvo Penta TAMD 74L 430hp
For sale: Boats.co.uk
Azimut 42
Built: 2004
Price: £165,000
Still a good-looking boat today, the Azimut 42 with its flush-glazed and frameless tear-drop saloon side windows was distinctly avant garde when it first launched in 1998; as ever the Italians were on the front foot when it came to styling. Pitted against British stalwarts like the Princess 45 and Fairline Phantom 43, this was boating haute couture.
Interior has a conventional layout with a cream finish
Interior
A similar high-gloss cherry to the Princess inside, but somehow the Italian boat layers on a little more pizzazz to proceedings. But beyond the woodwork (and classy cream headlining and side mouldings) this is a very conventional layout for the time, with the ensuite owner’s cabin in the bow, guest cabin accessing the day heads to starboard and galley aft on the lower deck to port.
The huge 120-litre fridge freezer is a boon when cruising, as are the all-electric cooking facilities with its combination microwave and easy-to-clean glass hob. Visibility from the raised double helm is excellent and the opposing settees of the saloon are very sociable.
Exterior
Finished in trademark Azimut cream, the 42 is quite a sleek boat for a flybridge – a corollary of the low sides up top. There’s a decent amount of seating and very generous sunpads up on the flybridge though.
The transom has two boarding gates, one each side, which is convenient even if it does limit cockpit seating slightly, and the passerelle lifts a tender onto the extended bathing platform.
Performance
You can have whatever choice of engines you like, provided you want twin Caterpillar 3126 385hp diesel engines on shaft drive. Azimut simply decided that these were the optimum motors for this boat and fitted them into every 42 it made throughout its seven-year production run. Given that we achieved a creditable 33 knots when we tested one, together with good fuel efficiency, there’s a lot to be said for that kind of thinking.
Spacious ensuite owner’s cabin is located in the bow
Seakeeping
After our test, we judged that the Azimut 42’s hull wasn’t as sharp or soft-riding as a Fairline Phantom’s of that era but it was solidly built with no creaks.
Azimut 42 specifications
LOA: 43ft 7in (13.3m)
Beam: 13ft 8in (4.2m)
Draft: 3ft 7in (1.1m)
Displacement: 11 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,200 litres
Engines: Twin Caterpillar 3126 385hp diesel engines
For sale: One Marine
Fairline Squadron 48
Built: 2014
Price: £529,950
After a period of new model hiatus, the Targa 48 that Fairline launched in 2013 was genuinely groundbreaking.
It was the first Fairline designed specifically for IPS drives, the first to be constructed on its new mixed-model line, the first made using resin-infusion techniques and the first to be built using a monocoque construction whereby inner and outer linings are load-bearing rather than inner liners just being cosmetic.
It was also the first to spawn three models off the same platform. The Targa 48 Open and Targa 48GT came first, the Squadron 48 flybridge version you see here was added later that year.
Satin walnut finish makes this look and feel more modern than most
Interior
The lower deck layout is identical to that of those Targa 48s, with a full beam owner’s cabin in the middle of the boat and a guest cabin forward, with scissor berths instead of the centreline double, allowing the bed to split into vee berths.
Given the fully enclosed deck saloon of the flybridge layout, the vast majority got the twin bunk- bedded third cabin seen on this boat rather than the lower dinette popular on the Targa 48 Open. Satin walnut is a contemporary finish for the woodwork.
Exterior
Given that this is effectively a Targa 48GT (the deck saloon version) with a flybridge, it’s surprising how different the Squadron variant looks, Fairline opting for a different window line to the saloon-side windows. The flybridge is well integrated, it was clearly designed in from inception. Accessed by chunky steps and extending right back until level with the transom, it’s a decent size with a large dinette and an optional wet bar as well as the helm position forward.
Performance
Twin Volvo Penta IPS600 pod drive diesels are close to their limit in this 50-footer, so it’s testament to the weight- saving design (this boat is lighter than the smaller Princess 45) that we were able to crack 30 knots on test when this boat was new.
One of the first sub-50ft boats to feature a full beam owner’s cabin
Seakeeping
This was the first boat not penned by Bernard Olesinski since the Fury Mk2 in 1983. Instead, Slovenian design house Seaway designed this one.
Fairline Squadron 48 specifications
LOA: 49ft 2in (15.0m)
Beam: 14ft 2in (4.3m)
Draft: 3ft 10in (1.2m)
Displacement: 13 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,309 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta IPS600 435hp diesel engines
For sale: Boats.co.uk
Galeon 460
Built: 2022
Price: £1,200,000
The Galeon 460 is about as modern as it gets. At the beginning of the century, few people had heard of this Polish brand, but Galeon took on the establishment with innovation as its weapon of choice, and today the range is 27 models strong, spanning 30–80ft.
Sliding windows either side of the saloon allow the outside and inside spaces to flow together
Interior
At 14ft 4in, the Galeon 460 is the beamiest boat here, wider even than the slightly longer Fairline Squadron 48, and it gets wider! It’s a tall boat too, so the resulting volume is spectacular for a sub-50-footer. But it’s not just the space, it’s how cleverly it’s used. Saloon doors hinge and stack against the side, creating an unhindered flow between saloon and cockpit.
Inside, sliding windows either side of the saloon bring the outside in, and it’s a galley aft layout, freeing the lower deck for three decent cabins. The guest cabin is forward with big skylights built into the ceiling, the owner’s cabin is amidships and gets massive hull windows, and cabin three has bunk beds.
Exterior
I mentioned it gets wider – well here’s how. There are drop down balconies built into the bulwarks at the aft end that significantly extend the cockpit and wrap round the sides. Suddenly those sliding saloon side windows make even more sense as one side opens onto the galley to create a seaside bar, and opposite, the internal settee backrest flips the other way to create a perfect sheltered nook looking out across the water.
There’s even a bow cockpit with folding backrests for the seats, plus a good sized flybridge of course.
Performance
Galeon offered twin Volvo Penta IPS600 435hp pod drive as the base motors, but due to the extra weight, if you want the drop balconies you’d have to opt for the IPS800 600hp engines. Vee drive shafts were also an option linked to Volvo Penta D8s in 550hp or 600hp guise. We tested with the former and achieved about 28 knots; the 600hp variants ought to add an extra knot or two.
The owner’s suite enjoys big hull windows
Seakeeping
Tony Castro designed this hull, and on test we noted that “the hull soaked up the lumps and bumps very capably and sprung onto the plane in calmer water with alacrity.”
Galeon 460 specifications
LOA: 47ft 1in (14.4m)
Beam: 14ft 4in (4.8m)
Draft: 2ft 11in (0.9m)
Displacement: 17 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,500 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D8-600 600hp diesel engines
For sale: Approved Boats
If you enjoyed this….
If you enjoyed this….Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.
Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.
Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.
