VIDEO: Used Boat - Princess 50 MKIII

It’s got looks to kill and the speed to match, but the Princess 50 MKIII is an elusive beast

Launched in November 2008 and running until May 2012, the designation ‘Princess 50 MkIII’ might lead you to conclude that it was an evolution of
the existing Princess 50 line.

However, where the MkII was a gentle rejigging of the original, the MkIII was a keel- up new model. Inevitably, when a fresh version hits the water, there’s a subtle swell in length in order to ensure a suitably impressive lift of interior volume.

The MkIII bucks that trend, the hull length remaining resolutely below 15m at 14.98m precisely. But don’t think for one moment that the interior didn’t
get that volume uplift. Ten centimetres added to the beam go some way to providing extra space, but the real story here is three-dimensional: it’s all about height.

“I think it was probably the height that concerned me most,” says Henry Firman, who moved up from a Princess 42 flybridge. “It’s significantly higher than my previous boat and I worried that windage would be a problem during close-quarter manoeuvring.”

His fears proved unfounded. “I actually find it easier to handle than my old 42 – the props seem to have more bite, the extra weight makes the boat more docile, and there seems to be an extra layer of precision when you need it most. And the payoff for that extra height is immense, because the interior is simply superb.”

There’s a clue to the big news over its predecessor in the topsides, where three vertical stainless framed fillets of glass give lie to the full-beam master cabin in the centre of the boat.

Despite being one of the most compact flybridge boats of its era to sport such a feature, compromise was kept to a minimum, shallow steps in the floor to accommodate the vee of the hull and some ceiling intrusion being the only obvious concessions.

Watch Nick Burnham’s video above to see more of the excellent Princess 50 MKIII.