Nick Burnham picks 4 of the best modern classic motor yachts on the market now all from the turn of the century - and yes that is a modern classic now!
I visited a local classic car show recently, fully expecting a warm nostalgia-hit brim full of the kind of Austin A35s and Morris Minors that my grandparents trundled about in. Instead what I got was an ice cold reality check.
Most of the cars at the show weren’t grandparent era. They weren’t even the Hillman Hunter and Ford Cortina era of my parents’ golden age of motoring. No, laid bare before me in a perfect mortality check were the Escort XR3s and Astra GTEs of my youth. They are old now, and so, it seems, am I!
I’ve time travelled into the future – forget Marty McFly, the future date he leapt forward to is now a decade in the past. But it does beg the question, what is a classic? A quarter of a century old appears to be the starting point for both cars and watches. And if we apply it to boats, we get beauties like these. But the good news is that if you buy one, you no longer own an old boat, you now own a classic!
Princess 56
Built: 2001
Price: £200,000
In 1995 Princess embarked on a new design language with a rakish sloping line that ran forward from the base of the radar arch down to deck level, splitting the saloon side windows into pointed teardrop designs. First seen on the Princess 56 and then echoed on the later Princess 52 and Princess 65, it looked cool then, and it still looks great now.
The forward owner’s cabin still looks great today and leaves room for two more twin cabins
Interior
From an era that predates full-beam owner’s cabins, this boat puts the boss in the bow, with a centreline double bed and a decent ensuite. The two twin-berth guest cabins aft to port and starboard share the day heads. But this has some interesting repercussions.
Up on the main deck aft is a very comfortable looking saloon, and forward of that is a couple of things you won’t find on a modern boat of this type and size. Firstly the galley is sunk a couple of steps down on the starboard side – low enough to be separate but not completely cut off. And if you lift the steps that lead down to this area you’ll find a great little utility space complete with washing machine and deep-freeze. But also, over to port, there’s a handy internal stairway up to the flybridge just aft of a separate dinette alongside the helm.
Exterior
Too old for the modern trend of hydraulic bathing platforms, this boat does nonetheless have an extended platform capable of carrying a tender and a passerelle that doubles as a dinghy lift. The cockpit is a great size and features a totally separate and rather neat two-berth crew cabin beneath the aft bench. If you want more outside space then take the other staircase up to the flybridge, which has masses of seating and an outside helm.
Performance
Twin shaftdrive Volvo Penta TAMD 122 610hp diesels were offered at launch, with 660hp Caterpillar 3196TAs as an alternative. Being a later build (the model ran until 2002), this boat has the newer D12 motors at 700hp each, which should be good for 30 knots.
High gloss woodwork and an internal staircase to the flybridge are typical of the era
Seakeeping
Displacing over 20 tonnes with solid build quality, an Olesinski designed hull and traditional shaftdrive layout, the 56 boasts secure seakeeping and strong performance.
Princess 56 specifications
Length: 56ft 3in (17.1m)
Beam: 15ft 2in (4.6m)
Draft: 3ft 9in (1.1m)
Displacement: 21 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 2,136 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D12 700hp diesel engines
For sale: Salterns Brokerage
Sealine F34
Built: 2003
Price: £109,955
The whole point of this boat was to bring the flybridge concept down to the shortest possible length that still looked good and handled well. Sealine already had form in this market; the F34 replaced the very successful F33 (over 400 boats sold), and that boat was predated by the Sealine 305 Statesman that had its roots in the ‘80s.
The forward owner’s cabin looks like it belongs to a considerably bigger boat
Interior
This boat is all about the packaging – creating a genuinely workable two-cabin deck saloon layout in a boat barely over 30ft long. Sealine dubbed it ‘the spaceship’ and that’s fair. Check out the centreline double berth in the forward cabin, something more usually found in 37ft+ boats. A second cabin houses another double berth that cleverly runs beneath the saloon floor and of course the heads is on the lower deck also. The only obvious area of compromise seems to be the galley, which is pushed into the forward port corner of the saloon on the main deck. Usefully there’s a neat sliding section that extends this across the port side sofa when in use.
Exterior
There’s more clever stuff on the outside. SECS is Sealine’s Extending Cockpit System that powers the transom backwards, taking the seating with it to create an extra half-metre of length in the cockpit. Overhead, the flybridge overhang houses both a clamshell opening that stores the cockpit canopy and a further section that the cockpit table can disappear into. Head up the steps (not a ladder) to the flybridge and you’ll discover three-abreast seating at the helm and a further bench seat that drops to create a sunbathing space.
Performance
Twin Volvo diesel sterndrives (instead of shafts) were the key to both its packaging and performance. At launch it was offered with 170hp KAD 32s, 200hp AQAD 41s or 230hp KAD 43s. We saw 31 knots with the largest engines, and whilst the KAD 32 engines of this boat will be a little slower, they are also lighter four-cylinder units, helping the power to weight ratio and fuel efficiency.
The galley extends out over the port side seating if you need more preparation space
Seakeeping
It’s a short tall planing sterndrive boat, so expect a fair bit of heel through the turns and frequent use of the trim tabs to counter any crosswind, but we found it a ‘surprisingly soft riding hull’.
Sealine F34 specifications
Length: 35ft 6in (10.8m)
Beam: 11ft 0in (3.4m)
Draft: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 636 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD32 170hp diesel engines
For sale: Boats.co.uk
Sunseeker Superhawk 48
Built: 2000
Price: £139,000
The current Sunseeker Superhawk 55 is lovely, but it’s unashamedly a sub 40-knot 16ft wide open party boat. To paraphrase Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee: “That’s not a Superhawk – THIS is a Superhawk!” Only slightly shorter than the 55 but with a beam of just 10ft 8in and a top speed that’s not far off double that of the 55, this is a boat that dates from an era when Sunseeker played Porsche to Fairline’s BMW, and this was
its 911 Turbo!
Welcome to my lair, 007! Any Bond fan would feel instantly at home in the saloon
Interior
Build a boat for outright performance and you’re going to end up with something that looks, and goes, like a bullet. So for a 50ft boat, it’s tight inside. That said, it’s also quite fabulous. There’s just the one cabin, right up forward that houses a double bed and a bit of storage.
The saloon has more than a hint of executive jet about it, with a sweep of sofa to starboard around a saloon table facing a pair of socially angled chairs to port. Note the channel in the floor, carved out to eke out a little more headroom from the centre of the vee. There’s a small galley concealed inside a sideboard aft with the heads opposite.
And, of course, it is a riot of high gloss cherry and leather, entirely in keeping with the era.
Exterior
The cockpit again is a product of the beam – it’s long and narrow but it has everything you need for a great weekend afloat. There’s a big sunpad aft, a dinette opposite a small wet bar, and two drop bolster wraparound seats for the serious business of going very fast. But step back onto the dock and drink in the epic styling, which is low, pointy and full of high performance promise.
Performance
A promise that is made good in frankly spectacular fashion. Lift that sunpad to discover three Mercruiser 502 Magnum V8 petrol engines. To save you doing the maths, at 425hp each that’s a combined 1,275hp in this dart-like machine, no wonder the top speed is over 60 knots!
Note the separate racing style gear levers and throttles that control its three 425hp engines
Seakeeping
Performance is nothing without control and that’s where the deep-vee hull comes into play because this is about as close to a raceboat as a luxury vessel has ever come. Expect wave-cleaving hull dynamics.
Sunseeker Superhawk 48 specifications
Length: 50ft 2in (15.3m)
Beam: 10ft 8in (3.2m)
Draft: 3ft 10in (1.2m)
Displacement: 9 tonnes Fuel capacity: 1,060 litres
Engines: Triple Mercruiser 502 Magnum 425hp petrol engines
For sale: Sunseeker Poole
Fairline Squadron 55
Built: 2001
Price: £265,000
Today, the majority of the Fairline range is split into two groups. The Targa name denotes a sportscruiser, while the Squadron tag is used for flybridges. But back at the turn of the century there were two Fairline flybridge lines, Phantom and Squadron. Phantoms were practical family boats while Squadrons were larger and more luxurious. (I say ‘majority’ because the Phantom badge has recently been exhumed for a sleek 65ft sportsbridge yacht).
Fairline quality still shines through in the smart fit and finish of the owner’s cabin
Interior
That sense of elevated style and luxury is evident even as you step across the threshold into the Squadron 55’s saloon because rather than the usual flat panes of glass, the sliding doors are actually gently curved, a subtle, but no doubt expensive, touch. And those curves continue inside, where the saloon settee wraps around a circular coffee table to port and even the sideboard opposite has beautifully curved doors.
A couple of steps up take you forward to a similar raised dinette to port and sunken galley to starboard as the Princess 56. There’s even a similar utility room, but the Fairline contains a lovely feature that has since been echoed in its latest Squadron 65 – a built-in folding ironing board! It’s a three-cabin two heads lower deck with the owner’s suite forward.
Exterior
Again, like the Princess 56 (these boats were close competitors), the Squadron 55 has internal access to the flybridge, but it also gains a useful side door in the same area, straight out onto the port deck, great for additional access but also offering helpful extra airflow on a warm day. The central helm position up top gives a commanding view and the two Recaro-style adjustable seats are a nice touch. Like the Princess, there’s a small crew cabin under the cockpit seating and a fixed extended bathing platform that doubles as tender storage.
Performance
Early examples were fitted with twin 600hp Volvo penta TAMD122P engines, which gave 30 knots when new. This boat has more modern 700hp D12 700 motors
so expect a touch more.
An abundance of curves and glossy woodwork were hallmarks of the Squadron range
Seakeeping
Another heavy shaftdrive Olesinski-designed boat which should deliver capable offshore performance and predictable close quarters handling.
Fairline Squadron 55 specifications
Length: 55ft 11in (17m)
Beam: 15ft 3in (4.6m)
Draft: 3ft 8in (1.1m)
Displacement: 20 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 2,182 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D12 700 700hp diesel engines
For sale: One Marine
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