OnBoard Magazine - Summer 2014

A CONTINGENCY of Bluewater Sales Professionals recently traveled to Princess Yachts’ United Kingdom factories, where they learned first-hand why the Princess name has become so well associated with the finest in luxury motor yacht design. Princess’ production line has always been vertically integrated and they are capable of fabricating nearly every component for their yachts in-house. Despite coordinating production across five facilities, the fulfillment process and distribution of materials is incredibly efficient, allowing the company to manufacture over 300 boats per year. Touring their Plymouth, England location, our team observed how Princess incorporates the latest advancements in technology such as resin infused construction processes for their hulls – ranging from 39’ up to 131’ – all of which excel in performance, style & seaworthiness. As part of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) family, Princess’ design appointments and production philosophies are being heavily influenced by Louis Vuitton’s couture look and vastly successful business experience. However, the factory has always been quite open to outside input from their American and Australian counterparts, who regularly advise on the specific features and appliances necessary to appeal to each continent’s differing customer types. James Noble, Marketing Director at Princess Yachts America explains, “In Europe these yachts typically do not require some of the accoutrements that our U.S. customers have come to expect, such as larger showers, higher capacity air conditioning, large hardtops and generally more open layouts. For 19 years we’ve been involved from the very beginning of the design process to help spec out the North American versions of each Princess model.” Always a debt-free company, and now re-energized by the financial investment and resources that LVMH and L Capital bring to the playing field, Princess is poised to be unrivaled in their class. The improvements to style and performance, and the addition of the M-Class yard for 100’-plus vessels speaks loudly to these investments. New facilities, new production mantras and frequent new model designs demonstrate Princess Yachts’ commitment to being the very best in many markets throughout the world. This was resolutely clear during our team’s recent visit and we would love to share more of what we learned with you. Bluewater brand champion, John McDevitt advises, “For anyone in the market for a best-in-class sport cruiser in the United States, we firmly believe you should look no further than Princess’ highly refined line of motor yachts. T O U R I N G P R I N C E S S Y A C H T S ’ E X P A N S I V E K I N G D O M PA L A C E T I M E 21 SUMMER 2014