Here you go Ian, most certainly not a sportsboat,
Almost 20 years ago my father and I saw our first Princess 40 Flybridge, at that point I told him "I'll have one of those one day", I finally realized my dream this week. The only sad part is that we lost my father two years ago, so he is not here to enjoy her with us.
We had been looking at upgrading to a 40' ish flybridge, and have viewed a lot of boats that were either good condition and very expensive, or poor condition and still expensive.
By chance we heard about this particular boat 'possibly coming up for sale' earlier in the year, through a friend that knew the boat and the owner, and vouched for her suitability. A couple of viewings, survey and sea trial followed, the deal was agreed, and we finally completed on her on 1st January. All without going onto the open market.
She is 1998 vintage, Twin TAMD63P with 650 hours and very highly specc'd. A very 'classic' looking Princess.
To say that we are over the moon with her is a massive understatement. She is a credit to her previous owner, and is everything that we need to allow us extend our cruising range even further, and allow our year round boat usage in more comfort.
Just waiting for a weather window to bring her around the coast to her home berth in Torquay.