A sports yacht with a cruising soul, the S80’s DNA is born out of a hull that might end up being the best 25-metre platform to grace the seas, says Carl Richardson. He steps on board the new S Class flagship before its world debut at the 2024 Cannes Yachting Festival.
First, an admission. Despite plenty of effort on all sides, this isn’t a full test. Time, tides and the demands of the boat show calendar meant we could not get out to sea. Instead, we were given a backstage-style tour with the design and technical teams.
The Princess S80 is the latest sportsbridge chapter in a story that can be traced back over a decade to the Princess V85-S, an impossibly powerful and daring yacht at the time. Since then, the British yacht builder has been a leader in sportsbridge design, leading us to this 70-tonne model, hitting around 32 knots with twin 2,000hp MANs. These figures are important because the boat the S80 replaces is the 50-tonne S78 that can hit 38 knots with 1,900hp MANs.
Performance and speed are key for any genuine sportsbridge model, and so we start with a new boat that is heavier and slower than its predecessor, but it is also bigger in every key area. The S80 uses the same hull as the flybridge Y80 and the Tardis-like X80. The modified V planing design from naval architect Olesinski runs on shafts (as nature intended) and can push each yacht to around 30 knots while delivering the same, class-leading four-ensuite-cabin lower deck.
Speaking to Princess design director Andy Lawrence, a lot of thought went into not only making a different kind of S flagship but also into the hull itself. “It was always going to be a three-boat 25-metre platform running on shafts, we aren’t looking at pods for larger boats. The challenge was creating a hull that would perform as well on the S as it does on the X, two very different boats.”
Read More/Comparing the superyacht models leading the Princess fleetThe X80 does work – according to BOATPro it is one of the best-selling yachts in its class. But it is a much bigger boat than the S80 above the deckline, meaning it is not just about managing extra weight but where that weight is.
Andy Lawrence explains: “The X80 has a much higher CG (Centre of Gravity), but working with our partners Olesinski, over many iterations, we found the right balance.” These iterations included increasing the beam for greater volume, while extending the waterline to hit the speeds expected of an S Class yacht.
Ultimately, Princess delivered three different 25-metre models that all run fast, with the expected option of a MAN 2,200hp engine option delivering the possibility of 36 knots for the S80.
R&D & then some
Princess is a global powerhouse, but its success is anchored by the people at its yard in Plymouth, England. Alex Cleverly was part of the technical team showing us over the boat, but until very recently he was a Princess delivery skipper. He made his first trip at age 16 and regularly clocked up 16,000 nautical miles a year – “I was the person who started work when everyone else was leaving for home, collecting a yacht for delivery to Scandinavia or the Mediterranean,” he explains.
Alex made detailed reports from a skipper’s point of view, on things like visibility, spray, where water might pool on deck, the lumber of the helm seat or access to engineering points. In short, the kind of research and development (R&D) that money can’t buy – and all that knowledge is now on the inside.
Princess ideology has long been about balance, that sweet spot between space, style and performance. Immediate impressions are good. The S80 looks low, sleek and powerful in the water, its extra length allowing its lines to stretch out, the upper sportsbridge barely visible within the rake of the roofline. Where some sportsbridge models might have more than a little flybridge height and bulk to help increase interior space, the S80 is pure performance yacht.
Given that so much conversation about any modern yacht is about volume and accommodation, it was refreshing to hear Andy talk about the importance of style. “The key was the sportsbridge. On a yacht like this, profile is everything, we wanted a big sportsbridge deck, but one you couldn’t actually see!”
Before I get too idealistic on sports style, there will be a hard top option for the S80 which makes perfect sense for a good number of boating reasons, but will change the yacht’s low-down, growling profile (I'm hoping a few emotionally led buyers stick with the standard awning so the rest of us can enjoy the original lines).
Moving up the easy aft deck steps, the sportsbridge is a vast social expanse of yacht style with the driving position rightly set at its heart. It’s a noticeably and provably bigger and better deck than the S78. The extra foot (0.3 metres) of beam works wonders. There is so much deck space but also vast and separate areas of seating plus a massive barbecue and bar, a central island of cold storage and room for a pop-up TV.
It’s the same story back on the aft deck. A familiar Princess layout sees two massive asymmetric pads flank your journey up from the hydraulic platform and garage. But things are different here and it’s another key part of the S80 design. With more room to use, the deck now has three separate social areas, dining, sunbathing and lounging, without the need to convert or move anything. Better still, it’s all done with space to spare and masses of stowage space worked in.
Again, there are no happy accidents here. The initial design saw the staircase and dining table in different positions, but the full-scale mock-ups Princess employs for every new model changed that. We now have a walkaround dining table to port with superb views out over the deck and sea beyond.
Glass-panelled flanks extend aft from the superstructure to ensure that, with the view, privacy and protection are also ensured. The sportsbridge overhang keeps everything feeling intimate and beautifully lit at night - there’s even air-conditioning overhead and the option to enclose the dining area with awnings.
The rest of the decks are just as good. The side decks sit within waist-high bulwarks with gates each side and deep storage lockers forward. Even with the superstructure pushing forward, Princess has found a good deal of space for the foredeck lounge, where eight guests can gather in circular conviviality.
Power of 3 + 5
The S80 is the first Princess to have three lower helm seats. That may not immediately look like a headline moment for a 25-metre performance boat, but it points to something else. Everywhere you go on this boat, from the sportsbridge to the main dining table, its eight guests are able to gather and be together. Whether it’s enjoying the ride or lunch, on the S80, no one gets left behind.
The galley aft design plays a rightfully central role on the main deck. It’s part of the social scene, not hidden away below. A massive piece of glass hinges up to open inside to out, with a bordering storage unit sneaking in a pop-up TV.
The S80 is probably going to be crewed (by no more than two people given the tight quarters in the stern) but it is a social boat and guests will love the galley, dipping into the Sub-Zero refrigerator, massive drawer-style freezers or just hanging around the bar area. Storage space is off the scale, the galley’s multiple dedicated lockers include a pop-up pantry while across the way there is a deep, long sideboard.
Dining is clearly intended to be al fresco on the S80, but you can option a table for the saloon – it can handle the extra furniture. The saloon is massive, another heady example of Princess' ability to deliver interior space, harmony and splendour with an ease few other yards can match. Height and glass play an important part. Huge, 6ft (1.8-metre) high sections of glass line the saloon and, with the optional glass-panelled sunroof and helm side door open, it’s like you never left the deck.
If light and splendour invite you in, the deep, low sofas ensure you won’t leave in a hurry. The best seating area (isn't it always) is the smallest. The raised lounge forward, up by the helm, is a great spot at any time of day, but it’s the perfect guest spot when underway - kudos to whoever had the foresight to subtly lower the forward finishing panel to ensure the best possible view forward.
Anyone who has been aboard the X80 or Y80 will be familiar with the four cabin-layout below decks. The S version has its own smart, performance-edged colour palette and materials, but it will be the peerless layout that wins you over. Four class-leading ensuite cabins will look after eight guests with ease, including the owner’s stateroom which is a perfect blend of style, space and luxury wrapped in deep glass hull windows. A useful upgrade on the S78, there are now separate entrances for the walk-in wardrobe and ensuite.
The forward VIP is equally impressive with an outstanding ensuite and more storage space than seems necessary – and I never, ever think that. There’s a sense of fraternity going on here too, with each cabin featuring the same style notes as the stateroom, including plenty of solid wood to go with the coolly understated but always inviting modern interior finish.
Beyond the looks and luxury, this is a boat designed for the owner to drive, when the fancy takes them, and for their guests to join in on the experience of 70 tonnes carving through the water at 32 knots. Both the upper and lower help stations look and feel like a performance yacht should, with deep, supportive seats and an array of screens and dials. But just as important are the flanks of guest-seating each side of the sportsbridge helm or the elevated lounge to port of the lower helm.
Initial sea trials, with a light load but 12 people on board, recorded 36 knots powered by the standard twin MAN 2,000hp engines, so the official top speed of 32 knots looks nailed on. The MAN 2,200hp option will suit owners who like to cruise faster while adding two or three knots to the top speed. Talking to the Princess team, you get the feeling the extra power is also about the new S flagship being able to match the outgoing one – a competitive spirit I very much endorse.
To say Princess has a reputation for good design, is a bit like saying Patel-Philipe makes accurate timepieces. The S80, like all its stablemates, simply doesn’t put a foot wrong inside or out. The proportions are near-perfect, the styling confident without being challenging and the finish always brings that little bit extra – as with the use of solid woods and semi-custom levels of choice and detail.
The nearest yacht in terms of onboard luxury, design and space is the Azimut S10. The S10 is a very fine vessel with an unmatched sense of performance yacht cool, but it is 9ft (3 metres) longer and notably more money. The fact it is the S80’s most obvious competitor says everything you need to know about how good a boat this is.
The only possible downside for an S80 owner might be the unnerving sight of a Princess X80 keeping up with you. For anyone concerned about such an event, the MAN 2,200hp engine is the upgrade for you.