2022 Princess V40 Test Drive - Which engine selection should you choose..?

[@dan7h]

Thank you for the great video and review! The drone footage of the turns were especially excellent. I grew up in Devon in the UK near where these are built and want one even more now

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

No worries! I would love to visit the Princess Factory at some point. They are doing great things and wow that boat is both fun to drive but also super sexy to look at. I'm hiding in the cabin flying the drone as we go through those turns FYI.

[@timk3939]

That's funny, I grew up in Devon (Plymouth) too and love the V40 as well. I did my school work experience at Marine Projects who made the Princesses. Went out on a big Yacht in the sound for some top speed sea trials one day in that week, no idea which model but it was 1995 and it must have been 70-80 foot Princess Palace on the water, it was amazing! Small world.

[@timk3939]

​@@BoatLife_DansBoatLife I hope you make it up to Plymouth Dan. Try and get a proper Cornish pasty while you're in the area, if you can. If you like that kind of thing of course (no Ginsters though they're awful), even though Princess are in Devon and not Cornwall, it's close enough. The South West Cornwall coastline is also amazing but probably a bit of a trek off the beaten path if you're doing reviews in Plymouth. I hope you make it over to Plymouth to see Princess, maybe they could let you have a blast in the new S72 for the day, or a few days onboard, that looks like a great boat.

[@ralfralfsen261]

I had that boat with the D6-370 engines. I did 40knots flat-out with close to empty tanks and 3 people on-board. That's been a real fun and fast machine...!

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

Yes i'm not surprised you can get 40kts with the 370's Ralf! It's a well balanced boat and with that much power you have a recipe for fun!! Thanks for watching and enjoy your boat

[@AB-80X]

Was that on GPS? I just drove one with the 380's in September that had ½ a tank. and after playing with the trim for quite a bit, best I could get out of it was 34.9 knots on GPS. This was in saltwater, 19* C and 25-30 cm light chop, so no sticky water. I have a really hard time seeing how you can get 8 knots more than what he got in this video simply by adding 30 hp per side as that's not a ton extra, especially seeing that I got 34.9 with the 380's. I know of a few how have the V40 and from what I gather, depending on power and equipment etc. they run between 30 and 36 knots.

[@timk3939]

Thanks, if I'm ever got enough cash (maybe in a few years) the V40 would be top of my list. I like a bit of speed though so glad to hear it can do 40 knots. I think the older V39 on the same hull with the 330s did about 38 knots so the V40 with a bit more weight (Seakeeper) sounds about right for 40 knots I guess. I noticed Dan's review didn't get much over 30 knots with the 340s so I'm wondering if the V40 does weigh a bit more usually than the V39, warmer water slowed it down, or maybe the engine ratings are not accurate, perhaps the old D6-330s in the V39 gave more power than quoted. Anyhow good to hear 40 knots is possible on a V40, that's great.

[@timk3939]

Also modern Diesel (and petrol), engines can take a while to bed in properly, loosen up and give full power, economy and get full engine compression. In car terms it can be 15,000 miles (500 hours), with modern 'low wear' synthetic oils. It's due to piston ring bedding in and sealing mainly, maybe that explains the lower speeds on some V40s, maybe they take a while to bed in. Can get 5-10% more performance with a fully bedded in engine. It might be that people who drive it like they stole it make engine bed in sooner. Sorry getting a bit OCD now but there you go, I'm an engineer.

[@tacodias]

Yessss Danno! The V40 is the best 40footer around! Keep up

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

I really enjoyed testing this V40!

[@AB-80X]

It's definitely up there. From a pure driving standpoint, the Galeon 405 HTS is great too. It may not be quite as fancy as the V40, but it runs an honest 39 knots with 380's. But as a complete package, the V40 is so hard to beat. I wish they would offer it with the 440's just to get it into the 38-40 knots range, especially with a pair of surface drives.

[@morri03]

Well built, good looking boat. For NZ conditions a rag top and no sliding saloon door to enclose everything is a drawback as is galley down unless you just want a summer day boat

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

Yes fair comments for NZ conditions as i did see all seasons. I also saw a lot of guys with multiple boats for different locations and seasons too. Also the aft clears (which we removed) were very good so are a good compromise for someone who wants a beautiful boat like a Princess. Remember these boats are from the UK which has worse weather than NZ so it can be done.

[@morri03]

@@BoatLife_DansBoatLife all good points. I remember reading that the UK has the highest proportion of convertible cars sold in all of Europe. They must be ever optimistic with their weather 😀

[@Gordonlangoy]

Thanks for a great review 😀 did you note down some figure on fuel consumption pr hour at the different speeds? I’m curious on what the consumption is around 2800 rpm and up 😊

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

G'day Gordon, no worries i enjoyed driving the V40 it makes you feel great. Unfortunately i was rushing that shoot as i did the V65 immediately afterwards (due to rain incomming) so i wasn't organised with the fuel flow. Volvo does publish approximate numbers for their motors so you might be able to learn a bit from their spec speets and compare with my video and speed numbers?

[@romeobravo3793]

Gordon, I just took delivery of mine (although equipped with the D6 380s) and just came back from a 800 NM trip. Best economy for the V40 is at 3,000 RPM where I've seen 3.9 l/NM (= exactly 1 US gal/NM) and 27 knots. That's with a passerelle (Med configuration), a moving platform installed, nearly flat seas, no wind, 50% fuel and full water tanks + 3 adults on board. In 2-foot seas that number increased to 4.2 l/NM. Slow her down to 18 knots and you get closer to 4.5 - 5 l/NM, depending on sea conditions. Auto trim is always on and 2-3 notches of flaps are recommended to keep the bow down and reduce pitch movement. In summary, the V40 likes to be run at speeds between 25 -30 knots. That's her sweet spot. The fuel consumption is acceptable in the 20-25 knot range and deteriorates quickly below 20. We measured a top speed of 35.8 knots in nearly perfect conditions. Seakeeping is exceptional with little or no slamming even in challenging situations. Comfort aboard is proverbial and so is the overall fit & finish. Areas of improvement? Sure, here and there Princess could (and should!) work on perfecting a few things but overall this feels like a very mature and well-tested product that will take you on many fun adventures in comfort, style and safety.

[@Gordonlangoy]

@@romeobravo3793 thank you so much for an extensive answer 👍🏻 I have a 2018 V40 myself with D6-300’s. I’m down to about 3,5 l/NM at 3100 rpm, no flaps and -3 on the drives. This gives me about 28 knots. The thing is, I’ve seen several reviews on V39’s which says fuel consumptions of about 80-85 litres an hour at 30 knots, and I get how. It’s basically 100% the same hull with different side windows? Congrats on a brand new V40, I would have loved to have a new one with DPI’s, but a bit too expensive for me :(

[@romeobravo3793]

No worries. New or used, the fun and excitement are exactly the same. I happen to have Princess’ official fuel consumption tables for both the V39 and the V40. A 2017 V39 uses 94 liters at 30.5 knots and 3,100 RPM. That’s also the best economy setting. Throttle back to 2,800 RPM and speed drops to 25.3 knots and consumption to 78 liters. These figures are for the D6 330 engines. Values for the bigger 370-HP engines are virtually the same. One must conclude that, yes, the V40 does indeed use more fuel, everything else being equal. I suspect the cabin refit did add quite some weight to the vessel.

[@Gordonlangoy]

@@romeobravo3793 not familiar with a cabin refit, what do you mean by that? I got a tip from a guy who is a professional at propellers, he said that by optimizing the propellers you could lower the consumption by about 10-15 litres at 28 knots and also gain two more knots of top speed. So I’m getting that done 😄 also, any chance you could send me that performance test?

[@philb4031]

Could you have the williams tender on a v40 with a hydrolic bathing platform or would it be to heavy? Could we have a video showing the tender launch and recovery? Thanks

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

Hmm I would question that as you are moving more weight aft so it could require lots more trim tab down making the balance questionable. I think Sports Marine have a video on their social media as I’m currently 3,000km away from that boat so can’t do it myself

[@adammazengarb7923]

Too heavy. High low platform has a weight limit of 100kg for tender

[@DelaneKens-oe7qm]

Hi Dan, my name's Delane From Papua New Guinea, just wondering if I can contact you from other means as I'm a first timer trying to purchase a boat myself.

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

G'day Delane, yes I offer consulting for new purchasing so you can email me [e-mail] and we will see if i'm able to help you.

[@vladohujs4483]

La visite de l'intérieur c'est interdit ????

[@BoatLife_DansBoatLife]

My apologies Vlado I don't speak this lingo? Even Americans and British people struggle to understand me sometimes lol! If you can try again in English i'll do my best to respond.