Paul’s carpentry history with Princess stretches back to well over twenty years, when he first began at the Princess Yachts International factory. ‘It was very different back then. Even large items like bulkheads were hand made. The process is far more streamlined of late’.
It’s that background and experience that Paul brings to Princess Motor Yacht Sales, the world’s largest Princess yacht distributor. Having joined the company in 2014, he now travels the world, bringing his unique skills to bear wherever needed. ‘I’ve just returned from Thailand, I was there for a fortnight providing warranty support. I’ve been all over the world, to some even quite unusual places like Beirut, where we put an entire new floor into a Princess 32M, or the Swiss lakes where you might not expect to find a Princess yacht’.
But warranty support is just a bit part of Paul’s role. His main focus is retro work. ‘Flooring is a popular choice. A customer might purchase a stock vessel or perhaps a pre-owned yacht and would prefer a timber floor to the carpeted areas already fitted. We choose hardwoods, and normally contrast them to the cabinetry, so if the yacht has dark wood bulkheads and furniture we’ll typically install light oak flooring. For a lighter interior we’ll contrast with walnut or wenge, which is a very dark South African hardwood’.
On the outside of a boat, teak decking brings warmth and style. Most Princess yachts already come with a teak laid cockpit and bathing platform. Paul can add teak side decks or teak lay the flybridge to match. Lighting can be inlayed, or perhaps you’d like a Princess crown backlit in LEDs to welcome guests in the evening?
‘We’ve even stripped cabins out completely and changed them into tailor made offices with desks, storage and filing.’
But mere flooring is just the tip of a very prolific iceberg – the talents Paul can bring to a boat, and the changes wrought by that talent, run far deeper. ‘We can change the layout of a guest cabin, so if a double bed is preferred to two single berths, we can do that. We’ve even stripped cabins out completely and changed them into tailor made offices with desks, storage and filing. Galley alterations are popular. We’ll install washer driers, dish washers, wine coolers or undertake plumbing jobs such as on demand boiling water’.
One area proving ever more popular is audio visual installations. Long gone are the days of marine hifi consisting of a car radio/CD player built into the lower helm and a pair of speakers poking through the headlining. Today a rise and fall concealed television is de rigueur while Dolby 5.1 surround sound systems provide the audio kick to match the high definition punch of the latest LED screens, and owners of earlier yachts are choosing to retrofit similar systems in order to enjoy the same AV experience.
In fact it’s a particularly clever AV system that has been Paul’s latest challenge. ‘We’ve just installed a concealed TV screen to the master cabin of a Princess 60. When it’s switched off, all you see is a mirror. Switch it on and that mirror actually transforms into a flat screen monitor for displaying television or video. It was a complex installation, but it works brilliantly!’
To find out more information on Princess Motor Yacht Sales Individual, click here.
Alternatively, give our Individual team a call on +44 (0)1752 393377 or email individual@princess.co.uk – we certainly have the right man for the job!
