New Princess 55 - Quality Control problems?

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share my experience with a new built Princess 55 Flybridge purchase.

A quick note to say that it is definitely not my intention to badmouth any brand or model. I am just writing hard facts for you guys to read and evaluate.

It all started very good, with lots of promises and salesman painted rosy pictures etc. The yacht was already built. We ordered a few options that needed to be retrofitted.

Delivery took place approximately 3 weeks later than promised. Day of the formal handover came and that’s precisely when our nightmare started.

I’m writing this post on the 43rd day that the boat is stuck at the dock waiting for Princess teams to bring the boat to a condition ready for handover.

Listing below most of the issues that we have encountered so far:

Tech issues

1. Aircon system not working.
2. Watermaker not working / Leaking after repair due to faulty membrane.
3. Mastervolt system not properly configured, not charging batteries
4. Bimini hinge torn apart from GRP (reason not specified)
5. Faulty main electrical panel
6. Stbd engine alternator rotor grinding.
7. Genset gas discharge noisy/splashing water.
8. Sea water flooding in Lazarette due to unplumbed watermaker brine pipe
9. Navigation system faulty compass constantly swinging. Autopilot not working.
10. Aft station Volvo controls not working, locker damaged.
11. Water leak from cockpit to engine room, water drip to inverters/chargers top section
12. Failed Mastervolt combi inverter
13. Inverter/Chargers derating/shutting down due to overheating/poor air circulation in Lazarette
14. Water leak to Guest cabin. Damaged ceiling and speakers.
15. Damage caused by stainless steel chain mismatching windlass gipsie drum. Chain piling up and getting stuck in chain locker during anchor drop and recovery. Chain locker not draining. Chain counters on both stations not working. Wireless chain controller not working.
16. Bimini top sagging with rain water on 3 sections
17. Guest cabin aircon system fault
18. Saloon Audiovisual system not receiving command from remote controllers
19. Faulty bilge water alarm in Engine Room
20. Water leak from engine room hatch drains
21. Port engine seacock not operational due to watermaker pump obstruction
22. Genset battery charger exposed to water and debris
23. VIP cabin lights not working
24. Master bathroom shower mixer not supplying hot water
25. Transom shower mixer not supplying water
26. Gyro inverter support brackets loose. Rattling sound from Gyro
27. Lazarette extractors not working. Missing components.
28. Dirty aircon fancoil filters
29. Damaged engine oil dipstick
30. Water leak from flybridge access hatch. Hatch hinges loose.
31. Hot air backfeeding from engine room extractors to lazarette
32. Unsecured drain box in lazarette
33. Master cabin aircon duct twisted
34. Engine coolant residues in Generator casing
35. Broken water inlet elbow in lazarette.
36. Damaged bimini shackle
37. Paserelle stanchions not folding properly to allow retracting of the passerelle
38. Bilges containing water and debris
39. Broken chain & storage locker gas struts
40. Misaligned crew area door hatch grinding gelcoat surface
41. Engine ladder impossible to remove without tools in order to access genset area.
42. Loud gurgling sound from Galley sink

Cosmetic Issues

1. Damaged ceiling falling down in Guest cabin
2. Cracked/Damaged/Stained teak planks on 6 locations
3. Stains/Dents/Gelcoat damages in superstructure and hull (total 57 spots)
4. Sagging ceiling in Galley
5. Defective master cabin window (needs replacing)
6. Defective dining table. Leafs not holding up.
7. Damaged bed frame in guest cabin.
8. Broken gas struts in 3 locations.
9. Tender cover supplied not matching order
10. Entrance curtain supplied not matching order
11. Saloon storage cover lid dropping
12. Exterior covers not fitting
13. Scratched/stained teak tables in Cockpit and Fly
14. Carpet edges coming off in steps
15. Loose bow awning pole sockets
16. Broken guest cabin door restrainer
17. Dirty cockpit and interior seating
18. Stained carpets
19. Damaged mosquito porthole nets (4x)
20. Missing crockery/cutlery.
21. Messy sika jobs on flybridge repaired bimini
22. Corroded screws/parts in 14 spots
23. Scratched Stbd electric window
24. Missing flybridge sink cover
25. Broken fancoil panel in Saloon

Saved the best for last:
128 days past since a simple child safety net has been ordered to be fitted onto sidedeck handrails (3700 EUR extra cost paid in advance). First version delivered in wrong material. Second version delivered in wrong size. Still no net onboard.

Hope this was an exception for Princess and that they do not deliver all of their boats in similar condition…

Thanks for the comments folks.
They have tried hard to get our signature for the acceptance protocol promising this and that etc but we informed them that unless all defects are rectified to owner's satisfaction, there will be no acceptance and that the matter will be escalated progressively. At that time they started to take us seriously and started to mobilized their teams.
It is quite frustrating to pay close to 2M for an unfinished/untested brand new boat and had to go back to shipyard works in the middle of season. They have fixed quite a bit of items in 40+ days although at their own slow pace as they treated the defects as warranty works.
We thought about getting lawyers involved at the beginning, but once they have started works onboard we suspended our decision not to break their momentum.
Costwise it certainly makes sense for the shipyards to push out unfinished boats and let the dealer handle the mess. In the long run, I think that what goes around will come around.

Here are some pictures (Part 1)

Admin Edit: As these pictures are oversize, you will need to click and open each pic to see the full extent of the issues.

Part 2

Part 3