Princess 78 Motor Yacht Review, Specs and Used Market Guide

Where the 78 fits among Princess boats for sale

Browse preowned Princess yacht listings around 78 ft and you will find three very different boats sharing the number: the sporty V78 express, the later Y78 flybridge (2019 to 2022) and the subject of this guide, the Princess 78 Motor Yacht. Built in Plymouth from 2009 into about 2013, the 78 MY was the largest of Princess's then-new Motor Yacht range when it arrived, and the builder's second fully resin-infused yacht after the V78.

PowerYachtBlog's 2009 preview noted that the 78 MY is not simply a V78 hull with a flybridge. It is slightly longer and adds about a foot of beam, and the extra width shows everywhere inside. Bernard Olesinski drew both the naval architecture and the exterior, as he did for most Princess models of the era, while the interior was handled in-house.

For US buyers the 78 MY is interesting because it sits right where a yacht stops being comfortably owner-operated and starts wanting crew. It measures 79 feet 1 inch with the pulpit and 78 feet 2 inches without, and Princess built it with a separate crew cabin, a crew galley area and side-deck service doors so it can be run either way.

Resin infusion and a deep-V built for 30-plus knots

Princess pitched resin infusion as an engineered weight saving that brings higher speeds, lower fuel burn and more range. Even so, this is a substantial boat. The factory spec sheet lists an approximate displacement of 59 tonnes with the standard engines, a beam of 18 feet 9 inches and a draft of 5 feet 6 inches, which keeps the Bahamas and most of the Intracoastal accessible.

The hull is a classic Olesinski deep-V with raised bulwarks and deep side decks, and it was drawn for speed: Princess quoted 31 to 35 knots depending on engine rating, which is several knots more than most heavier, high-volume flybridges of the same length. Hydraulic stabilizers that keep working at zero speed, run off the generator, were fitted to Trade-a-Boat's test boat and are worth looking for on any example, because they matter as much at anchor as underway.

Main deck flow, with the galley kept out of sight

Triple stainless-framed glass doors open from the cockpit into a salon that uses the full beam: two- and three-seat sofas, a coffee table, a pop-up TV and a cocktail cabinet with its own fridge. Forward of that sits a formal dining area for eight, then the lower helm on the starboard side behind a glass panel with a blind, so the skipper can work at night without lighting up the guests.

The galley sits to port behind a sliding door, with a separate door to the side deck for crew access. Trade-a-Boat's tester found marble counters, a four-burner ceramic hob, convection microwave, dishwasher, full-height fridge-freezer, ice maker and even a trash compactor, plus an electrically raised screen that hides the galley from the dining area during service. That arrangement is a big reason the 78 MY works with a captain and stewardess.

The lower helm has twin adjustable leather seats, a door to the starboard side deck and an E-PLEX touchscreen monitoring system that controls power, lighting, batteries and tankage. A dinette beside the helm works as a breakfast nook or a lookout spot underway.

Four en suite cabins forward, crew aft of the engine room

Every guest cabin has its own bathroom. The full-beam master amidships has a king berth, a dressing table, lounge chairs, a walk-in wardrobe, a safe and four large vertical-opening portlights per side, wired to an alarm that warns the helm if any are left open. Its bathroom offers either a large shower stall or an outboard bath and shower combination, plus twin basins.

The VIP is forward, and the remaining two guest cabins can be specified as two doubles plus a twin, or with a second twin cabin whose berths slide together. Crew accommodation sits aft of the engine room, reached from the transom or the starboard side deck, with its own head, a crew galley area and a washer and separate dryer. A second two-berth crew cabin was optional.

That aft crew space is one of the 78's best features for American owners who run the boat themselves most of the year: it doubles as overflow guest space for kids, and it keeps paid crew completely separate when you do hire them.

A flybridge spa, a 420 kg crane and a hydraulic platform

The single-level flybridge was designed with an optional hot tub, a big wet bar with electric grill, a seating area that converts to a sunbed and a hydraulically raised bimini. The upper helm console closes hydraulically when not in use, which protects the electronics from sun and salt. A crane with a 420 kg safe working load stows the tender aft on the bridge, and a third docking station in the cockpit lets the skipper back into a slip while watching the stern.

Down aft, the electro-hydraulic transom platform is rated for 550 kg, enough for a small tender or a personal watercraft, and a remote-control telescopic passerelle of about 12 feet makes stern-to Mediterranean mooring easy. Electric stern mooring winches on each quarter were standard.

Twin Caterpillar C32s and real-world speed

Princess offered two versions of the Caterpillar C32 ACERT V12: 1,622 mhp, good for a quoted 31 to 34 knots, and 1,723 mhp, quoted at 33 to 35 knots. Some later US boats are described in listings with higher C32 ratings, so check the engine plates and ratings rather than relying on a listing description.

Trade-a-Boat's test on Sydney Harbour saw 38 knots at wide-open throttle of 2,350 rpm, a figure the tester himself called stunning for a boat of 59 tonnes dry, so treat it as a light-load best case rather than a cruising expectation. A normal fast cruise is around 22 knots at 1,800 rpm. Slow down to 1,030 rpm and the yacht makes 11.5 knots on about 50 liters per hour per engine, roughly 26 gallons per hour in total, which turns the 1,500-gallon tank into genuine coastal range for Bahamas or New England passages.

Two generators, a 27 kW unit and an optional second 13.5 kW unit, give redundancy for air conditioning and the zero-speed stabilizers.

• Standard: 2 x Caterpillar C32 ACERT 1,622 mhp, quoted 31 to 34 knots
• Option: 2 x Caterpillar C32 ACERT 1,723 mhp, quoted 33 to 35 knots
• Trade-a-Boat test: 38 knots at 2,350 rpm, 22 knots at 1,800 rpm
• 11.5 knots at 1,030 rpm on about 26 gph total
• Fuel 5,680 liters (1,500 gallons), water 1,386 liters (366 gallons)

Owning a 79-foot Princess in the US

Budget roughly $250,000 to $450,000 a year to run a 78 MY properly, excluding depreciation. The range depends mostly on crew: a full-time captain and a part-time mate or stewardess, an 80-foot slip in South Florida or the Northeast, insurance on a $1.5 to $2 million hull, Caterpillar services, stabilizer and generator maintenance, teak care and fuel.

The C32 is a common engine across sportfishermen and motor yachts, so service is easy to find. The large services are the ones to plan for: one recent listing for a 2013 boat documented a 2,000-hour service by a Caterpillar dealer with aftercooler replacement, new isolation transformers, rebuilt vacuum toilets and partial teak replacement. Those are typical line items on any boat of this age and size.

Buying a used Princess 78, and how values hold

Used Princess yachts for sale at this size are mostly European-built boats that crossed the Atlantic, so check VAT status, UK or EU electrical conversions and how the boat was maintained in its first life. A 2013 example in West Palm Beach has been offered at $1.999 million, a useful marker for the best boats. Our 2026 estimate runs from about $1.3 million for an early hull needing updates to around $2.2 million for a late, refreshed boat.

Values have been supported by Princess's reputation for engineering and by the 78's genuine 30-plus-knot ability. The newer Y78, built from 2019 to 2022, is a different boat with a more modern profile and costs considerably more.