Princess X95
The Princess X95 Superfly is perhaps the biggest design departure the Plymouth-based builder has undertaken since the radical, foiling R35. Set to begin sea trials next week, Princess didn’t want to miss the opportunity to show their newest model to the masses at Boot Dusseldorf so they decided to bring their 1:1 scale wooden mockup to the show.
On scene to ensure the mockup was built properly was master carpenter Paul Grigg, who has been working for the builder for 35 years. According to Grigg, it took five carpenters four days to assemble the mockup inside the show space. The biggest challenge he says, was building the floor, which they didn’t previously have built and then of course, the pesky show fire marshals.
“We’ve been building full-scale mockups for eight years now,” explains Grigg. “And now we include more detail than ever. 3D images and renderings only show you so much. I’m proud to be able to show off what we do.”
Among the details in the mockup include cutaways of seat cushions–it’s amazing how many layers and how much construction goes into simple salon seating–pieces of countertop, sliding drawers and light switches.
Grigg explains that these mockups have been an invaluable tool for the design team to ensure that a new model comes out perfect the first time, every time.
Always one to bring a creative display to the show, it’s quite possible that amongst a backdrop of shinning stainless and highly polished hulls that one of the biggest stars of the show is a plywood mockup. Like many visitors at the show, we’re more excited than before to see the finished product. –Daniel Harding Jr.
Read more about the Princess X95 here. ▶
