With the unveiling of its new Odyssey 108, Princess Yachts is drawing on six decades of British craftsmanship—and its Plymouth roots—to make its return to the superyacht sector.
In 1965, three friends began fitting out a 31 ft motorboat in a rented shed alongside a creek in Plymouth. The boat, known as Project 31, marked the beginning of what would become one of Britain’s most recognised yacht builders. Six decades later, Princess Yachts remains firmly rooted in the city where it began, but its ambitions have grown considerably.
Today, Princess is one of the South West’s major employers, with more than 2,000 skilled workers across its Plymouth manufacturing facilities. More than 80 percent of each yacht is still crafted in the city, where generations of local expertise have helped establish the company as an international luxury marque. Now, Princess is preparing for another significant chapter: its return to the superyacht sector.
This is not entirely unfamiliar territory. The shipyard previously entered the category with its M Class, which included the Princess 40M, the largest yacht it has ever built, at 131 ft. The last 40M was delivered in 2018, after which Princess made the commercial decision to focus on its 95 programme, which was performing well at the time. But as its existing owners moved up through the range, demand for something larger followed.
“We’ve continued to build our family of Princess owners with 70- to 100-ft boats who are potential candidates for a bigger vessel,” says CEO Will Green. For Princess, the move back above 100 ft is “a natural step in the journey”—giving those owners the opportunity to move into a more sizeable yacht with a company they already know.
The forthcoming Odyssey 108 represents the brand’s next major phase. At this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, Princess revealed the first exterior and interior design plans for the 108 ft (33 m) superyacht, alongside a scale model. Designed to take owners further afield, the Odyssey 108 marks a significant departure for Princess. The vessel combines a three-deck arrangement with accommodation for up to 10 guests, while extensive glazing brings natural light into the interiors. With a projected range of more than 2,600 nautical miles at nine knots, she is conceived for extended voyages, opening up the possibility of exploring far beyond the Mediterranean.
The announcement also introduced a new collaboration with UK design studio Harrison Eidsgaard, which is working with Princess on the interiors, bringing its experience of much larger superyachts to the project. “It’s a partnership built on expertise, and we’re learning from each other,” says Princess’s executive director of design & development Andy Lawrence. “Princess isn’t new to this size range from a naval architecture and engineering standpoint, but they [Harrison Eidsgaard] offer a deep understanding around the evolving interior design expectations of today’s superyacht buyer.”
Elements first explored aboard the X90 —which made its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September—will carry across, including the connection between the aft dining area and cockpit, while the move into larger yachts will bring greater scope for owners to personalise their boats. Floor-to-ceiling glazing across the Skylounge and main deck will emphasise light and volume, with the 108 measuring 277 GT—a volume Lawrence says is comparable with yachts several metres longer.
The first Odyssey 108 is scheduled to enter the water in 2029, ahead of her world premiere in 2030. But for Princess, this is only the beginning. The name itself points to a family rather than a single yacht, with Green confirming that “there will be at least one bigger boat”, although details have yet to be revealed. That future arrives at a poignant moment for the Plymouth shipyard. Princess founder David King died recently aged 83, having continued to visit the company until only months before his death. For Green and Lawrence, who both joined Princess more than two decades ago, his influence remains particularly personal.
“We’re students of David King,” says Green, who describes King as his mentor. His principles—listening to owners and designing yachts with longevity in mind—remain embedded in the company. A new generation is now carrying those tenets into Princess’s next chapter, and into some of the largest yachts in its history.
