Princess 38 for Sale
MotoryachtThe Princess 38 is available on Hulls.io with 1 listing currently for sale. This model is categorised as a Motoryacht.
Updated 7 October 2026 · By Hulls.io Editorial
The Princess 38: A Complete Guide
The Princess 38 is a compact flybridge motor yacht that Princess built in Plymouth from 1999 to 2003. Its hull is by Bernard Olesinski, the designer whose partnership with the yard began with the Princess 30DS in 1980. It was built by Marine Projects (Plymouth) Ltd, the company founded in 1965 that became Princess Yachts International plc in 2001, part-way through the 38’s production run.
Writing in Motor Boat & Yachting in 2023, Nick Burnham — who had sold several of them when he was a broker for Princess — noted that when it was launched in 1999 it was the smallest boat in the Princess range. His verdict was that it was a brilliant little compact cruiser: there was no sense of buying a cheaper Princess, only a smaller one, and owners he took aboard much larger Princesses at boat shows told him they were exactly like their own boat, only bigger.
The name needs care when searching listings, because Princess has used it before and built several similar-sized boats with similar numbers. The heritage archive published by Princess Motor Yacht Sales, a Princess dealer, lists an earlier Princess 38 built from 1980 to 1985. That boat was a John Bennett design, which Motor Boat & Yachting describes as being updated as the Princess 385 in 1985; the archive also lists a Princess 380, built from 1994 to 1997. The 38 described here overlapped with the slightly larger Princess 40 (1997 to 2003). Nor is it one of the V Class sports yachts: the V39 and V40 of the 1990s were a different line, and the name V40 was later reused for the 2017 Princess V40.
Hulls.io currently tracks 1 active listing for the Princess 38. Among them is a 2000 Princess 38 listed in Chichester, United Kingdom.
Showing 1–1 of 1 results
Princess 38 Specifications
Dimensions, displacement and engine options are from the Princess heritage archive published by Princess Motor Yacht Sales, a Princess dealer; fuel capacity is from Motor Boat & Yachting’s specification. Listings often give the boat’s length as 39 ft 10 in, which includes the bow pulpit; without it the boat is 38 ft 9 in. Motor Boat & Yachting gives the same 8.5-tonne displacement, but some broker listings quote a heavier dry weight, so expect figures to vary between adverts.
| Length overall (inc. pulpit) | 12.14 m (39 ft 10 in) |
|---|---|
| Length overall (ex. pulpit) | 11.81 m (38 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 0.94 m (3 ft 1 in) |
| Approx. displacement | 8.5 tonnes |
| Height to top of radar arch | 3.71 m (12 ft 2 in) above the waterline |
| Engines | 2 × Volvo Penta TAMD63P (370 hp), TAMD63L (318 hp) or KAMD44P (260 hp) diesels |
| Fuel capacity | 1,000 litres (264 US gal) |
| Accommodation | 2 cabins sharing 1 heads |
| Helm positions | Lower helm in the saloon and a flybridge helm |
| Hull design | Bernard Olesinski |
| Builder | Marine Projects (Plymouth) Ltd, Plymouth, UK (Princess Yachts International plc from 2001) |
| Production | 1999 to 2003 |
Design and Accommodation
Saloon
Motor Boat & Yachting singled out the finish. The three-part sliding saloon doors are framed in stainless steel rather than the usual white powder-coated aluminium — the kind of detail it said you would expect on a seven-figure 70-footer — and the high-gloss cherry joinery, while it may look dated today, is in its words the equal of far larger models. The saloon has a lower helm, and most boats were built with a large C-shaped settee to starboard and a small double settee opposite; some owners specified a sideboard in place of the smaller settee.
Cabins
Below decks there are two cabins: an owner’s cabin forward and a guest cabin, which broker listings describe as having two single berths. Both share one large heads rather than having one each — the main difference, Motor Boat & Yachting noted, from the rival Fairline Phantom 38, which squeezed in a small second heads.
Deck and flybridge
Steps rather than a ladder lead up to the flybridge, and there is a decent-sized bathing platform. The flybridge helm has two bucket seats; Motor Boat & Yachting’s one criticism of the layout was that you cannot reach the navigator’s seat without displacing the helmsman. The hull runs on beneath the bathing platform, which it noted adds buoyancy aft and lengthens the waterline to improve the ride and the running angle.
Engines and Performance
Three engine options are listed in the heritage archive published by Princess Motor Yacht Sales, all twin Volvo Penta diesels: the 260 hp KAMD44P and the TAMD63 in two ratings, the 318 hp TAMD63L and the 370 hp TAMD63P. According to Motor Boat & Yachting, almost every boat left the yard with one of the larger TAMD63 versions rather than the KAMD44s. It expected a boat with the 318 hp TAMD63Ls to reach close to 30 knots.
How It Compares
Fairline Phantom 38. Motor Boat & Yachting called the Phantom the Princess 38’s doppelgänger. It came first, launched in 1997, and ended production in 2003, the same year as the Princess. Its hull is also an Olesinski design. By MBY’s figures it is 38 ft 7 in long and 12 ft 8 in wide, displaces 9.8 tonnes and carries 910 litres of fuel. Fairline fitted a small second heads (too small for a shower), so each cabin has its own, at some cost to space on the lower deck; it offered both TAMD63 ratings and a 355 hp Caterpillar, but not the smaller Volvos. MBY rated the Phantom’s flybridge layout, with a central helm, as superior.
Princess 40. The 38’s larger sister, built from 1997 to 2003. The heritage archive gives it an overall length of 12.67 m (41 ft 7 in), a beam of 3.96 m (13 ft) and a displacement of about 10 tonnes, with the same three Volvo Penta engine options.
Rodman 38. A Spanish-built alternative that is actually newer, built from 2002 to 2009. By MBY’s figures it is 37 ft 9 in long, 12 ft 9 in wide and displaces 8.0 tonnes, and like the Fairline it has two heads. MBY found it more modern than it first appears, with a one-piece windscreen and a glass transom door, though arguably less sophisticated inside than its British rivals.
Buying a Used Princess 38
The youngest Princess 38s date from 2003, so condition and maintenance history matter more than specification. Even so, a few build choices are worth confirming against the boat in front of you.
What to check
- Which engines are fitted: TAMD63P (370 hp), TAMD63L (318 hp) or the rarer KAMD44P (260 hp).
- Engine hours and the service history of both engines.
- Which saloon option was chosen: the small double settee most boats received, or a sideboard.
- That the accommodation suits you: two cabins and a single shared heads.
- The condition of the high-gloss cherry joinery and the stainless-framed saloon doors.
- The age and condition of the electronics, which on a boat of this age may have been replaced.
- A full out-of-water survey, with an engine survey, by a surveyor who knows boats of this era.
Asking prices depend heavily on year, engines, condition and equipment. The listings on this page show what sellers are asking today. Browse every Princess yacht for sale.
Princess 38 Value Retention
Newest vintage = 100%. Older vintages shown as % of that price.
Based on median asking prices by model year. The newest model year in our dataset is used as the 100% reference point. The curve is smoothed so retention never increases as age increases — hover over data points to see raw values. Shaded band shows the 25th–75th percentile price range. Figures reflect asking prices from tracked listings, not final sale prices.