Prestige, the high-end French builder, will launch its new 590, the flagship of its Flybridge line, at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 11, and then in the United States at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 31. The low-profile Prestige 590 has fluid lines, a thoroughly modern, light-filled European interior, and a top speed of 29 knots.
Started in 1989 as part of the powerhouse Beneteau Group, Prestige has been a worldwide success story. It has produced more than 4,000 boats, and says it is number two in registered powerboats from 50 to 60 feet in the U.S. The new 590 is at the top of the Flybridge line, which now has six models from 42 to 59 feet.
The new 590 has three staterooms with three heads, plus an optional crew cabin aft, with its own head. This arrangement is popular in Europe. In the U.S., this space can be turned into a large garage for a tender.
You can walk on the boat from the large, teak swim platform through a transom door on the port side. In the cockpit, a comfortable L-shaped lounge is across the transom. The cockpit is protected from the elements by an overhang from the flybridge, and it has a teak deck; teak side decks lead forward to the foredeck, also with teak, plus a super-sized sunlounge.
A large glass door leads from the cockpit into the salon, with the galley aft on the port side. Forward, to port, is a luxurious settee with a high-low table. The helm, with a two-person seat, is to starboard. Large windows all around let in a lot of natural light, and add to great sightlines from the helm. On the 590, Prestige has gone high-tech with its new Ship Control software, which lets you monitor all the systems on the boat from a tablet or screens at the helm.
Up top, the flybridge has a low venturi windshield (the boat’s air draft is only 19 feet). The helm is on the port side, and a settee is opposite. A large seating lounge with a table is aft.
Below, the full-beam master stateroom is midships, with a centerline bed and en suite head and shower. The VIP stateroom is in the bow, with a double bed that can be separated into two singles; it too has an en suite head and shower. The third guest stateroom with two beds is to port; guests there use the day head with shower on the starboard side.
Powered by twin 600-hp Cummins diesels, the Prestige 590 cruises at 23 knots, with a cruising range of 260 nm.
Specs.: LOA: 61’4”; Beam: 15’10”’ Draft: 4’5”; Disp.: 42,968 lbs.; Fuel: 581 gals.; Water: 201 gals.: Power: 2×600-hp Cummins QSC 8.3 diesels. For more:
