Absolute’s 52 Fly, the third model of its upgraded flybridge planing series, debuted at the 2023 Miami International Boat Show before having its European debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Following in the wake of the 60 Fly and 56 Fly models, the newcomer packs a lot of comforts and updates into an overall length of almost 55ft.
Sometimes you have to rub your eyes and take a leap of faith when shipyards talk about their line’s “family feeling”, but there’s no mistaking an Absolute. Built inland at a shipyard that’s much closer to Italy’s car manufacturing hubs than it is to the sea, each Absolute yacht takes a trip along the country’s famed Autostradas before getting anywhere near the open water.
The size constraints posed by tunnels and overpasses along this unusual maiden voyage combines with the shipyard’s desire to get the most out of every inch of space to dictate the Absolute look: sturdier and more voluminous than sleek and sexy. From the dock it may not be love at first sight, but there’s no denying these yachts have the kind of beauty that comes from the inside.
To give the boat a look of forward thrust, Absolute’s in-house design team has created lozenge-shaped glass inserts in the hull, picking up and repeating their lines and angles in the hard-top supports and along the sides of the boat. This gives the 52 Fly a compact, unified look that helps offset its volume-maximising features.
OPEN TO THE ELEMENTS
The 52 Fly continues the shipyard’s tradition of engineering for comfort, performance and quality of life at sea.
Starting from the high-low beach platform, you can sense this new offering from Absolute is going to have what it takes to make for great times on the water. With a hydraulically operated mechanism, the platform gives safe and easy access to the water and offers a convenient storage space for a tender.
Under the waterline, the V-shaped hull assures excellent seakeeping and was purpose-designed for the two Volvo Penta D8- IPS800 engines. Symmetrical staircases lead up to the cockpit where glass panels aft provide clear views of the platform and sea.
“Our new terrace cockpit has a glass transom and open gunwales, so has a real open-air feel,” says Cesare Mastroianni, Absolute’s Vice President of Sales and CCO. “And thanks to modular furniture first used aboard the Navetta 64, you can change the setup throughout the day.”
Join pieces to form couches or single seats, slot in armrests and backrests, add or take away cushions, and you can make all sorts of combinations of seating or side tables.
The updated version of this ingenious furniture also includes a box where you can tuck away things like swimming fins to dry while keeping them neatly out of sight. To finish it all off, curved LED rope lights in the ceiling and a textured panel under the docking station add that touch of design flair you expect from an Italian boat.
FRESH AIR INDOORS
The aft galley is on the same level as the aft cockpit and perfect for preparing a proper meal in good company. Just open the doors all the way, drop a window down and the galley and cockpit become a single, convivial space, nominally divided by a serving station that does double duty as a bar. “You have all the space and utensils to really cook,” Mastroianni says.
Top-quality appliances include a large fridge-freezer on the starboard side. To port is the C-shaped cooking area, which offers plenty of space for provisions, while there are well-designed storage units for dishes and cutlery. There’s even a wine cellar tucked under the helm seat.
The team at Absolute are always upping their game, so one look around the saloon and you think: family boat yes, but the right kind of family. Details like leather drawer pulls and dark veneer profiles contrast with the predominantly light-coloured woods used in the panelling, like the piping on a Chanel suit to give a touch of stylish luxury.
The curved rope lights in the ceiling of the cockpit and galley become a full circle over the seating area, subtly setting the saloon apart and marking its different function.
There are couches on both sides and a retractable TV screen, but what you notice most of all is the ceiling height and the sense of openness that comes with the large, glazed surfaces. But it’s more than a feeling. The windows open electrically like car windows, so air can circulate naturally throughout the boat at just the push of a button.
Sophisticated lacquered elements in the ceiling contrast nicely with the floor in natural wood overlaid with a textured mesh to give it extra anti-skid properties for safety. Just as cooking is part of the fun of being aboard the 52 Fly, so is helming.
“This is a family boat that experienced yachtsmen can use on their own, without extra help from crew,” Mastroianni points out. “There’s a crew cabin if you need it, but more experienced owners will manage the boat themselves and use the crew cabin for an extra guest.”
The two-seat helm station is part of the saloon and has an elegantly futuristic setup with Garmin screens mounted flush into the console. Like all of Absolute’s models, the 52 Fly has a full-height side door by the lower helm and owners have docking commands at the main helm station, on the fly and in the aft cockpit.
As if this weren’t enough, the IPS system comes with easy-to-use joystick commands, while assisted docking is optional.
MASTERFUL ACCOMMODATION
The chic continues on the lower deck where there are three well-appointed guest cabins: a full-beam VIP midships, a twin and a full-beam owner’s cabin fore.
The VIP is as elegant, practically as large and is fitted to the same degree of luxury as the master suite. Seeing how the VIP shares a bathroom with the twin, a family may prefer to keep the aft cabin and twin for themselves and host any guests in the owner’s cabin for privacy.
All cabins have opening portholes for natural air circulation and memory-foam mattresses, while the twin cabin comes with beds that slide together to become a double. In a nod to the needs of family use, there’s a washing machine hidden behind the panelling in the lobby.
An en-suite crew cabin has its own entrance from the transom. However, seeing how easy it is to helm this boat, it could well be used more frequently by a guest or a teenager hoping to sneak back aboard at some improbable hour without waking mom and dad.
MOVING FORWARD
The foredeck area is never an afterthought on an Absolute and the setup on the 52 Fly has a curved couch around a table that adjusts in height for coffee or dining. There are large sun pads, drink holders and lights that pop up from the flush deck when they’re needed. Fenders can be tucked away into storage lockers and the whole area can be shaded with an awning.
Any boat with ‘fly’ in its name is going to have something important going on up top and the 52 Fly doesn’t disappoint. The aft section can be set up with the same modular pieces used in the cockpit and the aft enclosure is glass.
Backing the C-shaped seating arrangement under the hardtop, there’s a full wet bar that owners can choose to set up as an outdoor galley complete with a fridge, icemaker and grill. The helming area on the port side is convivial with two seats by the wheel and sun pads right next to it.
The headrest on the sun pad flips back to become the backrest of one of the banquettes by the inlaid teak table under the hard top, a typically Absolute touch of ingenuity. There’s also the option of having solar panels installed on the hard top to provide enough energy to run the boat in hotel mode in total silence.
Speaking of silence, Absolute was an early adopter of IPS propulsion, which just keeps getting better. The fuel efficiency and reduced noise and vibration you get from this system are already well documented.
Fitted with twin IPS800 engines, the 52 Fly begins to plane at just 12-13 knots, cruises comfortably at 20-22 knots while consuming just around 200 litres of fuel per hour, and tops out at just over 29 knots.
The solidity and sturdiness suggested by the exterior lines aren’t an illusion: this is a boat that knows her stuff when it comes to handling easily and performing safely.
She may be the youngest member of the Fly family, but the 52 is without a doubt an Absolute. Find out more about what’s inside and you’ll soon be seeing the engineering and ease of use more than the exterior look that runs in this family.
While her beauty may not be immediately apparent, to know the Fly 52 is to love her, as the saying goes, and the love that comes with knowing from the inside out is the kind of love that lasts.
All images are courtesy of Absolute
This article was first seen on yachtstyle.co
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