absolute yachts reviews

All-New Absolute 52 FLY Review (2022 Edition)

The Absolute 52 Fly arrives with a fresh look and a stunning three-cabin interior. Have we got a new leader of the pack on our hands? 

The 2022/2023 generation of Absolute flybridge boats are some of the best the Italian shipyard has ever designed. The 52 Fly may be sub-55ft but it feels huge on board and boasts an interior layout so effective it makes you wonder why other boats in this sector aren't using the same blueprint.

As with every other modern Absolute, it's only available with Volvo Penta IPS but this is what grants the designers so much accommodation space to play with on the lower deck and it should be good for a reliable 22-knot top speed and a cruising range of 250nm. We'll put those claims to test on our upcoming sea trial but, for now, we caught up with the boat at the 2023 Miami Boat Show, where it had its global debut, to see how it stacks up. 

Absolute 52 FLY Key Facts

• LOA 54.987ft
• Max Speed 28 knots
• Status In Production
• Generations 3
• Yacht Type Flybridge
• Use Type Cruising

Test & Review Video

YachtBuyer Score

In this article:

Our Verdict

Rivals to consider.

• Specification

Our Scores Explained

Design & Build

This generation of Absolute flybridge has a distinctive look with oversized hull windows and fin-style open haunches that aim to maintain the connection between the cockpit and the water. The boats are not classically handsome but the look is more refined than it was a few years ago and there's no doubt that they have a distinctive look that is all their own. 

On board, the use of space is truly outstanding and the volume of the interior is astonishing. By arranging the owner's cabin on a mid-deck forward, you get both a wonderful space for the owner and guests are treated to a fabulous full-beam VIP amidships. 

Modular deck furniture is another feature of this generation of Absolute, adding great flexibility to the cockpit and flybridge. As standard, the decks are empty to fill with any furniture the owner desires but to make life easy Absolute provides some on request and it's as stylish as it is flexible. 

Absolute builds all of its boats using its Integrated Structural System (ISS). The interiors are cut and assembled separately to the hulls and dropped in once constructed, pre-prepared with wiring and plumbing. It's an efficient build method, which, according to Absolute, improves the accuracy of the build and maintains a more consistent level of quality. You can't be definitive about quality from the safety of a boat show berth but there is certainly a feeling of real cohesion aboard the 52 Fly and reassuring solidity in everything from the flooring to the way the internal doors clunk shut. It feels like a quality machine. 

Absolute pays attention to the little things that make life on board easier. It's small things like having a dedicated slot for the boat hook adjacent to the flybridge steps in the cockpit and the smart stainless steel hoop that slots into the bathing platform to give swimmers something to grab onto when they emerge from the sea. 

This will be an owner-run boat for the majority so ease of maintenance is key and to that end the machinery space is impressive. With both the generator and optional Seakeeper stabiliser space is a little tight at the entrance to the engine room but access to the engines and IPS pods is excellent and the quality and tidiness of installation are top-notch. The 52 Fly should be an easy boat to live with and look after. 

Absolute's range is an IPS-only zone so if you don't like the idea of pod drives the 52 isn't for you. That said, the integration of Volvo's pods is faultless and it's part of the reason why the designers have so much space to play with on the lower deck. 

Interior Accommodation

The interior is the 52 Fly's trump card, it's hard to compute quite how Absolute has managed to include three cabins and two bathrooms and endow them with so much space. There isn't a boat in the sector that uses the footprint as cleverly as this. 

The main deck salon is familiar Absolute with its aft galley, two-part sliding cockpit door and a window section that drops into the counter to create a small bar area.  The galley is split with the counter, sink, hob, cooker and a good amount of storage space to port and a full-height fridge/freezer and pantry to starboard. Detail is excellent. The soft rounding of corners, the subtle integration of a handhold into the edge of the galley counter and the chest forward of the fridge/freezer that contains fiddled storage for all of the Absolute branded crockery and glassware. 

The 52 has a new lighting design throughout, with attractive waves of LED in the deck head above the cockpit and aft end of the salon and a new circular motif above the dinette that is cleverly mirrored in the hard top on the flybridge. 

The windows on both sides of the salon drop down to allow the natural breeze to run through the boat. We've seen this feature before on Absolutes and it means that on days that aren't too hot, you may be able to use these to ventilate the boat rather than firing up the air-con (and therefore the generator). 

The television is neatly hidden on a pop-up mechanism behind the sofa to starboard, opposite a large dinette with a hi-lo table that can easily switch from dining to coffee table height. 

The lower deck layout works brilliantly because by shifting the owner's cabin to a mid-deck forward, the VIP cabin can occupy the full width of the beam amidships. It's a similar layout to Absolute's own 56 Fly without the ensuite bathroom for the VIP cabin. This arrangement benefits the owner as much as their guests, though, because the space and comfort levels in the owner's suite are excellent. As are the views, thanks to those enormous hull windows. With the bed (2,000mm x 1,600mm) mounted aft on the centreline, the bow is full of bathroom and it works really well, delivering a smartly finished ensuite that uses the geometry of the cabin intelligently. The attention to fine detail is excellent once again, right up there with the best in this sector. 

The VIP could be another owner's suite and in fact, if you're sleeping on anchor or are tied to a buoy, it may be the place to sleep as you won't get the slapping of water on the hull that you do up front. There is an intrusion towards the top of the bed that those 6ft or over will need to watch out for but apart from that it's a very easy cabin to move around inside and it's dotted with plenty of useful storage solutions. The lack of an ensuite may put some people off but the day head, shared with the twin cabin, isn't far away.

The twin cabin is well thought out as well. Headroom is good and, as standard, you get electric sliding berths (1,940mm x 670mm) that switch from twins to a double at the touch of a button. Rival boats offer this but most as a cost option. It also has direct access via a small door to the void beneath the owner's cabin, offering excellent access to the bow thruster for those maintaining the boat and some very useful bag storage for those sleeping in this cabin.

The crew accommodation aft is just about spacious enough to work as an occasional cabin but very few of these boats will be run with the crew. The best option is probably to have the space lined out for storage but keep the bathroom so that those who've been for a swim can go to the toilet and have a shower without traipsing water through the interior of the boat. 

Helm Station

Absolute's helms were the best in the business before it came up with this all-new design for the 52 and, somehow, it's made them even better. The lower helm is particularly good thanks to its beautifully clean design with a pair of angled pods that direct the MFDs towards the skipper and create a driver-focussed, cockpit-like feel. The twin helm seats are adjustable and have a bolster section so you can stand at the helm and drive; the relationship between the adjustable steering wheel, throttles and IPS joystick is absolutely perfect.

There is the option of a third control station in the cockpit is welcome but with the joystick at the lower helm positioned so closely to the side door, it's a brilliant spot to moor the boat from and the all-around view is excellent. There aren't boarding gates on either side of the cockpit but having them amidships on both sides makes it far easier for the skipper to help out handling lines if they need to. 

The upper helm isn't as stylish as the one downstairs but it has all of the same ergonomic touchpoints. A good example is the positioning of the throttles and joystick on the same moulding but the latter is mounted higher so you can reach it more easily when standing up and throttles are set low so they are more comfortable to reach when seated out at sea. Positioning the navigator's seat outside of the skipper's means that they can move in and out of the helm without disturbing the driver, too. It's all very well thought out and near impossible to fault.  

The cockpit follows a familiar form with its modular furniture and open haunches though there are some updates that are new for the 52. The lighting design in the overhang is fresh as is the small lip of the smoked glass and stainless steel that adds some protection to the open gunwales while maintaining the views out over the water. 

Absolute's supplied furniture is lovely stuff that can be arranged in myriad ways, either as single armchairs or, because the armrests can be removed, sofas and day beds. It's so much more flexible and comfortable than a fixed bench. The open transom also means that those in the cockpit have a great view over the hydraulic bathing platform and can easily keep an eye on people in the water. 

The side decks require a sideways shuffle to move along them as they aren't the widest in the class but with tall guardrails and toerails it feels perfectly safe to negotiate them. The 52 Fly has one of the best foredecks in the class. The side decks are linked by a passageway that splits the sofa and sun pad, which makes getting from one side of the boat to the other far easier. The sun pad has a clever hinged backrest which acts either as a headrest for sunbathers or creates a bench that faces aft to join the hi-lo teak table. The entire area can be shaded by a canopy that attaches to carbon fibre poles, which stow in the engine room. 

Flying High

The flybridge feels large in this sector. The overhang extends a long way back and is square in its design so there is lots of space at the aft end for yet more free-standing furniture. A hard top is an option but there is no sunroof available on this model, just the potential to add 1,320W solar panels to top up the domestic energy supply. The lighting motif on the underside of the top is the same as in the salon, which is a nice touch. As is the way the wet bar has been so neatly integrated into the aft end of the dinette sofa. It's a well-designed bar with built-in storage for the liferaft and a useful open shelf to stow towels and other loose items. The sink is standard but you'll need to add the fridge and grill to make the most of it.

Forward, there is a big dinette with a handsome teak table on a fixed pedestal and a good spread of sunbathing space adjacent to the two-person helm station. 

Value For Money

The base price of the 52 Fly at the time of writing is €1.34 million ex VAT but as with most of its competitors, there are a few options that need to be added to get it to a turn-key specification.

The hydraulic bathing platform would be worth adding for functionality as would the hard top, with or without the solar panels. Unless the extra berth is going to be of use then speccing the crew cabin to be lined out with the addition of the bathroom would be an effective use of this space and endow the boat with a vast amount of dry, easily accessed gear storage. 

If you moor stern-to then the third control station in the cockpit is definitely worth thinking about, even with the view from both the lower and upper helms being so good. The Seakeeper is an expensive option but it does make a big difference to comfort levels when the boat is at anchor, so if you spend a lot of time doing that it's worth considering. 

Ultimately the 52 Fly is at the more expensive end of the market but it feels like a quality product through and through. 

It's impossible to come to a concrete conclusion about a boat without experiencing how it feels out at sea but the initial signs are very positive for the 52 Fly. Being a scaled-down version of the larger flybridge boats in the range is no bad thing because Absolute is on a roll at the moment and the three-cabin arrangement suffers very few compromises and sets the standard for space and comfort at this size of boat. The custom furniture arrangement on the deck allows for an impressive amount of customisation for a boat in this sector but you won't be disappointed with what Absolute offers, either. The attention to detail is excellent throughout and there are so many small touches that will make the boat a real joy to live with. We're yet to drive it but in every other area, the 52 Fly is as good as it gets. 

Reasons to Buy

• Voluminous interior
• Versatile deck spaces
• Quality and attention to detail
• Spacious flybridge

Things to Consider

• VIP cabin isn't ensuite

Naturally, the 52 Fly has a raft of rivals from competitor brands but look inside the Absolute stable first, shall we? The 56 Fly is the next rung on the Absolute flybridge ladder and the jump in price is around €200,000 so what are you getting for your money? Well, it's longer and wider so there is more space throughout, most noticeably on the flybridge and lower deck where you can get two crew berths instead of one and an extra bathroom for guests. Performance is likely to be pretty much identical, though the 52 could well be a bit punchier given it's lighter than the 56 but uses the same Volvo Penta IPS800 engines with 600hp. The question is, is the 56's biggest rival now the 52?

Outside of the Absolute stable, there is plenty to challenge the 52. Galeon's 500 Fly has been around a little while now but even the brilliantly versatile 52 Fly can get close the Galeon's outstanding beach club mode arrangement with drop-down terraces and a rotating transom seating arrangement that is a stroke of genius. It can, unlike the Absolute, also be had with a tender garage big enough for a Williams Minijet. Below deck, there are three cabins, including a full beam owner's suite amidships, a double VIP and a third cabin with a pair of bunks. It's available with a variety of Volvo Penta shaft drive engine options (D11 725s the pick) or IPS, though it's an expensive option. For sheer deck space, it's untouchable. 

Azimut's 53 isn't as functional as the Absolute but with exterior design by Alberto Mancini and an eye-popping Achille Salvagni interior, it's a cracking-looking boat. It's all sharp lines and subtle curves in comparison to the bombastic Absolute, which is a more acquired taste. Like the 53 Fly, the Azimut has a three-cabin, two-bathroom layout with space for a single crew member aft but the interior design really is like nothing else in the market. The 53 also runs on IPS but the larger D11 725hp blocks of IPS950 so its top speed is more in the region of 32 knots and it will cruise a bit more quickly, too. 

The Sunseeker Manhattan 55 (and its predecessor, the Manhattan 52) is one of the most popular boats that the Poole shipyard has ever produced. It's easy to see why given the mix of performance, style and interior space. Attention to detail and finish also took a marked turn for the better with the 55, too. Like the Galeon 500, it's available with IPS or shafts and will top out at around 32 knots. It's one of the more engaging boats in the sector to drive, too, as you expect of something wearing the Sunseeker crest. The layout is quite similar to the Absolute's, though there is more fixed furniture on the flybridge. It's a great all-rounder.  

Specifications

• Builder Absolute
• Range Flybridge
• Model 52 FLY
• Length Overall 54.987ft
• Beam 15.322ft
• Yacht Type (Primary) Flybridge
• Use Type (Primary) Cruising
• Cruising Speed Max Speed
• Fuel Capacity 476 Gallons
• Fresh Water Capacity 172 Gallons
• Engine Model 2x Volvo Penta D8-IPS800

Absolute 52 FLY Layout

The aft end of the flybridge is set up for free-standing furniture; the integration of the wet bar into the back of the dinette is a clever touch 

There is the option to spec your own furniture in the cockpit and on the flybridge but Absolute's is lovely 

A crew cabin is an option but you can have storage with the bathroom if the sleeping space is surplus to requirements 

Jack Haines

Jack is YachtBuyer's Reviews Director. He is a writer, editor and presenter with 15 years’ experience testing over 350 motorboats of all shapes and sizes, from 20ft RIBs to 120ft yachts (and even the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Sutherland ). 

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Shipyard review: Absolute, Italy’s inland innovators

• April 22, 2021

Located over 100km inland of coastal cities like Genoa and yacht-building hubs like La Spezia and Viareggio, the Absolute facility is a self-contained hub of in-house innovation, automation, craftsmanship and friendly, family-style management. By Clare Mahon.

Absolute is situated outside Piacenza, situated 60km southeast of Milan in northern Italy

I’m driving around looking for the Absolute shipyard, my instincts and my navigation app at war. There’s not a body of water in sight. A green sea of freshly ploughed fields is all around me and the aroma is of farmland, not low tide.

Feeling I must be way off track, I pull over to see what’s wrong. Suddenly, a truck loaded with Volvo Penta IPS engines passes me. Follow that truck, I tell myself, and soon I’m there.

The entrance to the five-hectare production facility

Sergio Maggi and Marcello Bè founded Absolute in 2002 in an area outside of Piacenza where the other major industry is … tomato canning. After all, Piacenza is in northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, renowned for its local produce including ham, salami, cheese and pasta, as well as wine.

This, plus the fact the Med is about 100km south, make it an unusual location for shipbuilding, but Maggi and Bè are locals and wanted to stay close to their roots and the hardworking local talent.

Co-founders Sergio Maggi (above, centre) and Marcello Bè (below, far right) in meetings

The two had met while employed at Cantieri Nautici Gobbi, but when the company was sold, they decided to branch off and establish a yard of their own. Four years later, looking for ways to increase automation in their production lines, they asked former boss Angelo Gobbi to join them at Absolute.

“We started with nothing much more than a good first boat,” Maggi says. “Going forward, we had an idea of what we wanted, but we didn’t know how to get there. Angelo is our visionary. He had the knowhow and guided us to where we are today.”

Absolute is all about teamwork and efficiency, not ego. Gobbi happily joined his former employees as a partner and put his skills to work creating a state-of-the-art facility spread over almost 50,000sqm – imagine seven football pitches – where boats are built using an optimised production chain called Integrated Structural System or ISS.

A hull prepared for deck trimming

Hulls are hand-finished while their corresponding interior structures are precision cut by robotic arms using CNC technology. Dedicated teams then assemble the interiors in modules and lower them into the hulls.

After the interiors have been mounted and sealed, the hulls are taken out of their moulds and the running systems are installed. The organisation and automation are astounding, and the shipyard works around the clock.

GRP lamination

After the human workforce goes home, robots and computers take over, fetching supplies from a large and recently expanded automatic warehouse then setting them up for the next day’s work.

While Absolute is open to every kind of software upgrade and technological improvement, Maggi says that building a yacht will never be a fully automated or entirely industrial process.

Automated machinery in the warehouse

“We can try to organise delivery and production to the highest degree, but there will always be a lot of handwork involved in laying a hull and mounting running systems. We design everything in 3D and nothing is left to chance, but we will still always need humans to do quality control,” Maggi says.

It’s this blend of humanity and technology that makes Absolute Yachts special. Everything at Absolute is done in-house by a tightly knit team headed by management and ownership that are one and the same. “And we’re here all day, every day,” says Cesare Mastroianni, CCO and Vice President of Sales.

Giuseppe Bertocci (Head of Production), co-founders Sergio Maggi and Marcello Bè, Paola Carini (Administration & HR), Angelo Gobbi (President), Patrizia Gobbi (General Manager) and Cesare Mastroianni (CCO & Vice President of Sales)

The shipyard staff is like an extended family, but unlike most families, they work well as a team and seem to like each other. This all-in-it-together approach allows Absolute to move quickly and stay flexible.

“We have invested in our people,” says Mastroianni. “We don’t need to have a lot of meetings. Sometimes we just discuss ideas by the coffee machine.”

IN-HOUSE CREATIVITY

Maggi, who on top of being a co-founder also heads the design department, echoes Mastroianni’s words.

“We believe in staying independent and doing everything in-house. Yes, maybe you miss having people bring you new ideas from outside, but if you do that, you’re always trying to chase a new concept, looking for solutions to new problems,” Maggi says.

Absolute uses 3D printing and modelling in their yacht designs

“Absolute’s approach is more like adaptive evolution because the team that has created all the best features of previous yachts know which ones to apply to new models. We’re building on our experience and the suggestions we get from our owners and dealers.”

Absolute works with a ratio of about one stylist to three engineers. “The stylist does their part, then shows their work to the engineers and they take over the project,” Maggi says.

“This means we have a perfect synergy between our production and our style departments. They go hand in hand, and this helps us to guarantee quality. We don’t go for impact or extras – everything is functional.

The bodywork department

“Maybe an owner who’s looking for a status symbol won’t like what we do, but an owner who wants to live aboard and enjoy their yacht in safety and comfort will find what they’re looking for in an Absolute.”

Keep in mind that these are Italians, so style, even if it’s functional style, is always part of the package, as are bon vivant touches like wine cellars and stemmed glasses designed to adhere magnetically to tabletops. And in a yachting market that’s constantly changing, Absolute likes to stay a step or two ahead.

“We try to come up with two new boat designs per year because the market is changing all the time,” Maggi says. “It usually takes us about a year to develop a model, but in my head right now I’m thinking of four or five new projects – two we’ve just begun, two in the final stages of planning and one that’s still to come. The cycle is continuous and keeps us busy.”

Absolute’s quality department overlooks the factory floor

One thing that seems like it will never change is Absolute’s love for a certain propulsion system, Maggi confirms. “Volvo IPS forever! When we were designing our first model, we heard that IPS was coming and we contacted Volvo right away. I think we were the first to use them.”

From a builder’s point of view, Maggi loves how IPS works with industrial production methods and can be mounted in a smaller aft space. And he also likes the client comfort that comes with reduced noise and vibration, as well as the improved fuel consumption.

FROM LAND TO SEA

While Absolute’s ultra-sophisticated build technology seems to know no limits, the dimensions of Italy’s autostrada expressways pose some strict ones for a yard located quite some distance from the sea. Yachts over 52ft are divided into hull and superstructure before being trucked down to the open water, otherwise they wouldn’t fit through tunnels or under overpasses.

The superstructure of a 60 Fly is prepared to be lowered onto the hull

“We have a lot of experience in designing for the maximum possible size for overland transportation and we’re very quick at dissembling and re-assembling our yachts,” Mastroianni says.

“I can’t reveal any secrets, but over the years we’ve perfected a kind of plug-and-play system for re-joining the electrical and hydraulic systems between hull and superstructure. We can have a yacht up to 58ft ready to go in just 36 hours, whereas larger yachts are ready with all commissioning systems tested in 10 days.”

Just as Absolute’s production system is all in-house, its sales network is entirely run by their own dealers, which in Asia include Hong Kong-based Absolute Marine, whose orders for the city include the new Navetta 64, set to arrive in late 2021.

An Absolute Navetta 48 in the test pool

“We invest in the yard, its technology and in new models but we also invest in our dealers, backing them up and keeping them informed,” Mastroianni says. “We began working in the Far East in 2012 in China and then in Hong Kong. Later, we began working in Japan and Taiwan and lately in Singapore. We have recently appointed a dealer in Thailand.

“Thomas Woo [of Absolute Marine] in Hong Kong is one of our top dealers, both for the volume of boats that he sells and for the fact that he sells consistently well across our entire range. It’s a niche market, but he knows his business.”

The Navetta 73 is Absolute’s flagship – the first unit in Hong Kong was delivered in 2020

Boarding an Absolute yacht, you may find yourself curious about the unusual, volume-maximising lines, but rest assured that you’ll step back to shore impressed by the build quality and the planning and intelligence that have gone into getting the most liveability out of every millimetre.

SUNNY FUTURE

Absolute is constantly updating its range to keep on top of market trends and is still receiving acclaim for the Navetta 64 that debuted late last year, due in large to the innovative option of a convertible aft cabin beside the swim platform.

This year’s new models will be the 48’ Coupé and the 60 Fly, the former introducing a new series featuring solar power, while the latter offers the option of solar panels on the hardtop. 

Absolute 60 Fly features forward master The upcoming Absolute 60 Fly features a full-beam master cabin forward on the lower deck, following the designs on the Italian builder’s larger models.

Maggi says: “The 60 Fly will be a new reference point for flybridge yachts, a boat that will establish the parameters for this typology of yacht in the years to come.”

Not surprisingly for a shipyard that loves engineering as much as design, Absolute set up a mini solar energy plant to find the best type of solar panels to mount on its yachts, with the system to be rolled out on the 48 Coupè.

The master cabin on the 60 Fly is forward

Translucent solar panels in the roofing will produce energy for running the boat’s hotel systems while also letting light, but not heat, filter into the saloon. You can drop anchor, turn off your engine and generators, and enjoy the clean air and silence. Interestingly, Maggi says the Coupè design is more reflective of Absolute’s earliest ranges (Sport Cruiser, Sport Yacht, Sport Line) than the subsequent Fly and Navetta lines.

“The 48’ Coupè is the modern heir to our first boats, but things have changed in the meantime. Clients used to want something fast and glamorous, and didn’t really care about living on the water. Now, on top of moving fast, our clients want a comfortable boat where they can entertain and stay aboard for extended periods of time. Now, you need function and ease of use,” Maggi says.

Absolute 60 Fly features forward master Italian builder plans to debut 48 Coupé at Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2021

  “The Coupé still has a sporty soul and delivers on the water, but it’s also comfortable and sustainable. We designed extra-large windows that open and close like car windows, so there’s as much fresh air moving through the boat as possible. The aft section has openings in the gunwales and glass under the aft railing so you can see the water at all times.”

Ironically, the Absolute shipyard doesn’t have such views of the sea, but it does have a management team with a crystal-clear vision of what they want for their clients and how to deliver it. www.absoluteyachts.com

Sharly and Stephen Chun on their Absolute 58 Fly Sports car lover Stephen Chun and his wife Sharly are hands-on owners of an Absolute 58 Fly, which they keep between Aberdeen and Sai Kung, and take out up to four times a week.

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Absolute Navetta 48 review – the inland yard’s outstanding offshore cruiser

• Top stories

The 48 takes all that is good in the Absolute Navetta range and boils it down into an impressive sub-50ft package

Part of the reason why the Absolute Navetta 48 has such a voluminous interior is because it has to be split in half. Let me explain. Absolute builds its boats in Piacenza, a town in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, roughly 150km north-east of Genoa.

Every boat it builds has to be transported to the sea by road and, to negotiate the road network, the only way to do this is to move the boats with the hull and deck on separate trucks. Once a boat has been thoroughly inspected and signed off in the tanks at the shipyard, the decks are prised apart for the journey and then bonded together securely once down on the coast.

This unique set of circumstances has lead Absolute to conjure up a novel way of constructing its boats in its ISS (Integrated Structural System). The ISS is like a huge jigsaw puzzle where intricate panels of marine plywood slot together before being bonded to create the boat’s skeleton. The wiring, piping, cabinetry and all the fittings are then secured to it before the whole shebang is affixed to the hull and clamped beneath the deck.

It creates an inherently rigid structure and an unusually voluminous interior without the need for steps and stringers to reinforce it. This is the way all of its boats are built, but the smaller the boat, the more you notice the towering headroom and huge doorways with their clever space-saving sliding doors.

The galley is packed with neat storage solutions

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It’s not just the spaciousness that impresses on board the Absolute Navetta 48 but how this space is utilised, especially in the forward master cabin. This is a spectacular cabin for a boat just shy of 50ft, bursting with light and sporting an angled island berth that sits on a flat floor without any obstructions overhead.

It’s a forward cabin so beautifully appointed it flies in the face of the theory that modern master suites need to be in the middle of the boat. And unlike an amidships master cabin the hull windows won’t be aligned with those of your neighbour when in port.

The offset berth in the master cabin maximises floor space

The rest of the accommodation is no less impressive, especially the VIP cabin, which feels like a mini master thanks to its hull window and walk-around double bed. Though there are a few small intrusions in the floor and overhead, the geometry is such that where the headroom drops so does the floor, and where there’s a step up the headroom rises to compensate.

There are steps to negotiate but there is no need to stoop, even if you’re 6ft tall. It doesn’t have its own ensuite bathroom – it has to share a commendably large one with the twin cabin next door – but it does have a remarkably large walk-in wardrobe that goes some way to offsetting this. It’s an unexpected but welcome addition that guests will appreciate.

The amidships VIP cabin is so luxurious it could easily be mistaken for the master cabin

Solid performer

One feature that is common to all different deck levels is an unshakeable feeling of solidity under foot. There isn’t a soft or creaky panel anywhere you tread and the flooring is reassuringly robust from stem to stern. The main deck drinks in huge gulps of natural light thanks to the array of long, single-piece panes of glass down either side of the saloon and a similarly unobstructed upright windscreen.

There are a couple of steps between the dinette and aft galley but they are shallow and supplemented by an artistically integrated handhold on the inboard edge of the galley counter. I like the fact that specially shaped storage voids with soft-close lids are tucked behind the galley counter to stow cups and saucers, and that bespoke crockery drawers slide out from beneath the settee opposite the dinette so you don’t have to mess about lifting cushions and locker lids.

The vertical, one-piece screen means there are very few blind spots from the lower helm

It’s the same at Navetta 48’s lower helm where the ergonomics, fit and finish are top drawer. Audi’s dash design was an inspiration, and you can see that in the neatly ordered switchgear, the chunky steering wheel that feels great in your palms and the satisfying click of the air vents as they rotate on or off. It’s a helm that works equally well whether you stand or sit, and the huge side door is always a welcome addition.

Absolutely fabulous

What of the flybridge? Well it’s almost a perfect rectangle with a perimeter of seating that is only broken by the companionway hatch and wetbar. The hardtop (fitted to the test boat but not the one pictured) is an option that most customers will choose but it does nothing for the Navetta 48’s already top-heavy aesthetic.

A Plexiglas wind deflector pops up from behind the helm

If anything, the driving environment is even better on the flybridge where, as skipper, you sit at a central helm with your guests either side on benches that blend into the forward sunpad. It’s a commanding driving position made all the better by the optional (€1,708) sprung helm chair. It’s worth the outlay because it elevates what is an already refined ride to the realms of magic carpet as you gracefully bob along with the shock absorbers smoothing the edges off any bumps.

With Absolute’s affinity for pod drives it comes as no surprise that IPS600 is the only engine option, but it works so damn well there will be few complaints. There may well have been if this were a regular flybridge boat, given the top speed of just over 27 knots, but the Navetta 48’s laid-back nature and more long distance cruising mentality excuses the lack of outright pace. It settles at 20 knots beautifully, where it is consuming somewhere in the region of 130lph.

The flybridge wetbar has all you need for outdoor dining

Though the Navetta 48 can hardly be described as a driver’s boat it hasn’t stopped the yard from ensuring its driving dynamics are as polished as the driving position. It reacts tidily to the helm and falls into a nice natural trim attitude; so sweet are the ergonomics at the flybridge helm that you find yourself actually wanting to steer and interact with the boat as opposed to giving the autopilot the pleasure. It’s a tall boat, but it doesn’t wobble all over the place when using the joystick at slow speeds and is in fact a joy to handle around the marina.

Opinion-splitting looks aside this is an impressive package, a concentrated cocktail of all that is good about the Navetta range in a sub-50ft package. I don’t think I’ve ever tested a hull number one of any new model range that felt so well put together and tightly engineered. Absolute’s inland location may have forced it into a unique construction method but the results, in this case in particular, are outstanding.

Specification

Top speed: 27.2 knots

Cruising speed: 20 knots

Fuel consumption: 129lph

Range: 223 miles

Noise: 69Db(A)

Price as tested: €1,240,000 inc VAT

Price from: €864,000 inc VAT

Test engines: Twin 435hp Volvo Penta IPS600

LOA: 48ft 11in (14.93m)

Beam: 15ft 3in (4.65m)

Draught: 4ft 1in (1.25m)

Displacement: 23.5 tonnes (loaded)

Fuel capacity: 1,800 litres

Water capacity: 530 litres

RCD: B for 14 people

Designer: Absolute Yachts

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Top Italian quality is a distinctive characteristic of Absolute Yachts’ design, all our products have refined beauty, great versatility, and uncompromised functionality. Every detail is thoroughly designed: elegant finishes, ergonomic spaces, top-notch materials, wide and comfortable cabins, ease of maneuverability, and plenty of innovative solutions.

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Reviewed: Absolute Yachts Navetta 64

• By Phil Draper
• Updated: March 16, 2021

The bluff-bow Navetta 64 is the latest new-age trawler from Italy’s Absolute Yachts . This model’s biggest evolution from the builder’s other five Navettas is a forward-raked windshield, a feature as practical as it is stylish. The proportionally larger side windows toward the bow are now a brand signature for Absolute, creating a bold profile in concert with detailing such as the sturdy molded rail that sweeps aft to the transom from the high foredeck.

For go-anywhere cruisers, the Navetta 64 has all the appropriate design elements. A hardtop protects the flybridge, whose overhang shields not only the aft deck but also the side decks. There are booth-style seating and sunbathing space on what Absolute calls the “foredeck terrace.” There’s also an optional glazed transom—another big design departure for this model—that conceals an air-conditioned space. This area can serve as a beach-club lounge during the day or as a double-berth stateroom for occasional overnight guests (a flip-over backrest converts the mattress into a sofa). With that aft space in use as a stateroom, the Navetta 64 can sleep eight people in four en suite staterooms.

The aft space has two sliding glass doors that seal pneumatically and are RINA-certified to ensure the compartment is watertight when they’re closed. Even if, in an emergency, the space were flooded, it would not compromise the yacht, according to the builder. And the engines won’t start if the doors are left open.

In addition to the sliding doors, a watertight door from the space’s portside head leads forward to the engine room, which can be accessed through a hatch in the cockpit sole.

If you’re thinking this stern design means there’s no place for crew, you’re wrong. A crew cabin is amidships to starboard, with its own stairs descending from a door on the starboard side deck—the sort of arrangement commonplace on larger motoryachts.

The Navetta 64′s interior styling is contemporary cool with elm and walnut furniture, oak soles, and a harmonious blend of textures and sheens. The main salon includes a galley and dining table aft. A drop-down window helps open up the galley to the cockpit. Amidships is a lounge where most of the furniture is by Minotti.

Forward of the salon, the bridge is raised, giving the lounge abaft it a feeling of intimacy. There are two seats at the bridge with the helm outboard. Most instrumentation is by Garmin. The commanding position delivers clear visibility forward and to the immediate sides, particularly so to starboard, thanks to an optional side-deck glass door whose top panel opens. Cameras and a stern docking station can mitigate the lack of direct sightlines aft, and there is the option of enclosing the upper helm position, which has 360-degree views.

The owner’s stateroom is forward, several steps down from the salon. The forward-facing berth has plenty of space around it, splendid views thanks to Absolute’s signature glazing, and en suite facilities in the bow with another set of windows and opening portholes. Two other en suite staterooms occupy the amidships space on the lower deck. There’s an athwartships double to port and a twin-berth setup to starboard.

Absolute’s design team also focused on utility in the Navetta 64. The laundry room’s door is set into the same bulkhead that separates the owner’s stateroom from the rest of the accommodations, but the laundry room itself is accessed from the lower-deck lobby. There’s space for a washer/dryer and stowage for towels and linens. Another door beyond the appliances reveals a service tunnel that runs all the way forward to the chain-locker bulkhead and deep stowage compartments.

Designed for a maximum speed in the mid-to-high 20s and a fast cruise in the high teens, the Navetta 64′s standard power is twin 900 hp Volvo Penta D13-IPS1200 diesels. However, most owners have opted for the biggest machinery offered: twin 1,000 hp Volvo Penta D13-IPS1350 diesels. Absolute says the optional powerplants are ideal for customers who run heavy with lots of guests and luggage, the largest possible tender, and the biggest stabilizer. Hull No. 1, the first of three Navetta 64s destined for the United States so far, has the big horses and a reported top speed of about 28 knots.

The Absolute Navetta 64 may have a trawler-inspired aesthetic, but the yacht’s fast-cruising performance, modern design elements and multifunctional spaces create a new and welcome style of cruising yacht.

Take the next step: absoluteyachts.com

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