The gap between a flybridge you visit and a flybridge you live on is a galley. The Absolute 52 FLY puts one up there, along with a dining table, a bar unit and a stern terrace, and that single decision explains most of what separates this boat from the 48-footer below it in the range.
At 55' 0" overall on a 15' 3" beam, it carries several things that usually start a size class higher.
The upper deck is a room, not a station
The flybridge helm has ergonomic seats and large multifunction displays, and there are settees right beside it — so the owner-captain has company at the controls rather than an audience below. Behind that sit the dining table, the galley and the bar unit, and behind those a stern terrace with modular furnishing.
Down in the cockpit the same idea repeats: a terrace that takes modular furniture and adjustable shades, easy access to the stern platform, and a wet bar and galley alongside. The glazed stern parapet and open gunwale design are what keep the water in view from a seat rather than only from standing.
The pantry, and why it matters
Beside the saloon galley there is a pantry. Absolute describes it as unusual for boats of this size, and it is the sort of feature that means nothing on a spec sheet and everything on day four. With 172 gallons of fresh water behind it, this is a boat provisioned for a week rather than for a weekend with a shopping trip in the middle.
The saloon itself is wrapped in glass for a 360-degree view, and the side windows slide down vertically under electric control, so the room ventilates naturally alongside the air conditioning.
Three cabins, plus somebody to help
The master is forward and full beam, with a large double berth you can reach from all three sides, extensive cupboards and storage units, and a marble bathroom. The VIP amidships is close enough in space, headroom, en-suite and finish that Absolute puts the two in the same sentence.
The third guest cabin is the clever one. It converts from twin berths to a double on an electrical system, and that system is fitted as standard rather than sold as an upgrade — so the room that has to work for children now and guests later does both without an invoice.
There is a crew cabin as well, with practical access from the stern platform. That means a captain, a stewardess or a caretaker comes and goes without walking through the guest accommodation, and it means all three cabins below stay available to your guests.
Power and what to measure
Twin Volvo Penta D8-IPS800 pods are the package: a larger, higher-rated installation than the D6-IPS650 that drives the smaller Absolutes, and the reason this boat carries its weight a class above the 47 FLY. Joystick control comes with the drivetrain.
The main helm sits in direct contact with the saloon, with advanced infotronics and comprehensive on-screen monitoring of the boat's systems, and a door beside it opens onto the lateral walkway for harbor manoeuvres. There is a second, fully equipped helm on the flybridge with its own large displays.
Fuel is 475 gallons and fresh water 172, and with three guest cabins and crew aboard it is usually water that ends a weekend rather than fuel — so plan that side first. Get observed figures at your intended cruise rpm in writing on the exact hull and engine package you are ordering, and work your own range off the 475 gallons. Confirm the draft and rigged weight of your build before you book a lift or a transport.
Where it sits in the range
The 52 is second in the Flybridge line, above the 47 and below the 56, and the step up from the 47 is a large one: D8-IPS800 power instead of D6-IPS650, a flybridge galley and bar instead of a barbecue station, a pantry beside the main galley, and the crew cabin. Seven feet of length and five inches of beam is where all of that comes from.
Inside the brand there is a second question worth asking. The Navetta 53 is almost the same length overall and is a different weekend entirely — amidships master, smaller engines, 528 gallons of fuel against this boat's 475. Same berth, two different boats. Walk both before you decide which side of that line you are on.
Where else to look
A 55-foot flybridge with three cabins plus crew puts a buyer alongside the Azimut Fly 53, the Galeon 520 FLY and the Princess F55. The 52 FLY argues on the upper deck: most of the segment gives a flybridge a wet bar, and Absolute gives this one a galley, a dining table, a bar unit and a terrace.
Go and cook something on it. Fifteen minutes at the flybridge galley with the table set behind you settles this purchase faster than any brochure will.
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