Absolute 47 Fly Review, Specs and Ownership Guide

Absolute's gateway into flybridge ownership

The absolute 47 fly is the entry ticket to the Italian yard's flybridge family, and Absolute even markets it under the nickname "The Absolute Gateway." Dealers and journalists got a first look in Varazze at the start of September 2019, the boat made its public world debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival a few days later, and it crossed to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show that same fall. Seven years on it is still in production, now the smallest of five Fly models that run up through the 52, 56 and 60 Fly to the new 70 Fly.

What makes it interesting is not size but ambition. Absolute set out to give a sub-50-footer the layout logic of its larger boats: an owner's suite in the bow, two genuinely usable guest cabins amidships, an aft galley that opens straight onto the cockpit and a side door at the lower helm so one person can dock it. The 47 shares design language with the Navetta range but rides its own planing hull drawn specifically around Volvo Penta IPS pods, so treat it as a compact flybridge cruiser rather than a scaled-down trawler.

For American buyers the pitch is simple: three private cabins, two heads and a full flybridge in a boat that fits a 50-foot slip and can be run by a couple. The trade-offs are an upright profile that divides opinion and a single engine package built for comfort rather than pace.

A bow suite that changes the whole lower deck

Most builders put the master amidships at this length because that is where the beam is. Absolute pushed the owner's cabin into the bow, angled the double so it can be walked around, and built as far into the forepeak as the hull allows. Motor Boat & Yachting found less floor area than an amidships master but praised the light from the big hull windows, the opening ports and the small vanity tucked into the very front of the cabin. The ensuite has a separate shower stall, and the escape hatch overhead doubles as a cupboard for its own ladder.

The payoff comes further aft. Freed from a full-beam master, the midships space splits into a double VIP to port with a walk-in wardrobe and bureau, and a twin to starboard with two proper single berths rather than stacked bunks. YachtBuyer pointed out that the VIP's wardrobe is arguably better than the owner's, and that on a hot night at anchor with the generator running the VIP is the quieter of the two doubles. Floor levels change slightly in the VIP, but where the sole rises so does the overhead, so you can still stand.

Pocket doors are used throughout below, and the second head doubles as the day head. There is no crew cabin, so a washer-dryer usually takes the VIP's dressing area.

Aft galley, bar window and a skipper's door

On the main deck Absolute stayed with the aft galley it has used for years. The L-shaped counter sits by the cockpit doors, and an electric window drops to turn the counter into a bar facing the cockpit table; a buyer who skips that option gets a wider door instead. The domestic-height fridge sits opposite the galley, which frees counter space, and plates and glasses live in fiddled drawers under the starboard sofa so they can be reached from galley level.

Forward, the saloon is a couple of steps up with a low dinette to port, a long sofa opposite and a TV that rises from the cabinetry. The big, nearly pillar-free glazing makes the saloon feel larger than the numbers suggest, and with one window dropped and the side door open the boat ventilates well without air conditioning.

The lower helm has two multifunction displays, an adjustable seat with a flip-up bolster and enough headroom to stand and drive. The full-height side door sits right by the joystick, so the skipper can step out to watch the starboard side while maneuvering. Two small gripes from testers: the door cannot be latched part open, and the aft camera view stops short of the end of the swim platform.

Flybridge, foredeck lounge and a minimalist cockpit

The flybridge carries the helm with two adjustable seats, a sunpad beside it, a lounge with table and a wet bar with grill, and a hardtop is available to shade it. On a 47 bound for Florida or the Gulf, consider the hardtop essential; MBY's August test boat had neither hardtop nor bimini and the upper deck was punishing in a Mediterranean heat wave.

The foredeck is the private space, reached by wide side decks with tall rails and fitted with seating that converts into a sunpad plus a collapsible canopy. The cockpit is deliberately simple, with a transom bench, a teak table and room for loose chairs under the long flybridge overhang. Storage is a strength, with a deep main locker plus a separate inboard fender locker.

The optional hydraulic platform is rated at about 880 pounds (400 kilograms) and is quick in both directions.

What three sea trials say about the IPS650 package

There is one engine choice: twin Volvo Penta D6 diesels on IPS650 pods at 480 hp each, mounted far aft under the cockpit sole. Absolute quotes about 29 knots. Motor Boat & Yachting reached 28.2 knots with four aboard and part-full tanks off Varazze and settled into a 20 to 22 knot cruise, noting that efficiency improves once the hull is well over the hump. BoatTEST ran the boat to 30.5 mph, roughly 26.5 knots, at 3,700 rpm, and recorded 45.5 gph at 3,600 rpm and about 26 knots, worth around 250 statute miles of range with a 10 percent reserve. YachtBuyer saw only 25 knots in the Solent with a fouled bottom and a foul tide, which is a useful reminder that real-world speed depends on hull condition.

At slow speed the numbers are frugal. BoatTEST logged 0.7 gph at 600 rpm and 2.1 gph at about 5.4 knots, so a 47 can idle through no-wake zones or creep along the Intracoastal on very little fuel. The hull planes at around 12 to 15 knots with Volvo's trim assist doing the work, and YachtBuyer measured 70 dB at the lower helm at cruise.

Handling earns consistent reviews: smooth, predictable and calm, but not sporty. Turns are wide and the boat leans in and waits rather than carving. If you want a 50-footer that is fun to throw around, a Fairline Squadron 50 or Ferretti 500 will feel livelier. If you want a boat a novice can dock with the joystick alone, the 47 is very good at that.

An engine room laid out for hands-on owners

The machinery space is reached by a cockpit hatch and ladder. Headroom is limited, as on any sub-50-foot flybridge, but there is room to get outboard of both D6s and the pods are wide open for inspection. YachtBuyer singled out twin fuel filters with sight gauges and batteries mounted high in the compartment; MBY, testing an earlier boat, liked the labeled wiring and plumbing but wished for clear filter bowls.

Absolute builds its hulls by hand lay-up and bonds in a grid of structural panels, its Integrated Structural System, that are cut and assembled outside the boat before going in. The result in practice is a quiet, rattle-free boat with a solid feel underfoot, which several testers commented on.

Service is straightforward in the US because everything is mainstream Volvo Penta.

Running a 47 Fly on a US budget

Annual costs for a 47 Fly in Florida or the Northeast typically land between $55,000 and $95,000 before depreciation. That covers a 50-foot slip, insurance on a boat around the million-dollar mark, IPS and D6 servicing, generator and air conditioning upkeep, bottom paint and canvas, plus fuel for a normal season of weekends and a couple of longer trips. Owners who hire a captain or keep the boat in a premium marina will be above that range.

At a 20 to 22 knot cruise you burn roughly 36 gallons an hour, so a 100-mile run costs around 180 gallons.

Finding one for sale, and the older Absolute 47

Searches for an absolute 47 fly for sale return thin results in the US. YachtBuyer's market tracking showed only two 47s listed worldwide in three years, mostly in the UK, and they sold in an average of 133 days. That scarcity supports values, but it also means you may end up buying new or importing.

Be careful with listings that simply say "Absolute 47." Absolute built an earlier, unrelated 47 between about 2007 and 2009, before its current flybridge range existed, and it is a different boat with a different layout. Any 47 Fly will be a 2019 or later hull with IPS650 power and the forward owner's cabin.

Inside the range, the Navetta 48 is the obvious sister: a semi-displacement hull, IPS600 power, a central upper helm and an optional crew cabin, suited to slower, longer passages.