Absolute 52 Fly Review, Price and Specifications

The 2022 reboot of Absolute's best seller

The absolute 52 fly has been the yard's volume seller for a decade, and in 2022 Absolute replaced it with a new boat rather than another facelift. Presented in October 2022 and previewed to US buyers at that fall's Fort Lauderdale show, the current 52 measures 16.76 meters, about 55 feet, and inherits the design language of the 60 Fly and 56 Fly that came just before it: snub bow, chopped transom, cut-down bulwarks amidships and enormous diamond-shaped hull windows that give away where the owner sleeps.

Absolute pitched the boat around the word "direction," and the direction was clear: all the big-boat features of its newer flybridges in a size an owner can still run without crew. That means a full-beam owner's suite in the bow, a midships VIP that rivals it, an aft cockpit terrace with no fixed furniture and twin helms placed so the skipper always has an open side to look over.

It has gathered silverware since. The 52 Fly won the flybridge up to 60 feet category at the 2025 Motor Boat Awards and the 15 to 18 meter motor yacht class at the 2024 Yacht Style Awards. Most people searching for an absolute 52 today want this boat, so it is the one this guide covers in depth, with the earlier generations explained further down.

A cockpit terrace instead of a transom bench

The most obvious change from the old 52 is at the stern. Instead of a molded transom seat, the cockpit is a bare terrace topped by a glass balustrade, with fretted bulwarks on the quarters so seated guests see water aft and abeam. Owners choose modular furniture from Absolute's own line or bring their own, and symmetrical steps lead down to the hydraulic tender platform.

Forward, an island sunpad sits on the raised foredeck with a low dinette that Motor Boat & Yachting reckoned could seat nine, and a sunshade with side screens turns it into a shaded lounge. On the flybridge, a port-side twin helm faces a three-person sunpad, a C-shaped dining area sits to starboard, and a central bar serves a free-standing terrace aft. With all three zones in play, MBY described them as destinations in their own right rather than overflow seating.

An optional third docking station in the cockpit adds joystick and thruster controls for stern-to berthing, which is worth having if you dock in Med-style or tight Northeast marinas.

Pantry, drop-down glass and a helm on each side

Inside, a three-leaf sliding door opens the saloon to the cockpit on one level. The galley runs across the aft end to port with Corian tops, a full-height fridge, a separate freezer and a genuine pantry, unusual on a 52-footer. Forward of it are a dinette to port and a three-seat sofa to starboard, with an angled section of dinette that makes getting in and out easier.

Big windows on both sides drop electrically. Combined with the solar hardtop, that lets owners run lights, fridges and electronics at anchor with the generator off and the air conditioning idle, cooling the saloon with a breeze instead.

The lower helm is to starboard beside a side-deck door, with a dash that angles slightly around the skipper and two large Garmin displays. Because the upper helm sits to port, a skipper docking alone always has a fresh-air view down one side of the boat. The only real criticism from MBY was that the single lower helm seat leaves no companion seating, since the stairs drop away beside it.

Owner in the bow, a near-equal VIP and a hidden technical room

The companionway wraps to port, which frees the forward bulkhead for the owner's suite. Its head is tucked into the very bow, so the forward-facing queen sits in open floor space lit by the raised bow windows, with full standing headroom. MBY argued the bow position also keeps the owner further from the engine room and from passers-by on a stern-to quay.

The VIP takes the full beam amidships with a forward-facing queen and the same oversized rectangular windows. It shares the second head with the twin cabin and day guests, which is the one compromise of a three-cabin, two-head plan. The twin to starboard converts electrically to a double, and a door at its far end opens to a walk-in technical space holding the switch panel, black tank and bow thruster, a feature borrowed from bigger Absolutes. There is a dedicated slot for a washer-dryer under the companionway.

Aft, the transom space can be a single-berth crew or overflow cabin with its own head and shower, reached through a pantograph door from the platform and a half-hatch from the cockpit. A teenager would claim it within an hour.

Thirty knots, a flat fuel curve and a quiet ride

There is one engine package: twin Volvo Penta D8 diesels on IPS800 pods at 600 hp each. Yachting averaged 30.5 knots on reciprocal runs with four people aboard, about a quarter tank of fuel and the Seakeeper switched off. Motor Boat & Yachting saw 30.1 knots and a 2023 brokerage boat is advertised at 28 knots, so plan on high 20s with a real cruising load.

The fuel curve is the interesting part. Yachting measured 14 gph at 10 knots, enough for about 340 nautical miles on 475 gallons. Above the hump, consumption per mile actually improves with speed, from roughly 2.5 gallons per nautical mile at 14 knots to 2.25 at 30 knots, so a 25-knot cruise covers about 225 nautical miles. MBY saw the same pattern, with 7.8 liters per mile at 29 knots.

It is also quiet. Yachting recorded 64 dB at the helm at 20 knots and 72 dB in the owner's cabin; MBY measured 66 dB at 20 knots and around 70 at the top. Bow rise stays to a couple of degrees between 10 and 16 knots, the hull stayed dry in passing wakes, and in a hard turn at full speed the boat heels gently and gives up only about 3 knots, turning in not much more than three boat lengths.

Solar hardtop, D8 power and how Absolute builds it

The hardtop carries solar panels rated at about 1.35 kW peak according to Yachting, which is enough for basic hotel loads but not air conditioning. A Seakeeper 9 is the usual gyro, and Volvo's Dynamic Positioning System and assisted docking are common options on US boats.

Because the hull and superstructure shapes are complex, Absolute builds the 52 by wet lay-up rather than resin infusion. Interior bulkheads are assembled outside the hull from CNC-cut panels, craned in and bonded to the hull and stringers before the superstructure goes on. Absolute's Podenzano site employs around 300 people and builds about 90 boats a year, roughly half Fly models and half Navettas.

Service in the US is simple: D8 engines and IPS800 drives are a common Volvo pairing with dealer support in every major boating area.

Earlier 52 Fly generations and the older Absolute 52

The first 52 Fly launched at the 2014 Cannes Yachting Festival at about 16 meters and quickly became Absolute's best seller, running on IPS600 pods at around 31 knots with a conventional midships master. YachtBuyer splits the earlier boats into two generations, treating hulls from about 2017 to 2022 as a restyled version with bigger glazing in the style of the 58 Fly and D8 IPS700 power listed. Both share the older layout and a 423-gallon tank.

Before any of these, Absolute built an Absolute 52 from about 2008 to 2011, a different and much older design. When a listing says only "absolute 52 yacht," check the year: anything before 2022 is not the boat reviewed here, and the price should reflect that.

• 2014 to about 2017: original 52 Fly, about 52 feet 6 inches, IPS600, midships master
• About 2017 to 2022: restyled 52 Fly per YachtBuyer, larger windows, IPS700 listed
• 2022 onward: current 16.76 m boat, IPS800, owner's suite in the bow, cockpit terrace

Prices, listings and what a season costs

New, a typical US-delivered 52 Fly lands between about $1.95 million and $2.5 million depending on options. Used 2023 to 2025 boats have asked $1.75 million to $2.4 million, with the $2.099 million asking price on a 2023 Allied Marine listing a good midpoint. Earlier-generation boats sit far lower, roughly $650,000 to $1.1 million depending on year.

Running costs for the current boat typically fall between $75,000 and $125,000 a year: a 55- to 60-foot slip, insurance on a $2 million hull, two D8 and IPS services, gyro and generator upkeep, bottom work and fuel. At a 25-knot cruise expect a little over 50 gph.