Absolute 56 Fly, Specs, Performance and Buying Advice

Why Absolute called it Charisma

Absolute now gives each model a project name, and the absolute 56 fly is "The Absolute Charisma." Presented in September 2021 and shown at the Cannes Yachting Festival the following year, it slotted between the 60 Fly that launched the yard's new flybridge generation and the 52 Fly that followed. The name even turns up aboard: a motif of five stylized origami boats is laminated into one bottom corner of a saloon window, with no lettering at all.

MBY described the 56 as built on an all-new hull, albeit one that evolves Absolute's earlier designs, and it carries the same recipe as its siblings. The owner sleeps in the bow, the cockpit is a blank terrace for loose furniture, structural glass replaces much of the usual white fiberglass, and twin helms make shorthanded handling realistic. Yachting's verdict was that it gives more light, space and volume without the usual penalty in weight and range.

If you are researching an absolute 56 on the brokerage market, note that Absolute also built an earlier 56 Fly from 2013 to 2016 plus sport-style 56 models before that. They are covered at the end of this guide.

A profile built around structural glass

Yachting's reviewer likened the big forward hull windows to the eyes of a sea turtle, and they are the giveaway that the owner's suite is up front. Full-height side windows in the superstructure benefit from notched, cut-down bulwarks, and the aft deck has a fretted quarter rail. At the stern the hull appears to finish in a raked transom but does not; there is only a low transom to deck height, topped by a stainless rail and a glazed balustrade that separates the cockpit from the hydraulic platform.

The effect from inside is that seated guests look straight through the rail at the water, something conventional transoms block. From the dock the boat looks long and low for a flybridge, although a high foredeck is the price of the interior volume below it.

Two full-beam suites on a 58-foot hull

Absolute calls the VIP "as spacious as a second owner's cabin," and for once the brochure undersells it. The owner's suite occupies the full beam in the bow, with a forward-facing king, a walk-in closet and elevated windows, and it sits where engine noise is lowest and where Mediterranean-style stern-to neighbors cannot see in. The VIP, meanwhile, takes the full beam amidships with its own head, and Yachting noted some owners might choose it as their cabin.

The third cabin to starboard has two single berths and the same ceiling height as the others, with a full head across the companionway that doubles as the day head. A door in the back of that cabin's closet leads to a crawl space running over the keel from amidships to the bow thruster, a handy home for spares and long-term stores. Average headroom is a little over 6 feet 4 inches almost everywhere below.

Aft, the transom houses an en suite crew cabin with two transverse berths, reached through a pantograph door and half-hatch. It also gives access to the engine room through a watertight door, and on an owner-run boat it serves as a fourth cabin or a lazarette.

Galley aft, opening picture windows and a starboard helm

The saloon follows Absolute's aft-galley plan, with views out to port between the overhead cupboards and the worktop. Ahead of it, an amidships lounge with dinette leads to a pair of bucket seats at the starboard helm, where a side-deck door gives the skipper direct access to the deck. The center sections of the big picture windows open electrically, which lets fresh air through on mild days and reduces dependence on air conditioning at anchor.

Decor mixes light and dark stained oak in matte and satin finishes over an oak sole with a non-slip lacquer, and owners can extend the oak floors into the cabins in place of carpet. MBY rated both helm stations highly for ergonomics, with excellent visibility from the upper station despite the tall foredeck.

Modular furniture on a bare cockpit and flybridge

The cockpit terrace and most of the flybridge are left deliberately empty so owners can choose from Terraforma modular furniture designed for Absolute or bring their own, and the pieces can be rearranged into dining, lounging or sunbathing setups. The flybridge has a helm to port, a dinette, a wet bar and an open area aft. Solar panels on the optional hardtop deliver about 1.5 kW peak, enough to run TVs, fridges and freezers during the day without the generator, though not the air conditioning.

The raised foredeck adds a large sunpad and bench seating, and MBY found it the best spot aboard for breakfast at anchor.

Twenty-eight knots and a nearly flat fuel curve

Standard power is a pair of Volvo Penta D8 diesels on IPS800 pods at 600 hp each. Yachting reached 27 to 28 knots at half load with trim assist engaged; MBY recorded 27.7 knots in slight seas with less than half fuel and no tender. Under acceleration the bow rises to a maximum of about 3.5 degrees before easing back, steering is responsive and the boat heels just enough in turns to feel secure.

The 56's party piece is efficiency across a wide band. MBY found consumption virtually flat at 8 to 9 liters per nautical mile from 16 knots to full throttle. At 20 knots it burned 168 liters per hour, about 44 gph, for 248 nautical miles of range with a 20 percent reserve. At 22 to 23 knots fuel flow rose to about 195 liters per hour, still around 240 nautical miles. Slow to 9.6 knots and consumption falls to 44 liters per hour, roughly 11.6 gph, stretching range to about 454 nautical miles. Noise at 20 knots was 66 dB(A) at the helm.

Absolute rates the boat CE Category B and says it is built for offshore passages in winds up to 40 knots and seas to 13 feet. Neither magazine had rough water on test day, so a sea trial in a real chop is worth asking for.

IPS800 as standard, and the IPS950 alternative

At launch the 56 was offered only with IPS800s, which keeps service simple. Absolute's current specification sheet also lists twin D11 IPS950 pods at 725 hp each, so newer boats may carry the larger package; confirm which is fitted on any listing, because it changes fuel burn, top speed and resale. A Seakeeper 9 is the usual stabilizer. Other common options are Volvo's Dynamic Positioning System, a passerelle, the crew cabin and the hardtop, and Yachting's test boat, bound for Hong Kong, had none of them, which shows how much a 56 can vary in specification.

Absolute does final commissioning and most sea trials in Varazze on the Ligurian coast, about 100 miles from the Podenzano yard. US boats go through an American dealer, so check who commissioned a used boat and whether it got tropical air conditioning and 60 Hz shore power conversion.

The 2013 to 2016 56 Fly and other 56 models

The first 56 Fly ran from 2013 to 2016 and is a different boat: about 54 feet 8 inches long with a 15-foot-3-inch beam, a full-beam master amidships, the VIP in the bow, a side twin cabin with round portholes and a cockpit with a second table. YachtBuyer lists IPS600 pods as standard with D11 IPS800s optional, the latter good for up to 37 knots, and 449 gallons of fuel. Before that, Absolute sold sport-style 56 STY and 56 STC models, which are hardtop sport cruisers rather than flybridges.

Those older boats trade in a much lower bracket and appeal to a different buyer. If the listing year is before 2022, you are not looking at the boat reviewed here.

What a new or nearly new 56 Fly costs

Expect a US-delivered 56 Fly to cost roughly $2.4 million to $3 million new depending on options, and expect current-generation used boats from 2022 to 2025 to ask about $1.8 million to $2.6 million as they appear. Annual running costs typically fall between $90,000 and $150,000 for a 60-foot slip, insurance, IPS service, gyro, generator and air conditioning upkeep, bottom work and fuel, more if a captain is hired.