Absolute 58 Fly Used Buyer's Guide and Specifications

A 2016 design that sold on space

The absolute 58 fly arrived in 2016 and ran until 2020, slotting between the 52 Fly and the 60 Fly in a flybridge range that then stretched from 40 to 72 feet. Motor Boat & Yachting called its three-cabin, three-bathroom lower deck one of the most spacious, if not the most spacious, in its class, and juries agreed: the 58 won the flybridge up to 60 feet class at the 2018 Motor Boat Awards and Best Flybridge Yacht from 55 to 80 feet at the 2018 Asia Boating Awards.

Today it is a used-only proposition, and an interesting one. It predates Absolute's current generation of forward-owner, cockpit-terrace boats, so it has a conventional midships master and a traditional cockpit, but it shares the yard's IPS expertise and the D8 IPS800 power that still runs today's 52 and 56 Fly. For a buyer who wants about 57 feet of Italian flybridge for roughly the price of a new 47-footer, it belongs on the shortlist.

Twice the hull glass, and the grid that carries it

When Yachting first walked the boat in 2017, the striking change was the glass. Earlier Absolute flybridges had a pair of trapezoid hull windows amidships and another pair forward. The 58 introduced wider, quartz-crystal-shaped windows amidships plus a second serrated stretch of glass running nearly to the bow, which the writer estimated at almost double the glass area of earlier models. In the superstructure the saloon glass runs from about side-deck height to the headliner.

Under that styling is Absolute's Integrated Structural System. The solid fiberglass hull receives a grid of longitudinal and transverse members, and soles, bulkheads and ceilings are bonded to it to form a monocoque. On test, Yachting found the ride smooth, solid and quiet as the boat carved through its own steep wake, with no creaks from the wooden soles and bulkheads.

One main deck plan, and it works

Absolute built the 58 with a single standard main deck layout, a choice that simplified production and signaled confidence. The galley is aft to port with a four-burner Bosch electric cooktop and a full refrigerator, and a divider can close off its forward end to protect the leather U-shaped settee from splatters. Across to starboard is a U-shaped dinette for four or five, with bench seating forward of it, and the windows wrap nearly 360 degrees. The seating is high enough that you can actually see out of them while sitting, which is rarer than it should be.

The helm is to starboard with twin leather seats, twin Garmin screens on upgraded boats, a Volvo joystick and a side door to the deck, which Yachting noted was uncommon in this class at the time. Sliding doors connect the galley to the cockpit, where a teak table and transom bench sit under the flybridge overhang.

Three cabins, three heads and a transom bunk

Below, solid hardwood steps lead down to a lobby brightened by the steeply raked windshield. The full-beam master is amidships, two steps down, with a walkaround king, a 6-foot hanging locker and, by Yachting's count, 15 cabinets and drawers, plus room for a washer and dryer. The forepeak VIP has an island queen, its own head and a locker as large as the master's. The third cabin, to starboard, has twin berths that convert to a double and private access to the day head, which gives the boat three heads for three cabins.

Every cabin opens to the companionway with a pocket door, so nothing swings into the passage. Aft of the engine room, an optional crew cabin entered from the swim platform has a single athwartships berth, transom windows and a compact wet head with a shower curtain. Yachting expected most American owners to use the space for storage instead.

• Master: amidships, full beam, walkaround king, en suite
• VIP: forepeak, island queen, en suite
• Guest: twin berths converting to a double, private door to the day head
• Crew: optional single berth with wet head, entered from the platform

Reverse-raked screen and a sliding roof up top

On the flybridge a reverse-raked windshield shelters twin portside helm chairs, with a grill just aft of them serving a U-shaped dining settee opposite. The optional hardtop, fitted to most boats, has a fabric center section that slides back electrically; without it, a radar arch carries the antennas. The foredeck adds a large sunpad, giving the 58 the three outdoor zones buyers expect at this size.

Keen turn-in and a 30-knot top end

Every 58 Fly runs twin Volvo Penta D8 IPS800 pods rated at 600 hp each. Absolute quoted a 26-knot cruise and 32 knots flat out. Real tests landed close: Yachting's boat in New York's Raritan Bay reached 30.2 knots and cruised at 22 knots and 2,650 rpm on 53 gph, while BoatTEST hit 29.6 knots at 2,950 rpm, burning 63.5 gph for 0.5 nautical miles per gallon and about 222 nautical miles of range with a 10 percent reserve.

Handling is where the 58 differs from the slower, softer Absolutes. MBY described the steering as sharp and engaging with a keen turn-in, and Yachting's tester spun it hard over to starboard in two boat lengths at cruise and to port in about one and a half. That is lively for a 30-ton flybridge and a good reason to sea trial one even if you think you want something bigger.

The 58 Fly on the US brokerage market

Supply is reasonable for a boat of this size. In June 2024 Yachting tallied eight 58 Fly boats on the market priced from $1 million to $1.62 million. In 2026 a realistic range is about $950,000 for an early, higher-hour 2016 boat to around $1.55 million for a late 2020 hull with a hardtop, gyro and low hours.

Values have held better than many European flybridges of the same vintage, partly because the D8 IPS800 drivetrain is still current and well supported in the US. Watch out for imports with Mediterranean air conditioning and 50 Hz-only systems, which cost real money to convert.

Keeping a 58 Fly in commission

Budget roughly $85,000 to $140,000 a year for a 60-foot slip, insurance, IPS and engine service, generator and air conditioning upkeep, bottom paint, canvas and fuel. The IPS800 pods need annual service and periodic bellows and seal replacement, and a boat approaching 1,000 engine hours should have records of a major Volvo service.

What took its place in the range

Absolute did not build a direct 58 Fly replacement. When the new 60 Fly launched in 2021, Yachting noted that it joined the 58 Fly and 62 Fly rather than replacing them, and the 58 left the range soon after. Today the closest new boats are the 56 Fly, with a bow owner's suite and the same IPS800 power, and the 60 Fly. If you like the 58's midships master and conventional cockpit, the used 58 is now the way to get them.