Absolute 52 Navetta Review, Fuel Figures and Buying Guide

A little ship sized for owner-operators

Navetta loosely translates as little ship, and traditional Italian navettas are displacement yachts of 75 to 90 feet. With the absolute 52 navetta, Absolute went the other way, concentrating that liveaboard style into a 52-foot planing hull an owner can run alone. The boat was shown at Cannes in 2015 as the second Navetta after the 58, made its US debut at the Fort Lauderdale show that October, and was a Motor Boat Awards finalist in the trawler class in 2016.

It found its audience quickly. Yachting's reviewer, testing off Fort Lauderdale, watched a passing boater phone the dealer for a sea trial mid-test. Power and Motoryacht's late editor Richard Thiel took one to Seattle, where the tall Italian profile drew a mix of disdain and envy from Pacific Northwest locals, and concluded it was a well-designed, well-executed coastal cruiser.

The 52 stayed in the range through 2024 in two versions on the same hull, then gave way to the Navetta 53. People searching absolute navetta 52 for sale will find both versions, so the differences below matter.

Same 2015 hull, new glass for 2020

MBY's walkthrough of the 2020 boat confirmed it still uses the original hull from 2015, but new mold plugs created larger, asymmetric side windows. The smoked inserts look bigger than the actual glass, which leaves room for opening round ports beside the bonded panes. Other changes include a boarding gate on the starboard side for finger piers and a much larger hardtop with reversed radar-arch supports, now reaching aft to cover the flybridge dinette as well as the helm.

Inside, the galley's aft window now drops quickly to form a bar onto the cockpit, and the starboard storage unit is deeper. Power grew too: later boats could be ordered with 480 hp D6 IPS650 pods in place of the original 435 hp IPS600s. MBY quoted a modest top speed of 20 to 22 knots for the update, and YachtBuyer lists up to 25 knots with the IPS650s.

Full-beam master amidships and a 45-degree VIP

Unlike the Navetta 48, the 52 keeps its owner's cabin amidships. The beam carries well forward, so the master feels full width, with an en suite head, walk-in closet, desk with vanity, a sofa and large hull windows. Yachting found canaletto walnut joinery over oak soles and noted details such as a 21-inch-wide head door and 6 feet 7 inches of headroom in the shower.

The forepeak VIP is the clever part. Absolute set its queen at 45 degrees against the port side, which creates a true walk-around berth and better views through the hull windows. BoatTEST measured that berth at 78 by 62 inches with up to 82 inches of headroom. A twin cabin completes the plan, sharing the second head with the VIP.

Over the pods sits an optional single crew cabin or lazarette with a wet head and aft windows. On the first-series boat PMY tested, access was through the cockpit sole rather than the transom, partly because the transom could carry an optional grill.

Galley aft behind a lifting glass partition

The galley sits aft so food reaches both the cockpit and the flybridge quickly, with a full-size fridge, stove and dishwasher. A frosted glass partition on an electric lift can close it off from the saloon. Forward, two steps up, an 8-foot leather lounge wraps a table opposite a smaller sofa, and a TV rises from the starboard cabinetry. Yachting measured 6 feet 10 inches of saloon headroom, and windows run the full length of the deckhouse.

The lower helm is to starboard with large Garmin displays. On the 2016 Seattle boat a lower helm side door was a $4,360 option and was not fitted, but most later boats have it, along with leather-wrapped grab rails recessed into the headliner and, on the boat BoatTEST inspected, a wine chiller in the helm seat base.

A centerline upper helm and a bridge that seats ten

BoatTEST called the flybridge one of the largest it had seen on a boat this size. The helm is on the centerline with a lounge on each side, a J-shaped lounge to starboard seats at least 10 around a table on heavy posts, and a bar to port holds a fridge, ice maker, sink and an optional grill. The aft boat deck is about 10 feet 9 inches wide, room for loose chairs or a small tender.

Down at the stern, the cockpit is fully covered by the bridge overhang and a shade drops between the posts for privacy. A hatch on top of the transom reveals a wet bar with grill and sink, so a cook can work from the swim platform. Side decks are protected overhead, with 28-inch bulwarks plus rails, and the foredeck has a pilothouse-front lounge and a triple sunpad.

Lifting strakes, spray knockers and IPS600 economy

The hull has a sharp forefoot and three lifting strakes per side. The top strake ends at the stem a couple of feet above the waterline and works as a spray knocker; PMY could not put a drop of spray on either windshield, and running attitude changed only about three degrees coming onto plane. Yachting ran the boat in 4- to 5-foot Atlantic seas off Fort Lauderdale and found minimal pounding up-sea and true tracking down-sea, with no pendulum effect from the tall flybridge.

Two aluminum fuel tanks forward of the engines hold 528 gallons and keep trim steady as they empty. PMY's full test of the IPS600 boat shows where the 52 is happiest: 9.2 knots at 2,000 rpm on 9.8 gph, 0.94 nautical miles per gallon, for about 446 nautical miles, or 15.5 knots on 29.8 gph. Top speed on that test was 22 knots at 3,500 rpm; Yachting saw 24 knots on a different boat.

Option prices that tell you what to look for

PMY published the option list on its 2016 test boat, and it is a handy checklist when you compare listings, because a stripped boat and a well-equipped one can look similar in photos.

• Hydraulic swim platform: $25,570
• Fiberglass bridge hardtop: $19,840
• Bow thruster: $9,890
• Teak cockpit table with three folding chairs: $6,240
• Raymarine radar: $5,025
• Lower helm side-deck door: $4,360
• Electric cockpit shade: $4,160
• Transom barbecue and sink: $3,920

From Navetta 52 to Navetta 53, and today's prices

In 2024 Absolute renamed and reworked the boat as the Navetta 53, debuting it at Cannes that September. The 53 gains a few inches from a longer bathing platform, larger hull windows, taller gunwales with dramatic cockpit cutouts, a glass balustrade and modular cockpit furniture, but keeps the midships master, angled VIP and IPS650 power. If you like the 53 but not its price, a late 52 is the closest thing on the used market.

Expect about $800,000 to $1 million for a 2016 to 2018 boat and $1.1 million to just over $2 million for 2020 to 2024 hulls, with a 2023 boat asking $1,939,000 in 2026. Annual running costs typically fall between $70,000 and $115,000 for a 55-foot slip, insurance, IPS service, generator, air conditioning, bottom work and fuel. Cruise at 9 knots and fuel is the smallest line on that list.