Absolute Navetta 64 Review and Used Buying Guide

What Absolute means by navetta

Navetta is Italian for a small shuttle boat, and Absolute borrowed the word for a line of yachts that look like trawlers and behave like planing flybridges. The formula is straightforward: a boxy, near-vertical superstructure that wrings maximum volume out of every foot of length, enormous windows, and Volvo Penta IPS pods that let the boat cruise anywhere from 10 to 25 knots without hunting for a sweet spot.

The Absolute Navetta 64 arrived in 2020 for the 2021 season and became the middle of the line between the smaller Navetta 48, 52 and 58 and the larger Navetta 73. Absolute, which builds near Piacenza in northern Italy, had already proved the concept with earlier Navetta models before the 64 arrived, and the 64 itself collected the Best Innovation prize in its size class at the 2020 World Yachts Trophies and a Best of Boats award the same year. The 64 took that recipe to a size where owners begin to think about a captain, and it is the boat most buyers in the US mean when they search for an absolute navetta in the mid-60-foot range.

Boxcar volume and a seven-foot main deck

Power and Motoryacht described the 64's design philosophy as boxcar-inspired, and the description fits. The sheer is high, the superstructure walls are close to vertical, and the beam of 18 feet 1 inch is carried well forward. The result is nearly 7 feet of headroom on the main deck and a saloon that feels like a 70-footer inside.

The glazing is the feature people remember. Oversized saloon and hullside windows run almost the full length of the boat, and on the main deck sliding pocket doors replace swinging ones so traffic between the cockpit, saloon, galley and helm flows without awkward corners. The galley sits centrally between the cockpit and the forward helm, which is where an owner-operator wants it: close enough to the wheel for a coffee run, close enough to the cockpit for serving lunch.

Side decks are about 18 inches wide with high bulwarks, and there are side-access doors at the helm and in the gunwales so crew can step off whichever way the boat is moored. A third docking station with camera monitoring makes stern-to and side-to berthing a one-person job with the IPS joystick.

A flybridge more than 30 feet long

The flybridge runs more than 30 feet from windscreen to aft rail, which is extraordinary on a boat this size. Most owners use the forward half as a second helm and lounge, with the after section left open for loose furniture or a davit for a tender if the transom garage is not specified. Shade options range from a bimini to a full hardtop, and for US southern waters the hardtop is effectively mandatory.

Because the bridge is so long, the main-deck cockpit beneath it is fully shaded, which is a bigger deal than it sounds in Florida or the Bahamas. You can eat lunch in the cockpit at 1 p.m. in July without an awning.

The beach club cabin, the 64's party trick

The lower deck Power & Motoryacht tested has three cabins: an owner's cabin in the bow on its own raised sole with storage beneath, a VIP to port that rivals it for space, and a twin-berth guest cabin, each with its own head and with sliding pocket doors instead of hinged ones. YachtBuyer's deck plans also show a four cabin lower deck arrangement, so check which layout a given boat has. Crew quarters aft sleep two and have a wet head.

The option that defines the 64 is the beach club. Absolute converts the stern into a water-level room behind curved glass doors sealed with pneumatic gaskets. By day it is a lounge facing the sea over a retractable platform. At night the sofa converts to a 6 foot 3 inch by 5 foot 3 inch berth, and it has its own head and shower. Effectively it gives a 64-foot boat a fourth guest cabin without stealing from the main lower deck.

For resale, boats with the beach club layout are the ones brokers find easiest to move, but check the gasket system carefully because a failing seal on a waterline door is not something to discover in a following sea.

• Owner's cabin forward on a raised sole with storage below
• VIP to port nearly matching the master
• Twin guest cabin with en suite
• Optional beach club stern cabin with pneumatic watertight doors
• Crew cabin aft for two with a wet head

On the water with IPS 1350s, the numbers

Standard power was a pair of 900 hp Volvo Penta D13 IPS 1200 pods, but most owners chose the 1,000 hp IPS 1350s. BoatTest ran a 1350-powered boat with a Seakeeper 16 to 27.8 knots at 2,470 rpm, burning 92.3 gph. At 2,000 rpm it made 18.7 knots on 57.3 gph, and at 1,500 rpm 11.6 knots on 28.2 gph.

The interesting part is the shape of the curve. From about 15 knots to 26 knots the 64 returns roughly 0.3 nautical miles per gallon, so range stays between about 260 and 295 nautical miles whether you cruise at 15 or 25 knots. Power and Motoryacht made the same point, noting that the difference in range between 15 knots and 23 is negligible. In practice that means you pick your speed for comfort and schedule, not for fuel.

Slow down to 8.3 knots at 1,000 rpm and fuel burn drops to 9.1 gph for nearly 790 nautical miles of range with 951 gallons aboard. At 600 rpm, 4.9 knots on 2.7 gph stretches theoretical range past 1,500 miles. Noise is low throughout, 57 dBA at idle and 65 to 67 dBA at full speed at the helm.

The hull pairs a sharp forefoot for head seas with flat aft sections for lift. Power and Motoryacht reported the boat felt equally composed at 15 and 25 knots with minimal trim change, which is exactly the behavior you want from pods.

Volvo D13 pods, gyros and the maintenance reality

Every 64 runs on Volvo Penta D13 engines with IPS drives, which simplifies service planning. The D13 is a common commercial and marine engine with good parts availability in the US. Pods need regular drive oil changes, anodes and bellows inspections, and the IPS 1350 propellers should be checked for nicks after any grounding.

Many boats carry a Seakeeper 16, which is the right size for this displacement of roughly 49 tonnes at full load. Factor in its bearing service schedule when budgeting. Generators, watermakers and air conditioning on European-commissioned boats deserve close attention, because units specified for the Mediterranean are not always sized for Florida summers.

Budgeting for a 64-foot navetta

Many Navetta 64 owners run the boat themselves with a part-time captain for deliveries, and the layout supports that, with the third docking station and joystick doing most of the work. Even so, at 64 feet you are into a different cost bracket. Expect $140,000 to $260,000 a year for a 70-foot slip, insurance, two D13 and IPS services, generator, gyro and watermaker maintenance, bottom work and detailing, rising sharply with a full-time captain.

Fuel at an 18 to 19 knot cruise runs about 57 gph. Owners who cruise at 10 to 12 knots on long passages cut that to 17 to 28 gph and gain hundreds of miles of range.

Where the 64 sits among the Navetta 48, 52, 58 and 70

Shoppers often compare the 64 with its siblings. The Navetta 48 and the Navetta 52 are owner-operator boats on IPS pods, popular choices for the absolute navetta 48 for sale and absolute navetta 52 for sale searches in the US. The Navetta 58 name has been used on more than one generation, so confirm the year of any listing. At the top, the Navetta 70 and Navetta 75 move into four-cabin, crewed territory.

Absolute's current range includes the Navetta 50, 53, 58, 62, 66, 70 and 75, and the Navetta 66 is the direct replacement for the 64: Absolute lists it at the same 19.63 meter length and 5.52 meter beam, with the same 951-gallon fuel capacity, IPS 1350 power and a sea-level fourth cabin. That makes the 64 a strong used buy: the design language and systems are close to the current boats, but a used 64 should trade well below the cost of a new 66.