Fairline Squadron 50 Review, the IPS Flybridge and Its Predecessor

The Fairline Squadron 50 badge covers two different boats

Fairline has used the Squadron 50 name twice in the modern era, and they are not variations on one design. The boat on sale today, dated from 2019 by YachtBuyer, is a 51 foot 4 inch flybridge on twin Volvo Penta IPS pods with joystick control, a dry weight of 13.5 tonnes and up to three cabins. The earlier Squadron 50, built from 2011 to 2015, was a heavier shaft-drive boat with Caterpillar diesels, a fixed three-cabin layout and the master cabin in the bow.

This guide focuses on the current Fairline Squadron 50, which is also the smaller of the two flybridges Fairline builds today alongside the Squadron 58. A later section covers the 2011 boat in detail so you can compare them on the brokerage market without mixing up their specifications.

The current model by the numbers

Fairline's figures give 51 feet 4 inches (15.64 m) overall including the pulpit and fixed platform, 14 feet 2 inches (4.32 m) of beam and 3 feet 10 inches (1.17 m) of draft unloaded. Dry weight is about 13,500 kg (29,762 lb), fuel capacity 1,309 liters (346 US gallons) and fresh water 482 liters (127 US gallons). The boat is CE Category B for 16 people with 4 to 7 berths.

Two engine packages are listed: twin IPS650 pods driven by Volvo D6-480 diesels, 960 hp in total, for an estimated 31 knots, or twin IPS700 with D8-550s, 1,100 hp in total, for about 32 knots. YachtBuyer lists a 25 knot cruise and also shows an IPS600 package on earlier boats. YachtBuyer's published height above the waterline including the arch is 5.55 meters, about 18 feet 2 inches, with a 4.87 meter transport height.

• LOA 51 ft 4 in (15.64 m), beam 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m), draft 3 ft 10 in
• Dry weight 13,500 kg; fuel 346 US gal; water 127 US gal
• IPS650: about 31 knots; IPS700: about 32 knots (builder estimates)
• CE Category B, 16 persons

Descended from the Squadron 48

The current boat replaced the Squadron 48, which YachtBuyer shows in production from 2013 to 2019 in two marks. The published figures make the relationship clear: the final Squadron 48 had the same 4.31 meter beam, the same 1,309 liter fuel and 482 liter water capacities, the same IPS600, 650 and 700 options and the same transport height, but measured 15.46 meters overall against 15.64 for the 50.

In practice that means the Squadron 50 is a refined, longer evolution of a proven IPS platform rather than a ground-up design, which is reassuring for reliability. If you are shopping on a budget, a late Squadron 48 is worth comparing, since much of the engineering is shared.

Galley up or down, two or three cabins

YachtBuyer's review highlights the layout flexibility as the boat's defining feature: buyers can put the galley up in the saloon or down with the cabins, and choose two or three cabins. The master is en suite, a twin cabin converts to a double and shares the second bathroom, and an optional crew cabin with its own head can be fitted aft. Fairline describes Squadron interiors as light-filled and built around a social flybridge, and the 50's upper deck is the obvious gathering point.

For American owners who cruise as a couple with occasional guests, the galley-up two-cabin plan makes the most of a 14 foot beam. Families should look for the three-cabin version, which is also likely to resell more easily.

Why IPS suits an owner-operated 50

The move to Volvo Penta IPS is the biggest difference from older Squadrons. Pods with joystick control make it far easier for a couple to dock a 51 foot flybridge without crew, and YachtBuyer calls the boat easy for owner operation. The trade-off is maintenance: IPS units need regular service of their seals, anodes and propellers, and repairs require a Volvo-trained dealer.

Recent listings show what owners add: stabilizers, air conditioning, a joystick and a passerelle are common on the boats offered for sale, and a gyro or fin stabilizer is the option most likely to improve both comfort and resale.

The 2011 to 2015 Squadron 50, Targa 50 underneath

Fairline announced the earlier Squadron 50 in 2010 for a summer 2011 launch, as the second new Squadron after the Squadron 41 once the Phantom range was discontinued. It shared its hull, base engineering and lower-deck layout with the Targa 50 GT express, including a mechanized tender launch system in the swim platform for a Williams 285 or 325 jet tender. MBY counted 18 hull windows and a glass strip along the coachroof.

Power & Motoryacht tested one in 2012 with twin 715 hp Caterpillar C12 ACERTs on shafts. It reached 32.4 knots and came hard over at 26 knots in three and a half boat lengths. Fairline had swapped aluminum flybridge stringers for fiberglass, saving roughly 500 pounds and eliminating flybridge wobble. The master cabin sat in the bow with 6 feet 6 inches of headroom, two near-identical guest cabins were amidships, and the galley was aft by the cockpit door. Specifications were 51 feet overall, 14 feet 8 inches of beam, 4 feet of draft, 21 tons displacement, 604 gallons of fuel and 145 gallons of water; the test boat was priced at $1,706,200.

The older boat is heavier and carries much more fuel, and its shaft drives appeal to owners wary of pods. The newer IPS model is lighter, easier to dock and more modern inside.

New and brokerage pricing

Fairline sells through dealers and does not publish US list prices. A 2025 boat offered in Malta at 1,390,000 euros before VAT suggests new US sail-away prices of roughly $1.5 to $1.95 million depending on engines and options. On the brokerage market, a 2022 IPS boat has asked 749,950 pounds and a 2023 boat 799,950 pounds, about $950,000 to $1 million. A 2013 shaft-drive Squadron 50 asked 524,950 pounds, around $660,000.

Annual costs for an IPS 50 footer typically run $38,000 to $70,000 including slip, insurance, IPS and engine service, generator maintenance and bottom work. In April 2026 Fairline extended its warranty from one year to three, so ask whether the remaining cover transfers when buying a nearly new boat.