Regal 50 SAV Review, the Flagship Sport Activity Vessel

How the Regal 50 SAV became the flagship

The Regal 50 SAV is the largest boat Regal builds and the top of its Sports Activity Vessel line. Yachting traced the logic: families increasingly boat across generations and want versatility, so when Regal's 38 SAV became the bestselling boat in the company's 55-year history, the builder scaled the idea up. The 50 SAV was introduced at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show.

Regal remains a family business, founded in 1969 by Paul and Carol Kuck and now based in Orlando, Florida, with second and third generation Kucks in management and about 40 models from 20 to 50 feet in production, according to Yachting. The 50 SAV is the boat that takes the brand into the territory of the big luxury consoles from Scout, Grady-White and Boston Whaler.

Yachting's tester stepped aboard hull number four and described the first impression as openness, with a terrace lowered on the off-dock side and boarding through dive doors in both gunwales.

A beach club aft and a sportfishing cockpit when you need it

Lower a fold-down terrace and the cockpit becomes a floating beach club; raise it and you have a cockpit that measured a touch over 62 square feet in Yachting's test. Synthetic teak decking is easy to clean. Fishing features include pressurized livewells in the transom, 55-inch in-deck macerated fish boxes, and options for a teak rocket launcher and 18-foot Gemlux outriggers.

Forward of the cockpit, two rows of four adjustable seats sit beneath a carbon fiber hardtop, so a crowd rides shaded. At the aft end of the mezzanine is the entertainment island: two 48-volt smokeless grills, a sink with faucet and cutting board, a pair of drawer refrigerators (or a fridge and a freezer), utensil storage, tip-out trash bins at each end and a 16-inch Garmin display overhead.

Three 22-inch screens and Garmin in the armrests

The helm carries three 22-inch Garmin multifunction displays. The two forward seats have 9-inch Garmin screens built into flip-up armrest pods that Regal calls GarmRests, so the skipper can change autopilot course, plot a waypoint, check radar or adjust the music without leaning forward. Digital switching lets owners control lighting, terraces, the cockpit sunshade and audio from touchscreens.

Mercury's SmartCraft joystick and a bow thruster are standard with the triple V12 package, according to Yachting, which makes docking a 50-foot outboard boat far less intimidating than it sounds.

A cabin with 6 feet 6 inches of headroom and a 48-volt heart

Teak floating steps lead down to a salon with 6 feet 6 inches of headroom and 6-foot hull windows that make it feel larger than it is. There is a V-berth forward and a king aft, tucked beneath the helm deck, plus a full-size head, and the cabin is air-conditioned. It sleeps two couples comfortably for a night or a long weekend.

The technical highlight is Regal's LivePower system. It combines a 48-volt lithium-ion battery bank with an inverter and a 5 kW diesel generator, switching sources automatically so owners are not constantly flipping breakers or wrestling shore-power cords. BoatTEST identified Mastervolt lithium batteries and a Fischer Panda diesel generator in the installation.

Triple V12 performance, from Yachting and Regal's own report

Regal offers two power packages: triple Mercury Verado 600 V12s or quad Yamaha XTO F450s. The Mercury V12s have fixed powerheads with steerable gearcases, so they mount close together on the transom, and a two-speed automatic transmission improves hole shot and low-end torque.

With the triple Mercurys, Yachting saw the boat plane in five seconds with virtually no bow rise, then top out at just over 49.5 knots at 5,850 rpm with the Humphree interceptors in auto-trim mode. At a 30.4-knot cruise it burned 60 gph, which Yachting calculated as more than 360 nautical miles of range with a 10 percent reserve from 700 gallons, enough for Miami to the Abacos and beyond.

Regal's own January 2024 report at a 40,000-pound test weight shows a top of 56.7 mph at 6,400 rpm on 163.7 gph, and a cruise of 33.4 mph at 4,000 rpm on 58.1 gph (0.57 mpg). Note that the report lists 632 gallons of fuel, as does BoatTEST, while Regal's current spec page and Yachting give 700 gallons, so confirm tank capacity on the specific hull.

Running costs, crew and storage

Budget roughly $120,000 to $220,000 a year for insurance, a 55-foot slip, service on three or four big outboards, the generator and lithium system, electronics, bottom work and fuel for 100 to 150 hours. Many owners run the boat themselves thanks to the joystick and outboard simplicity, but a part-time captain for longer trips is common at this size.

One advantage over a diesel express of similar size is maintenance: outboards can be serviced or swapped individually, and the boat can tilt its engines in skinny water. Yachting called it a capable shallow-water performer for that reason. Drive-up draft is 29 inches according to Regal.

New order or nearly new brokerage boat

With production starting in 2024, the used market is limited to nearly new hulls. Expect sellers to price close to new, minus whatever options they skipped. Ask for the Regal performance report and fuel capacity for the specific hull, confirm Mercury or Yamaha warranty transfer, and have the LivePower and digital switching systems demonstrated thoroughly, because they are the most complex systems aboard.