Sunseeker 80 Yacht, the 80ft Flybridge That Started the Yacht Range

An 80ft yacht that opened Sunseeker's Yacht range

Anyone searching 80ft yacht for sale listings will meet the Sunseeker 80 Yacht sooner or later. Launched at the 2009 Southampton Boat Show and built until 2015, it was, in Sunseeker's words, the smallest in the range to carry the Yacht title, yet it shared the hallmark design, engineering systems and scope for personalization of the much larger models above it.

Sunseeker pitched it at a size an owner might choose to self-captain or run with full crew, and designed the general arrangement so it could be specified for open, informal use or with separated crew areas. That flexibility is the 80's defining trait and the first thing to check on any boat you consider, because two 80 Yachts can be laid out very differently.

The 80 sits in a sweet spot for American buyers who want a motor yacht Sunseeker of real presence without stepping into the 90-foot crewed category, and it is a common step up from 60- to 70-foot flybridges.

A 20-foot beam on an 80-foot hull

YachtBuyer's specification lists an overall length of 24.44 meters (80 feet 2 inches) including the pulpit, an 18.64-meter waterline at half load, a 6.09-meter beam (about 20 feet) and a 1.9-meter full-load draft, roughly 6 feet 3 inches. Half-load displacement is 62,000 kilograms, about 136,700 pounds, rising to 64,700 kilograms at full load. The yacht stands 8.35 meters above the waterline to the top of the navigation light mast.

Tankage is 6,000 liters of fuel (about 1,585 gallons), 1,200 liters of water and a 435-liter black-water tank. YachtBuyer notes CE Category B readiness, appropriate for offshore coastal cruising rather than ocean crossings.

A 20-foot beam on an 80-foot planing hull gives a wide salon and a genuinely full-beam master, but the 6-foot 3-inch draft is worth noting for shallow Bahamas anchorages.

Layout options A, B and C on two decks

Sunseeker offered alternatives on both the main and lower decks. On the main deck, Option A enlarged the salon seating, Option B enlarged both salon and dining areas, and Option C added dinette seating with an enclosed galley, the choice for owners who run with crew and want service kept out of sight.

Below, Option A introduced a central access corridor, Option B moved the galley down to the lower deck and added a double guest cabin, and Option C created a Pullman berth with an enlarged double guest cabin. The standard arrangement provides four guest cabins for eight, in two doubles and four singles, with the master, VIP and twin en suite and a shared day head, plus crew space for up to three.

For a US family that runs the boat with a single captain, the standard plan or Option A usually works best. For a boat that will be chartered or crewed full time, Option C on the main deck, with the enclosed galley, is the more professional setup.

Twin 1,800 PS diesels, 30 knots and a 24-knot cruise

Sunseeker's description of the 80 Yacht credits twin 1,800 PS diesels with a comfortable, low-noise top speed of 30 knots and a cruise of 22 knots, with a range of around 350 nautical miles. YachtBuyer's data quotes a 24-knot cruise and 350 nautical miles at 24 knots. Engine make and rating varied with owner specification and year, so confirm what is fitted on any boat you inspect.

We found no instrumented magazine test with a fuel curve, so treat the builder's figures as a best case for a clean-bottomed, lightly loaded boat. In practice, owners crossing to the Bahamas or running the Northeast coast will cruise in the low 20s and keep a generous reserve, and should sea trial any candidate at their intended cruise rpm to log real fuel burn.

Stabilization, whether fins or a later gyro retrofit, is the single most valuable upgrade on a used 80, making anchorages and slow passages far more comfortable.

• Power: twin diesels of about 1,800 PS each
• Top speed: 30 knots (builder)
• Cruise: 22 to 24 knots, about 350 nm range
• Fuel 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons), water 1,200 liters

Sunseeker 80 Yacht versus Princess 78 by the numbers

The Sunseeker 80 Yacht and the Princess 78 Motor Yacht were built in the same years in Poole and Plymouth on England's south coast, and they are the two British 80-foot flybridges most often compared on the US market. The specification sheets show two different philosophies.

The Sunseeker is wider and heavier with more fuel and more layout choice; the Princess is narrower, a little shorter and was quoted with more top-end speed from its Caterpillar C32s. Which is better depends on whether you value interior width and flexibility or outright pace.

• Length: Sunseeker 24.44 m including pulpit; Princess 24.10 m including pulpit
• Beam: Sunseeker 6.09 m; Princess about 5.72 to 5.76 m
• Draft: Sunseeker 1.9 m; Princess 1.7 m
• Fuel: Sunseeker 6,000 liters; Princess 5,680 liters
• Displacement: Sunseeker 62 tonnes at half load; Princess about 59 tonnes
• Builder top speed: Sunseeker 30 knots; Princess 31 to 35 knots depending on engines

Crew, costs and keeping an 80-footer running

Plan for roughly $280,000 to $500,000 a year before depreciation. Most owners employ a full-time captain and at least a part-time mate or stewardess, and the 80 has the crew space for them. Add an 80- to 90-foot slip, insurance, engine and generator services, stabilizer maintenance, teak and paint, and fuel at a 20-plus-knot cruise.

Sunseeker has a long-established US dealer and service presence, so parts and qualified technicians can be found, but big-engine services and teak replacement on a boat this size are major line items. Ask for the full maintenance log and any refit invoices.

What the 80 Yacht costs on today's market

Listings are scarce. YachtBuyer's tracker shows a 2013 boat from about EUR 1.72 million, and our 2026 US estimate runs from about $1.45 million for an early 2009 to 2010 boat to roughly $2.4 million for a late, refreshed 2015 example.

Against a contemporary Princess 78 Motor Yacht, the Sunseeker offers more beam and more layout choice; against Sunseeker's own Manhattan 73 and 75 Yacht, it adds a meaningful step in volume and crew capability. In today's Sunseeker range, this size is covered by the 88 Yacht, at substantially higher prices.