Absolute 52 FLY Review (2022 Edition)

This generation of Absolute flybridge has a distinctive look with oversized hull windows and fin-style open haunches that aim to maintain the connection between the cockpit and the water. The boats are not classically handsome but the look is more refined than it was a few years ago and there's no doubt that they have a distinctive look that is all their own. 

On board, the use of space is truly outstanding and the volume of the interior is astonishing. By arranging the owner's cabin on a mid-deck forward, you get both a wonderful space for the owner and guests are treated to a fabulous full-beam VIP amidships. 

Modular deck furniture is another feature of this generation of Absolute, adding great flexibility to the cockpit and flybridge. As standard, the decks are empty to fill with any furniture the owner desires but to make life easy Absolute provides some on request and it's as stylish as it is flexible. 

In Build

Absolute builds all of its boats using its Integrated Structural System (ISS). The interiors are cut and assembled separately to the hulls and dropped in once constructed, pre-prepared with wiring and plumbing. It's an efficient build method, which, according to Absolute, improves the accuracy of the build and maintains a more consistent level of quality. You can't be definitive about quality from the safety of a boat show berth but there is certainly a feeling of real cohesion aboard the 52 Fly and reassuring solidity in everything from the flooring to the way the internal doors clunk shut. It feels like a quality machine. 

Absolute pays attention to the little things that make life on board easier. It's small things like having a dedicated slot for the boat hook adjacent to the flybridge steps in the cockpit and the smart stainless steel hoop that slots into the bathing platform to give swimmers something to grab onto when they emerge from the sea. 

This will be an owner-run boat for the majority so ease of maintenance is key and to that end the machinery space is impressive. With both the generator and optional Seakeeper stabiliser space is a little tight at the entrance to the engine room but access to the engines and IPS pods is excellent and the quality and tidiness of installation are top-notch. The 52 Fly should be an easy boat to live with and look after. 

Absolute's range is an IPS-only zone so if you don't like the idea of pod drives the 52 isn't for you. That said, the integration of Volvo's pods is faultless and it's part of the reason why the designers have so much space to play with on the lower deck. 

The interior is the 52 Fly's trump card, it's hard to compute quite how Absolute has managed to include three cabins and two bathrooms and endow them with so much space. There isn't a boat in the sector that uses the footprint as cleverly as this. 

The main deck salon is familiar Absolute with its aft galley, two-part sliding cockpit door, and a window section that drops into the counter to create a small bar area.  The galley is split with the counter, sink, hob, cooker, and a good amount of storage space to port and a full-height fridge/freezer and pantry to starboard. The detail is excellent. The soft rounding of corners, the subtle integration of a handhold into the edge of the galley counter, and the chest forward of the fridge/freezer that contains fiddled storage for all of the Absolute branded crockery and glassware. 

The 52 has a new lighting design throughout, with attractive waves of LED in the deck head above the cockpit and aft end of the salon. A new circular motif above the dinette cleverly mirrors the hard top on the flybridge.

The windows on both sides of the salon drop down to allow the natural breeze to run through the boat. We've seen this feature before on Absolutes and it means that on days that aren't too hot, you may be able to use these to ventilate the boat rather than firing up the air-con (and therefore the generator). 

The television is neatly hidden on a pop-up mechanism behind the sofa to starboard, opposite a large dinette with a hi-lo table that can easily switch from dining to coffee table height. 

Bed Spread

The lower deck layout works brilliantly because by shifting the owner's cabin to a mid-deck forward, the VIP cabin can occupy the full width of the beam amidships. It's a similar layout to Absolute's own 56 Fly without the ensuite bathroom for the VIP cabin. This arrangement benefits the owner as much as their guests, though, because the space and comfort levels in the owner's suite are excellent. As are the views, thanks to those enormous hull windows. With the bed (2,000mm x 1,600mm) mounted aft on the centreline, the bow is full of bathroom and it works well, delivering a smartly finished ensuite that uses the geometry of the cabin intelligently. The attention to fine detail is excellent once again, right up there with the best in this sector. 

The VIP could be another owner's suite and, if you're sleeping on anchor or are tied to a buoy, it may be the place to sleep as you won't get the slapping of water on the hull that you do upfront. There is an intrusion towards the top of the bed that those 6ft or over will need to watch out for but apart from that it's a very easy cabin to move around inside and it's dotted with plenty of useful storage solutions. The lack of an ensuite may put some people off but the day head, shared with the twin cabin, isn't far away.

The twin cabin is well thought out. Headroom is good and, as standard, you get electric sliding berths (1,940mm x 670mm) that switch from twins to double at the touch of a button. Rival boats offer this but most as a cost option. It also has direct access via a small door to the void beneath the owner's cabin, offering excellent access to the bow thruster for those maintaining the boat and some very useful bag storage for those sleeping in this cabin.

The crew accommodation aft is just about spacious enough to work as an occasional cabin but very few of these boats will be run with the crew. The best option is probably to have the space lined out for storage but keep the bathroom so that those who've been for a swim can go to the toilet and have a shower without traipsing water through the interior of the boat. 

Absolute's helms were the best in the business before it came up with this all-new design for the 52 and, somehow, it's made them even better. The lower helm is particularly good thanks to its beautifully clean design with a pair of angled pods that direct the MFDs toward the skipper and create a driver-focussed, cockpit-like feel. The twin helm seats are adjustable and have a bolster section so you can stand at the helm and drive; the relationship between the adjustable steering wheel, throttles, and IPS joystick is absolutely perfect.

There is the option of a third control station in the cockpit is welcome but with the joystick at the lower helm positioned so closely to the side door, it's a brilliant spot to moor the boat from and the all-around view is excellent. There aren't boarding gates on either side of the cockpit but having them amidships on both sides makes it far easier for the skipper to help out handling lines if they need to. 

The upper helm isn't as stylish as the one downstairs but it has all of the same ergonomic touchpoints. A good example is the positioning of the throttles and joystick on the same molding but the latter is mounted higher so you can reach it more easily when standing up and throttles are set low so they are more comfortable to reach when seated out at sea. Positioning the navigator's seat outside of the skipper's means that they can move in and out of the helm without disturbing the driver, too. It's all very well thought out and near impossible to fault.  

The cockpit follows a familiar form with its modular furniture and open haunches though some updates are new for the 52. The lighting design in the overhang is fresh as is the small lip of the smoked glass and stainless steel that adds some protection to the open gunwales while maintaining the views out over the water. 

Absolute's supplied furniture is lovely stuff that can be arranged in myriad ways, either as single armchairs or, because the armrests can be removed, sofas and day beds. It's so much more flexible and comfortable than a fixed bench. The open transom also means that those in the cockpit have a great view over the hydraulic bathing platform and can easily keep an eye on people in the water. 

The side decks require a sideways shuffle to move along them as they aren't the widest in the class but with tall guardrails and toerails it feels perfectly safe to negotiate them. The 52 Fly has one of the best foredecks in the class. The side decks are linked by a passageway that splits the sofa and sun pad, which makes getting from one side of the boat to the other far easier. The sun pad has a clever hinged backrest that acts either as a headrest for sunbathers or creates a bench that faces aft to join the hi-lo teak table. The entire area can be shaded by a canopy that attaches to carbon fiber poles, which stow in the engine room. 

Flying High

The flybridge feels large in this sector. The overhang extends a long way back and is square in its design so there is lots of space at the aft end for yet more free-standing furniture. A hard top is an option but there is no sunroof available on this model, just the potential to add 1,320W solar panels to top up the domestic energy supply. The lighting motif on the underside of the top is the same as in the salon, which is a nice touch. As is the way the wet bar has been so neatly integrated into the aft end of the dinette sofa. It's a well-designed bar with built-in storage for the liferaft and a useful open shelf to stow towels and other loose items. The sink is standard but you'll need to add the fridge and grill to make the most of it.

Forward, there is a big dinette with a handsome teak table on a fixed pedestal and a good spread of sunbathing space adjacent to the two-person helm station. 

The base price of the 52 Fly at the time of writing is €1.34M million ex VAT but as with most of its competitors, there are a few options that need to be added to get it to a turn-key specification.

The hydraulic bathing platform would be worth adding for functionality as would the hard top, with or without the solar panels. Unless the extra berth is going to be of use, selecting the crew cabin to be lined out with the addition of the bathroom would be an effective use of this space and endow the boat with a vast amount of dry, easily accessed gear storage. 

If you moor stern-to then the third control station in the cockpit is definitely worth thinking about, even with the view from both the lower and upper helms being so good. The Seakeeper is an expensive option but it does make a big difference to comfort levels when the boat is at anchor, so if you spend a lot of time doing that it's worth considering. 

Ultimately the 52 Fly is at the more expensive end of the market but it feels like a quality product through and through.