Absolute 52 Fly

OVERVIEW
- Social and shared luxury boating
Ian Rose has defied the naysayers. Not that we doubted him. But in this pared-back world where discretionary luxury items took a beating, his business model might have seemed a tad adventurous. Yet the founder and principal of Luxury Boat Syndicates in Rose Bay had a vision he wanted to share.

Although boat sales hadn’t been booming, and while executive bonuses were drying up, Rose still believed the attraction of owning a luxury cruiser is a constant in Sydney. So the entrepreneur put two and two — or eight shareholders — together and created Luxury Boat Syndicates (LBS) to make boat ownership more accessible.

The Absolute 52 we tested here is the biggest boat in the LBS fleet, an ultimate networking platform available in 1/8th shares in a fully-managed boat syndicate. The business model is now proven across a number of luxury craft.

Rose started out with a Chris-Craft 28 Corsair luxe day runabout, bought an Absolute 45 Fly, a Regal 35 Coupe sportscruiser, then this Absolute 52 Fly. A second Absolute 45 Fly is coming and there’s now an exciting Absolute 40 STL Sport Line on order that should push the boundaries and buttons of Sydney’s younger day-boating set.

Tellingly, the bigger LBS boats are owned under share arrangement by syndicates with 95 per cent business owners who are big on networking. The boats are used mainly for corporate cruising and connecting, although the Regal 35 is also popular with young families, we’re told.

We jumped aboard the Absolute 52 with Rose at the helm. He demonstrated how easily the boat could be manoeuvred. Once aboard, the 52 footer woos with its vast entertaining spaces, indoor and outdoor seating zones, oversized glass that frames the views, aft galley, stacks of lunch areas, and three cabins and two bathrooms (in case those executives want to sleep over).

While captaining is big to begin with, we’re told many subsequent corporate trips are taken with skippers. The LBS model offers everything from a driver to catered dinner, sushi platters to champagne, fresh linen and more as part of its walk-on/walk-off service. This modern approach to pleasure boating has struck a chord.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Lots of options and upgrades with ‘executive’ fitout
Set-up for executive use, the Absolute 52 had some extra kit. The feedback from the way the Absolute 45 was being used a year down the track influenced some of the spec’ing of things like 240V outlets linked to the generator (not just the 1800W inverter) so you can use a hair dryer in a cabin.

There are no engine options, with the boat designed around the twin IPS 600s, which are 435hp Volvo Penta D6 engines with articulating pods with forward-facing props. The boat has a 12kW Mase (Yanmar) generator for its upgraded Med’ strength air-con, an 1800W inverter and plenty of GPO outlets including those direct upgraded ones.

The boat has a lazarette fit-out for carrying watertoys and suchlike instead of the option of crew quarters in that transom space. The laz’ is accessed off the swim platform, which was an upgraded 400kg hydraulic-lift teak-topped number for carrying a tender (to come). Underwater lights were fitted, too.

A must-have mod, the starboard-side saloon door off the lower helm is a real boon. It gives immediate access to the walkaround deck when docking and lets you berth with one hand on the joystick and the eyes fixed on the boarding platform. There was also a cockpit camera with stern-view display on the MFD nav screen for docking from the forward flybridge helm.

LED lighting was fitted along the walkaround decks (and bedheads), while the AV systems were impressive, with a BOSE home entertainment system, retractable 40” TV in saloon, TracSat 39cm domes with Foxtel, digital TV aerial, and a TV in the master cabin. Major sports events, the stock market, breaking news and music videos are at your fingertips 24/7.

The boat had a stainless steel anchor with 60m of chain and a counter, a small grill and fridge on the flybridge, an upgraded dishwasher in the galley for post-party clean-ups (not that share-boaters have to worry about that), and dual black water tanks (one for each toilet).

There was a bimini top to cast shade over the bridge in summer, lunching is an option in the cockpit around the upgraded teak table, while the six-stacker upgraded cockpit access doors create a seamless transition from cockpit to open-plan saloon. Up front, the bow sunbathing cushions create another zone.

Crockery, cutlery, cups and glasses were fitted and supplied. LBS goes further, adding bedding, appliances, coffee maker, condiments… virtually everything except perishables and provisions. Catering is popular, usually with pre-made fingerfood, rather than onboard cooking, so a big galley isn’t really needed in this context.

From a base price of $1.35m at the time of writing, our Absolute 52 as tested with ‘executive’ fitout weighed in at $1.48m. That’s comparable with a Sunseeker San Remo, a 51ft sports yacht with a very nice fitout and the same IPS600 engines, but a lot less than a Princess P52 that comes in about $1.6-$1.8 million loaded with much bigger 575hp-715hp shaft-drive engines.

Then there is option of becoming a share owner. Four of the eight shares had been sold at the time of writing. A remaining 1/8th share in the Absolute 52 cost $189,000 up front with monthly running and management costs of $1513, plus fuel use and food. The rest is taken care-of.

LAYOUT AND LIVING AREAS
- Plenty of room plus zoned living
The Absolute 52 has a flowing layout with abundant seating and zones that function as executive entertaining areas, whether swinging on the hook, in the berth or cruising the Harbour. We also noted decent sizing in respect of head and shoulder room, whereas some Italian-made boats can be tight.

The flybridge is good starting point. As is European boating fashion, it’s a veritable rooftop terrace dominated by lounges and daybeds, where you can just let it all hangout and enjoy the wind and vistas as you cruise with company.

The helm is a pod with a minimalist dash module to starboard and a single bucket seat before a sports wheel. Behind here is a small moulded amenities centre with fridge, griddle and sink. Forward is one huge sunpad area big enough for a family, with two trick flip-up backrests so a couple can cruise facing forward in virtual open-air chaise lounges.

There’s a separate transverse lounge opposite the helm, which allows crew to converse with the skipper, and one big circumambient lounge tracing a teak lounge table behind here that can seat eight. LBS added a big bimini top for shade, which will be welcome in summer

With all that seating up top, skippers will have to use their common sense as you could easily overload the bridge according to NSW Maritime guidelines. At anchor up the back of some quiet bay or bolthole, this upper deck would make a wonderful lunch venue for eight. Underway, it’s all very low-profile and sleek to assists with keeping that centre of gravity low.

The ‘ladder’ has a large covering hatch and there are very solid grab rails that add to the cruising security on the flybridge. The ladder treads seemed easy to negotiate for this frequent flybridge boater. They deliver you back down to the cockpit where there’s another lunch and cruising setting. With a pair of casual chairs you can easily seat six here.

The moulded bridge overhang, is supported by stainless steel posts where other yards might get away with integral girders for a stanchion-free set-up, casts desirable shade. Add the cockpit covers and you can create an all-weather enclosure, which might be very useful given its integration with the saloon via the opening doors.

Meantime, the big aft sunpad at the transom, atop the huge and handy lazarette storage accessed off the swim platform, offers another lounging option. There’s a third sunpad on the bow, which underscores the European design and intent of the boat. Thanks to the big lazarette storage area, the cushions are easily stowed.

Integrated storage is a feature of the Absolute 52 and the cockpit has moulded dedicated fender ‘wells’, inbuilt storage under the bridge ladder, where there’s a second outdoor 12V fridge, while the boat’s deck mouldings are smart to the point they include rebated designer deck gear so water and mud doesn’t come aboard. The anchor winch sits proud of the deck and there is no deck wash up front, however.

INDOOR CONNECTIVITY
- Class-leading glass and lighting
The wide side decks, opening lower helm door to starboard, extra opening saloon doors and windows create a real indoor/outdoor stage. When you walk into the saloon and aft galley it’s almost imperceptible. But there it is, the aft galley right where you want it, albeit a more modest arrangement than on locally built 52-footers.

Fulfilling its intended executive role, the galley includes microwave oven/grill, two-burner Ceran hotplate, dishwasher and, opposite and built-in to the cabinetry, a 217lt upright fridge with 42lt freezer. Alongside that fridge is a wet-bar/coffee area with Italian-designed appliances courtesy of LBS. A terrarium dressed the boat some more.

The walnut joinery, two-pack overhead cupboards, contrasting light-oak flooring, ducted air-con and bone-coloured leather lounges create a fairly neutral palette, allowing the views out the deep saloon windows to steal your gaze. While there is good natural ventilation, you might need the AC to cool all that glass in summer.

From the galley you step-up to the forward saloon, so as to create headroom below in the full-beam stateroom below. The portside U-shaped lounge surrounds a dinette/coffee table/daybed, opposite a settee behind which is the large flatscreen TV on electric lift.

The lower helm has a single seat again, although there’s room for a twin. With the opening side door it’s certainly nicely connected. And unlike some other European boats, there’s standing headroom at the helm.

The carbon-look dash adds to the contemporary command centre with 12in Raymarine touchscreen MFD, Volvo electronic engine displays, autopilot, joystick and more. Radar wasn’t fitted, but Foxtel was.

BEAUTIFUL CABINS
- Lovely light-filled and airy cabins
The Absolute 52 has a very generous accommodation plan, in fact, it has one of the most spacious forward VIP cabins in the market. The three-cabin and two-bathroom layout boasts a great finish and upmarket ambience, with smart joinery and luxe bathroom fitouts.

We like the fact all cabins have opening portlights for fresh air and light. The single beds in the third cabin are adult length, the forward cabin with island bed in the bow has even more light and huge dressing space, while the full-beam owner’s cabin back amidships features headroom at its foot for a true sensation of space.

The master stateroom also includes a leather sofa, walk-in wardrobe, contrasting timber parquetry bedhead, and romantic night lighting. The shower stalls in the en suite and VIP bathroom/communal head are big. The boat’s 450 litres of water is sufficient for a long weekend, although some shareboat owners might need reminding they’re not at home.

We anchored the Absolute 52 on a lee shore with plenty of wind and wave action on the chines and a fair bit of yanking on the chain. So there was constant reminding we were afloat on at-times busy and bouncy Sydney Harbour. An upstream anchorage would have been the smart call for the night.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Weight-saving infused hull and deck
Given its fairness and the complexity of the deck mouldings, we suspected the Absolute 52’s hull and deck were infused. That is the case and Absolute says it uses solid fiberglass hulls strengthened with a multi-dimensional structural grid, which encompasses the entire length and width of the hull bottom.

The bulkheads, the floors and the ceilings – all made by plywood and compound sandwiches – are glassed into the grid. Decks are bonded with fiberglass and through-bolted with stainless steel fasteners.

This so-called Integrated Structural System (ISS) creates a monocoque structure when the boat is eventually removed, completed and fitted out internally, from the mould. Certainly, the Absolute 52 felt stiff, but not hard or bangy when cruising at moderate speeds on Sydney Harbour.

The engineering is first class below decks, with an immaculate and orderly engine room. The outlets and inlets for the bilge manifold are labelled, there are big clear sea strainers, aluminium fuel tanks with sight gauges, impressive wiring, and terrific battery access. The compact D6 engines with pods allow for a lot of servicing room.

Absolute uses nothing but the Volvo Penta IPS pod drives on all its bigger boats (above the sporty models running sterndrives). On local waters, after 600 hours in the first year and two services, LBS says the IPS 600s on its Absolute 45 haven’t had even one mechanical issue. Being used and serviced often is good preventative medicine for share boats.

ON THE WATER
- Comfortable cruising extends to offshore passages
While the owners of this Absolute 52 in the LBS syndicate can undertake coastal passages to Pittwater, most are content with some comfortable Harbour cruising and entertaining. We had a bit of a rough old Sydney day to run around, which was good.

With the modest 435hp twin engines, the comparatively light and lightly laden boat is well suited to that role. The 52’s displacement is 10t less than a Princess P52 with 800hp MAN heavy metal, and about the same as the Sunseeker San Remo with the same engines, infused hull, but no flybridge. So the Absolute 52 does well to achieve the 28-29 knot top speed we noted on the day with its modest engines

The boat cruised the harbour comfortably, with low engine noise, not a whiff of smoke, and little fuel use. The performance should remain because the boat is used often (ensuring a slippery bottom) and isn’t bundled with a whole lot of personal gear, tenders, provisions and so on. And with the joystick, docking is a snap at places like Darling Harbour.

At wide-open throttle of 3500rpm, we record 29 knots (30-31 knots as per the factory figures is probably in calm water). The 2800rpm cruise setting gave 19 knots for 110 litres per hour, which is very economical for a 52-footer! We were running with only two people aboard, mind you.

According to the official published data, the Absolute with the 435hp IPS 600s will cruise at 23 knots for 6lt/nm or 138 litres per hour. This figure will give a cruising range of 240nm from 90 per cent of the 1600lt fuel supply. Not a big range but fine for the job.

Rose fits GPS trackers to his boats. This way he can run checks and get feedback on how they are being used. If someone’s driving around at, say, inefficient 12-14 knots he might tactfully suggest they do eight knots or 18 knots instead to improve the efficiency.

Tracking reveals the LBS boat are used just as often at eight knots champagne speeds, touring the waterfront real estate, with their owners and guests moving about the boat as it cruises slowly around the Harbour. At this speed, the IPS 600s use 18 litres an hour, which doesn’t deliver any surprises, especially to owners who have to pay for fuel use at the end of the day.

At moderate cruise speeds, the Absolute 52 ran very well and didn’t seem to bang around or ride too high like some IPS 600 boats we’ve driven. The performance wasn’t the Italian sports that we’re accustomed to, more about comfort with some smart style.

VERDICT
- A fresh approach to luxury boating
There aren’t big engines, a lot of weight, offshore range or hull speed. What this 52 does have is Italian style, luxury-cruising comfort, loads of seating, huge views and a very good operator behind it in Luxury Boat Syndicates. The model is working, the fleet is growing and there’s the possibility of opening another Sydney base.

True, the Absolute 52 does things a little differently, but we’re using our boats differently these days. The shared ownership of a luxury executive cruiser on wonderful Sydney Harbour makes dollars and sense. You can get aboard as a 1/8th share owner for $189,000 up front plus monthly running and management costs of $1513 (fuel and food extra).

Think of it as ‘Uber Boating’ for today’s time-poor, walk-on/walk-off boater. We think this 52 Fly would work nicely around Melbourne’s and Perth CBDs, too.

Credit: In-water and running shots by Jem Crewell, www.jemcreswell.com.au

HIGHS
>> User- and driver-friendly boat with joystick, transom camera and lower side helm door
>> Smooth, comfortable and agreeable cruising at moderate speeds
>> Sharp Italian styling, neat fit and finish, and big glazing maximising views
>> Terrific outdoor entertaining and lounging 'stations' from flybridge to cockpit, bow to stern
>> Plenty of storage including a huge lazarette for watertoys
>> First-rate engineering, plumbing and electrical systems

NOT SO MUCH
>> Twin 435hp are small engines for a cruiser measuring ‘52’ feet overall
>> Modest top speed and not the biggest cruising range in its class
>> A twin lower helm seat would be a welcome addition
>> No anchor wash

Specifications:
Price as tested: $1.48 million including upgraded IPS 600s and options as detailed in test above (per exchange rate at time of publishing).
Priced from: $1.35 million with standard Volvo IPS 600s
LOA: 16.00m including pulpit and standard swim platform
Beam: 4.46m
Draft: 1.10m
Weight: 16,000kg dry
Sleeping: Six
Fuel capacity: 1600 litres
Water capacity: 450 litres
Passengers: Max 14
Engines: D11 Volvo Penta IPS 800
CE Category Rating: B

Supplied and tested through:
Luxury Boat Syndicates
Point Piper Marina
5 Wunulla Rd, Point Piper, 2027.
Sales Enquiries: Ian Rose
Manager / Director
Phone: 0488 055 155
See http://luxuryboatsyndicates.com.au

Imported by:
Premier Marine,
Point Piper Marina
5 Wunulla Rd, Point Piper, 2027.
See www.premiermarine.com.au, www.absoluteyachts.com