By Phil Draper

The Absolute Yachts 52 Fly shares design cues with its recently launched sisterships, the 56 Fly and 60 Fly. These yachts are easily recognized by their snub bows, chopped transoms, sculpted hulls and topsides, and big hullside windows, which give away the location of their owner’s staterooms.

As with the flybridge, the 52 Fly’s cockpit terrace is left bare so owners can choose from a range of exclusive modular furniture by Absolute or from other sources. The vessel’s glass balustrade, which tops off the transom, and the fretted bulwarks aft make for even stronger visual connections to the sea and provide great views for seated guests.

The 52 Fly’s foredeck is also a welcome retreat, especially with the sunshade and side screens up. The space accommodates an island sun pad, as well as a low dinette with double sofas. The flybridge is similarly splendid, and the hardtop comes standard with solar panels that contribute 1.35 kW of peak power, enough to cover the yacht’s basic hotel loads (not air conditioning) without the generator or shore power.

With nearly 360-degree views, the salon consists of an aft galley to port with Corian worktops, and a view between them and the cabinets above. An amidships lounge has a dinette to port and a three-seat sofa to starboard. The vibe is cool and contemporary, with drop-down electric windows on each side. They help keep the temperature moderate when the air conditioning is off.

The two-seat lower helm is to starboard, with great ergonomics and unobstructed visibility. Garmin touchscreen displays provide all the essential information, and other controls are conveniently situated. A side-deck door allows a proper connection with the outside world. A second two-seat helm station up on the flybridge is to port. That means there’s always a fresh-air connection available for the skipper, no matter which side he needs to see when close-quarters maneuvering. An optional third docking station can be added in the cockpit, with joystick and thruster controls for stern-to docking.

Relatively complicated hull and superstructure shapes dictate a wet lay-up build rather than resin infusion. Interiors, including the bulkheads, are assembled outside the hull. They are built up from CNC-cut flat panels before being moved by crane and then bonded to the hull walls and stringer system. Then the superstructure is placed.

When it comes to insurance costs, boaters who fish offshore are learning that extra outboards feed into a stereotype.

“You’re expected to go fast and run the boat like an idiot,” says Tim Derrico, director of sales at HMY. “If you buy an upper-30- to 50-foot center-console fishing boat—especially the fishing boats, more than the cruising boats—they figure you’re going to run offshore and go fast to get where you want to go. You can get insurance, but it’s challenging.”

The difficulty with finding affordable policies has become so acute that insurers are now suggesting that some boat owners forgo windstorm coverage. The logic is that if the owner is well-off enough to pay cash for the boat, then he’s also in a position to self-insure and have a captain with a solid hurricane plan to get out of the way of storms.

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