Best 50 Foot Boat

[markajh]

The last thread I read about the best 50' boat range was about 3 years ago. A lot has changed and I'm looking at some input on 3 very different boats. These make for a very odd short list. (No I'm not off my meds!)

Princess 55 Fly
Absolute Navetta 52
New Prestige 520

Price aside, the Princess is an easy yes. That said, money does matter.

Yes - the Navetta is a bit out of place. I don't think a lot of reviews are out there because they don't advertise and get the coverage like a few well-named brands. Anyone have experience with Navatta? What sets it apart for me is the safety of the decks - inherent with trawler styles. My concern is quality - things you can't see, the hull design - those things. I agree the design is odd but the new 48 will affect change in the hard top and interior decor.

And as deals go, Prestige builds a nice boat. I've seen the 560, and am looking forward to seeing it in person.

I'm mostly looking for everyone's thoughts. In some ways I know I'm opening up Pandora's box. But I need to hear honest input not driven by a salesman.

Thanks in advance. Be gentle with me

 

[Portofino]

Where will it likely be based - U.K. or Med ?
Usage , any indication of intended use ?

A neighbor a few boats along has traded his Cranchi 48 fly to one of theses in blue , Med based SoF .
Gone down the Long range fuel efficiency trawler route , look nice designed boat .
http://www.azimutyachts.com/azimutmagellano53.html

We have an Absolute dealer @ the marina , so surrounded by them demo boats , there’s a lot of glass used ,mirrored glass ,wonder if they will date style wise ?

 

[Bouba]

The Navetta 52 is my dream boat. Its hard to imagine a bigger 50 footer, I’ve been on one at Cannes but no idea about handling etc but if you want a block of flats for your next boat she’s the one. I thought the interiors attention to detail was incredible. Previous to seeing the Navetta my ideal boat would have been a Nordhavn etc.
Its just over a million euros key in hand. So it will remain just a fantasy

 

[Portofino]

Here’s another - exemplary build - well the one @ Genoa last year was.Snag is its IPS .
How ever having said that I think they are on Vs 4 or maybe more and slowly working out the earlier issues , unfortunately the punters are the test beds .
Sales mans face after seeing my face after I enquire about the propulsion was a sight to behold .
He suggested I look @ a the outgoing used 62 , which is on shafts .
As a new with warranties prospect for a short time IPS may be doable , but as a long term keeper no thanks !

https://apreamare.it/aprea-en/index.php/portfolios/maestro-56/

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

.
Gone down the Long range fuel efficiency trawler route , look nice designed boat .
http://www.azimutyachts.com/azimutmagellano53.html

I'll second that. If the OP is seriously looking at the Navetta 52, then the Magellano 53 has to be worth a look too. I've not been on a Navetta 52 myself but I have been on the Magellano 43 and 66 and both impressed me. Excellent Bill Dixon hulls which are designed to be equally at home at displacement speeds as well as moderate planing speeds. Also Azimut seems to have upped its quality game with the Magellanos. Everything you see and feel seems very solid. No IPS either, just shafts

 

[Whitelighter]

Q a whole heap of 'the one i've got' responses

This is like asking a bloke if his girlfriend is good looking.

 

[Whitelighter]

The Navetta 52 is my dream boat. Its hard to imagine a bigger 50 footer, I’ve been on one at Cannes but no idea about handling etc but if you want a block of flats for your next boat she’s the one. I thought the interiors attention to detail was incredible. Previous to seeing the Navetta my ideal boat would have been a Nordhavn etc.
Its just over a million euros key in hand. So it will remain just a fantasy

Q: whats the best 50ft boat?

A: the 53ft one......

Brilliant

 

[MapisM]

That said, money does matter.

If so, looking at new boats just doesn't make any sense, while very decent used boats can be bought at 20% or less vs. comparably sized new boats.
Which btw is more and more unlikely as time passes, but there are still a few excellent deals around.
That's unless you (or more typically your wife! ) think that the full beam cabin alone is worth the difference, of course...
Anyway, if your question is which of those three no matter what, the answer is bound to be the P55, which is the only one with a proper propulsion.

 

[Bouba]

Q: whats the best 50ft boat?

A: the 53ft one......

Brilliant

They also make a 58

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Which Princess model are you referring. She is your preferred choice so you should start by putting her on top of the list.

If its the Princess 49 with IPS that is a model which its direct competitors will be the following;
- Absolute 50 Fly
- Fairline 48 Squadron
- Montecarlo 5
and if you want shafts the Azimut 50.

Both the Absolute and Fairline are under powered in my opinion. The IPS600 Volvo D6 5.5 liter is a small block for a 15 ton flybridge boat.
It will be painful in the Summer with hot sea bed and a fully loaded boat. Pity cause the 50 is a very nice looking boat but those engines do not cut it.
This video says a lot how painful it will get; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6nwSdSgtn4&t=1s
So with that said I would go between the Azimut 50 and Princess 49 since this last takes the Volvo D8 550hp with IPS700 pod drive, and the Azimut is properly powered with D11 670hp.

Another boat to consider if you are also considering price points is the Cranchi E 52 F Evoluzione powered with Volvo D8 550hp or 600hp engines.

 

[ROW]

Which Princess model are you referring. She is your preferred choice so you should start by putting her on top of the list.

If its the Princess 49 with IPS that is a model which its direct competitors will be the following;
- Absolute 50 Fly
- Fairline 48 Squadron
- Montecarlo 5
and if you want shafts the Azimut 50.

Both the Absolute and Fairline are under powered in my opinion. The IPS600 Volvo D6 5.5 liter is a small block for a 15 ton flybridge boat.
It will be painful in the Summer with hot sea bed and a fully loaded boat. Pity cause the 50 is a very nice looking boat but those engines do not cut it.
This video says a lot how painful it will get; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6nwSdSgtn4&t=1s
So with that said I would go between the Azimut 50 and Princess 49 since this last takes the Volvo D8 550hp with IPS700 pod drive, and the Azimut is properly powered with D11 670hp.

Another boat to consider if you are also considering price points is the Cranchi E 52 F Evoluzione powered with Volvo D8 550hp or 600hp engines.

I’ve also noticed a lot of these 435hp IPS600 boats have very limited range as well. I guess it’s to keep the top speed, with full tanks, at a reasonable level. I suspect a bit more load, fouling and hot weather will dent the performance a lot.

A comparable sized non IPS boat eg Princess 50 mk3 or V52 has 2,200 litre fuel capacity, and 1,430hp and a similar weight.

The boats mentioned are all lovely but for me, I don’t think 870hp in a 15 tonne boat is enough.

 

[petem]

How about a Fairline Sq 53?

Fairline / Bates are bringing one to the Hamble show this weekend. It's brand new and for sale so could be yours this time next week!

Pete

 

[MapisM]

This video says a lot how painful it will get; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6nwSdSgtn4&t=1s

Thanks W for the link, that's an interesting video indeed, which puts the myth of IPS efficiency in perspective.
And even more so considering that Absolute has a reputation for exploiting IPS to its best...

At first, I made a mental comparison with the numbers of my boat, designed 20+ years ago, shafts powered and larger.
But they did not pass my rough sanity check, so I had to verify them with the tables, and here's the result:
The Abs 50 is 2m shorter and 10T lighter.
BUT, she burns 130lph more at her WOT speed of 27kts, and 115 more at the suggested cruising speed of 25kts.
That means a whopping 65% more fuel required to push a smaller and lighter boat at the same speed.
Oh, and her range is about one third.

Laughable numbers I suppose, if they weren't true...

 

[petem]

Thanks W for the link, that's an interesting video indeed, which puts the myth of IPS efficiency in perspective.
And even more so considering that Absolute has a reputation for exploiting IPS to its best...

At first, I made a mental comparison with the numbers of my boat, designed 20+ years ago, shafts powered and larger.
But they did not pass my rough sanity check, so I had to verify them with the tables, and here's the result:
The Abs 50 is 2m shorter and 10T lighter.
BUT, she burns 130lph more at her WOT speed of 27kts, and 115 more at the suggested cruising speed of 25kts.
That means a whopping 65% more fuel required to push a smaller and lighter boat at the same speed.
Oh, and her range is about one third.

Laughable numbers I suppose, if they weren't true...

122 mile range, that's dismal.

 

[ROW]

Thanks W for the link, that's an interesting video indeed, which puts the myth of IPS efficiency in perspective.
And even more so considering that Absolute has a reputation for exploiting IPS to its best...

At first, I made a mental comparison with the numbers of my boat, designed 20+ years ago, shafts powered and larger.
But they did not pass my rough sanity check, so I had to verify them with the tables, and here's the result:
The Abs 50 is 2m shorter and 10T lighter.
BUT, she burns 130lph more at her WOT speed of 27kts, and 115 more at the suggested cruising speed of 25kts.
That means a whopping 65% more fuel required to push a smaller and lighter boat at the same speed.
Oh, and her range is about one third.

Laughable numbers I suppose, if they weren't true...

Does anyone know why they use so much fuel? It seems the load factor must be very high to use so much fuel which presumably won’t be great for engine longevity.

I’d really like a V48 Open but the IPS600 engines put me off.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Thanks W for the link, that's an interesting video indeed, which puts the myth of IPS efficiency in perspective.
And even more so considering that Absolute has a reputation for exploiting IPS to its best...

At first, I made a mental comparison with the numbers of my boat, designed 20+ years ago, shafts powered and larger.
But they did not pass my rough sanity check, so I had to verify them with the tables, and here's the result:
The Abs 50 is 2m shorter and 10T lighter.
BUT, she burns 130lph more at her WOT speed of 27kts, and 115 more at the suggested cruising speed of 25kts.
That means a whopping 65% more fuel required to push a smaller and lighter boat at the same speed.
Oh, and her range is about one third.

Laughable numbers I suppose, if they weren't true...

I have not worked the cruise nos, but for a 15 meter if correct they are laughable indeed.
Sometimes these reviewers do a single tank or a twin tank goes x2 again. But even my 10 meter Gobbi with 230 has a 250 nm range without reserve (200 nm with R).

I am skeptical about those nos but it can happen when a craft is under powered as I have seen it a few times before.

According to the data on the website and 5.8 liter per mile fuel consumption at 22 knots (that is very high indeed and close to that of a Ferretti 53 which weight about 27 t which if I remember well is around 6.5 per mile at about 26 knots) range is 275 nm (1600 / 5.8). So the nos on BoatTest.com are not correct. I think they did the calculation on one tank!

https://www.absoluteyachts.com/en/absolute_model/50fly/

 

[Portofino]

Those fuel numbers may be a typo for that Abs ?

27 knots for me is 160L/h down @ 1750rpm .
25 knots is even lower @. 1625 ish rpm , don,t really go that low tbh .
Bit lighter @17 tons but and it’s a big but over 2x the displacement-12.8 L with 700 Hp each .

If the Abs consumption is true then those 425 Hp 5.5 L blocks must have humongous turbos with a big thirst /appetite for diesel to keep up with the air being pumped in .
290L/h @ 3400 wow . Gives 25 k,

If I feed mine 290L/ h that’s WOT or there about not cruise so only go there after it’s annual service once a year .

It’s a bit cheeky really fitting those in such a big boat imho .

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Portofino correct nos are these;

According to the data on the website it declares 5.8 liter per mile fuel consumption at 22 knots which give a range of 275 nm no reserve (1600 / 5.8). So the nos on BoatTest.com are not correct. I think they did the calculation on one tank!

https://www.absoluteyachts.com/en/absolute_model/50fly/

115 nm only would be madness from Absolute as it would just make the crossing from Marina di Roma in Ostia to Olbia in Sardina as an example. Just to mention one of the popular routes on the West of Italy.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I’ve also noticed a lot of these 435hp IPS600 boats have very limited range as well. I guess it’s to keep the top speed, with full tanks, at a reasonable level. I suspect a bit more load, fouling and hot weather will dent the performance a lot.

Yes I've noticed that as well. Its almost as if the boat builders believe their own IPS hype and fit smaller tanks because they think the fuel consumption will definitely be better than with shafts

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

According to the data on the website and 5.8 liter per mile fuel consumption at 22 knots (that is very high indeed and close to that of a Ferretti 53 which weight about 27 t which if I remember well is around 6.5 per mile at about 26 knots) range is 275 nm (1600 / 5.8). So the nos on BoatTest.com are not correct. I think they did the calculation on one tank!

FWIW according to the figures I recorded for my F53, the engines were consuming around 6.8 LPNM at 21kts and 7.6 LPNM at 25kts which is significantly greater than the Abs52 but, as you say, the F53 is a siginificantly beamier and heavier boat. Again FWIW, my observation is that IPS works proportionately better on lighter sports cruisers than it does on flybridge boats. If there is any advantage of IPS on flybridge boats it is that the engines are pushed well aft leaving more space for accommodation forward but then designers can achieve the same advantages by using shafts with V drive gearboxes. Lets face it; the main reason boat builders fit IPS is because it reduces the overall cost of the boat. Nothing wrong with that but buyers need to be aware that they may be buying a boat which uses as much fuel as a shaftdrive boat and may have a lower range because of smaller tanks