The design of the Absolute Yachts 60 Fly points the way ahead for the Italian builder. Key to the new look is the chopped stern and “cockpit terrace,” which dispenses with the usual molded transom in favor of an essentially blank-canvas, 160-square-foot aft deck. It has nothing more than a stainless-steel guardrail and glazed balustrade to separate it from the swim platform. Gone is any built-in furniture; instead, owners can choose modular furniture or anything else.
The result is serious, customizable outdoor space. The same is true on the flybridge, which hangs over most of the side decks and virtually the whole aft deck. The flybridge measures around 300 square feet with booth seating, a wet bar, and a helm console with one or two seats. There’s more open space aft for owner preferences. The forward half of the flybridge is protected by the hardtop, and most of the remainder has an electrically retractable sunshade.
And there’s an additional 140 square feet of space on the foredeck with another sun pad, bench sofa and table.
When it’s time to retreat from the outdoors, the salon has the galley aft and to port, with various lounge and dining options to starboard and amidships. Headroom throughout the salon and on the aft deck is just over 6 feet, 6 inches. There’s access to fresh air via a drop-down window to port and the side-deck door adjacent to the helm, which is a twin-seat affair to starboard. The principal veneers throughout this model are stained Alaska oak—some matte, some high-gloss.
One of the 60 Fly’s defining features is the master stateroom forward. Its door is off a dogleg staircase that takes people forward and then aft from beneath the windshield. Hullside windows are the giveaway from the exterior to the owner’s stateroom location. Inside, they open up the space dramatically with light and views. There’s a forward-facing centerline queen berth, a vanity/desk and a walk-in closet. The en suite shower is tucked into the forepeak and also has sea views.
For guests, there’s an en suite stateroom amidships with a transverse double berth to starboard, and a twin-berth stateroom to port with use of a separate shower room that serves as the day head. All the guest berths have 6.5-foot-long mattresses (crew berths are slightly shorter). The double-berth stateroom also conceals a surprise: A door in the back of the closet leads to a long, low technical space that extends from atop the keel amidships all the way forward to the thruster tunnel. Alongside, there’s space for stores.
A crew cabin for two with a head/shower is tucked inside the transom. The entrance is via a pantograph door in the transom and a companion hatch in the deck. This cabin could handle extra guests too. Kids of a certain age will love it.
Power is twin Volvo Penta D11-725 IPS950 diesels. The 60 Fly I got aboard was lightly loaded with four people, 30 percent fuel and an empty water tank. Flat-out, the yacht managed just over 29 knots downwind and a little above 28 knots on the reciprocal heading. The Volvo Penta Interceptor system and the NG9 Seakeeper were active throughout the sea trial. At a typical fast cruise of around 22 knots at 2,250 rpm, the fuel burn was around 56 gallons per hour, which meant a range of 280 nautical miles or so was possible. For those who are happy to bumble along at 8 knots, the fuel burn fell away to 8 gph, which extended range to about 900 nm.
Helm ergonomics are good, and there’s a nearly 360-degree view from the helm, save for the galley area and a bit of a stoop for those of us north of 6 feet tall when the yacht is bow-up and on-plane. The 60 Fly handles well and is satisfyingly quick in the turns. This boat had Volvo Penta’s joystick and autopilot system too, but it didn’t have the Dock Assist option, which, from experience, I thoroughly recommend getting. One 12-inch Garmin multifunction display comes standard, but two 17-inch units are an option. There’s room for a 12- or 16-inch multifunction display up top.
The base price for the 60 Fly is $2.1 million. With a strong set of options, as seen on this 60 Fly, expect to sail away for around $3 million. The big-ticket extras include the hardtop, the 882-pound hydraulic platform, the Seakeeper NG9 gyrostabilizer and teak decking.
At the time of my October run off Varazze, Italy, the first three 60 Fly hulls were close to their final destinations. Our ride was destined for an owner in Croatia, the second was bound for Florida, and the third was heading to Hong Kong.
In other words, the Absolute 60 Fly has global appeal.
Hitting Stride
Flybridge motoryachts around 60 feet are popular, and Absolute has two other Fly models that size already: the 58 Fly and 62 Fly, each with a conventional amidships master stateroom. For now, at least, the 60 Fly will join them instead of replacing them.
Surprising Texture
The walls are done in interesting cloth-effect panels made from wood with printed-fabric patterns and a high-gloss lacquer. Those panels are real touch points, and I still can’t quite believe they’re not actually a fabric.
Quietude Throughout
At full speed, I recorded 85 to 86 decibels at the helm (about the same as a gas-powered lawnmower) and 82 decibels at a fast cruise. At 8 knots, the level was 74 decibels, and at 5 knots, it was 71 decibels (about the volume of normal conversation). In the staterooms, the numbers were much the same. Noise in the master was mostly related to water running over the hull. At 10 knots, the owner’s stateroom registered 76 to 80 decibels.
Solar-Power Assist
Instead of a sunroof in the hardtop, Absolute is now championing the installation of solar panels up top. Given the appropriate weather, the panels can deliver 1.5 kW of peak power, which will run all the usual hotel systems during the day, save for the AC. That means this yacht can be truly silent at anchor, with no need to run the generator.
Take the next step: absoluteyachts.com
