Used Absolute Yacht Guide Hong Kong: 5 In-Stock Boats

What separates Absolute from Italian yards like Azimut and Princess? Absolute was founded in 2002 by Sergio Maggi and Marcello Bè, with its yard at Podenzano near Piacenza in Italy. It is smaller than Azimut or Princess but has expanded quickly, built around two product lines — Navetta (long-range cruising) and Coupé / Flybridge (Absolute Yachts official site, YachtBuyer brand heritage). Hong Kong's used market currently has five Absolute yachts in stock — a Navetta 58, a Navetta 52, two 2019 Navetta 48s and a 45 Fly — asking between HK$3,980,000 and HK$8,800,000. Which one suits you comes down to how much space you want, your budget, and whether you get on with IPS pod drive. Below we take each boat in stock in turn, with the points to pin down on survey.

To be clear up front: Sun Yachts is an independent brokerage for used yachts, not an official Absolute Yachts dealer or distributor. The brand background below comes from Absolute's official or authorised dealer pages (each sourced individually), and the in-stock boat data comes from Sun Yachts' own listing database — read the two separately.

Absolute Yachts was founded in 2002 by Sergio Maggi and Marcello Bè, both of whom had already designed motor yachts at Gobbi. The yard is at Podenzano near Piacenza in Italy, and the official site gives its site area as 65,000 square metres. The range splits into three lines — Coupé, Flybridge and Navetta (long-range cruising) — covering roughly 47 to 75 feet (Navetta 50–75ft, Flybridge 47–70ft, Coupé 48ft) (sources: Absolute Yachts official "The Company" page, YachtBuyer Absolute Heritage).

Against Azimut (founded 1969, one of Italy's largest yacht groups) and Princess (founded 1965, a British brand), Absolute is a relative newcomer, starting some thirty years later. But that late start has turned into a design advantage — over the past decade the range has largely been built around Volvo Penta IPS pod drive (not exclusive to Absolute, but central to its design language), with the emphasis on agile handling, fuel efficiency and low vibration. Brand recognition in Hong Kong is not especially high, which is also why a search for "Absolute yacht hong kong" today returns only official dealer pages and international marketplace listings, and not a single local comparison piece — this article is here to fill that gap.

One thing to be honest about: do not judge a boat's condition by the "made in Italy" label. Brand background tells you about design language and positioning; the actual state of a boat can only be established through the spec comparison below and a survey.

The five Absolute yachts in stock in Hong Kong split across two lines:

• Navetta (58 / 52 / 48 x 2): a long-range cruising design language, with a straighter bow profile and flatter deck space, built around seaworthiness and liveability — suited to buyers who want to stay aboard overnight and cover longer passages.
• Flybridge (45 Fly): an open helm design with wide sightlines and more social space on the upper deck. The boat in stock has relatively modest power (2 x Volvo Penta 430HP) and is the oldest of the five (2014), so it sits at the more accessible end.

Note that all five boats in stock are from 2014–2019 and belong to Absolute's previous design generation, not the new-generation Navetta the brand has launched in recent years. If you are comparing against the latest specs on the official site or YachtBuyer, expect design details and equipment to have moved on — the table below is based entirely on the specs of the boats in stock.

All figures below are checked against Sun Yachts' own listing database and are current as at the date of this article.

* On the Navetta 58's LOA: the listing records an LOA of 14.95 metres (49ft), but Absolute's factory figure for the Navetta 58 is generally around 17.7 metres — the two do not match. This article reproduces the listing figure; the actual LOA is whatever the on-site measurement and the vessel's documents show, so please verify directly with Sun Yachts before viewing.

On the two 2019 Navetta 48s: the table carries two entries for a "2019 Absolute Navetta 48", differing by $1,000,000 in price and 162 hours on the engines. They are separate listings and the data is accurate as at the time of enquiry — to establish the specific background (whether they are the same boat source, or two genuinely separate boats), ask Sun Yachts directly rather than assuming an answer from this comparison table.

To arrange a viewing of any of them, go straight to the boat page: 2017 Navetta 58, 2016 Navetta 52, 2019 Navetta 48 (A), 2019 Navetta 48 (B), 2014 45 Fly.

Buying an Absolute — or any boat with Volvo Penta IPS — there are a few things worth pinning down on survey:

IPS service intervals. Volvo Penta's official service recommendations put the IPS inspection schedule roughly as follows: a first inspection within 20–50 hours of delivery or within 180 days, whichever comes first; then every 250 hours or annually (filters, belts, water pumps, anodes); every 500 hours or two years (inspect/replace anodes, flush the seawater system); and every 1,000 hours or four years (clean the intercooler, change coolant, inspect the turbocharger) (sources: Volvo Penta official service recommendations, Volvo Penta IPS Operator's Manual). The 45 Fly in stock is already at 1,090 hours and the Navetta 58 at 9xx hours, so ask the seller for the service records at each of those milestones rather than going on the model year alone.

Gyro stabiliser. The original listings for both the Navetta 58 and the Navetta 52 mention a gyro stabiliser on board (the 52 specifically a Seakeeper). Ask for it to be run on site during the survey, and ask for the service and calibration records. It is an option, not standard across all Absolutes, so do not assume the Navetta 48 or the 45 Fly has one — confirm the actual specification boat by boat with Sun Yachts.

Generator hours. The listing database currently records main engine hours only, and does not list generator running hours separately; we are checking the generator hours for the five Absolutes in stock so that specific figures can be added here. In the meantime, ask your surveyor to check the generator as well — do not judge the boat's overall maintenance from main engine hours alone.

For berthing, maintenance and insurance on a 45–58ft Navetta or Fly, see the price-band breakdown in The Full Breakdown of Yacht Running Costs in Hong Kong — we will not repeat the figures here, and for a budget specific to the length you have in mind a WhatsApp enquiry will be more accurate. For the survey, title check and transfer process before you buy, see The Complete Guide to Buying a Second-Hand Yacht in Hong Kong.