Absolute Yachts has focused for several years on its Flybridge and Navetta ranges, but the Italian company started building sports cruisers. With its 48 Coupe, Absolute comes full circle. This yacht is based on the builder’s 47 Fly platform, offering something different.

Bare deck

Instead of a conventional transom of opaque composites and perhaps a built-in sofa or sun pad, the 48 Coupe’s aft deck comes bare. There is tinted glass, stainless-steel railing aft for safety, and just one transom gate to starboard. All 102 square feet of “cockpit terrace” are open to owner interpretation, and Absolute offers a range of modular deck furniture. (Teak decking is one of the more extensive options.)

Like the rest of this Absolute range, this latest model is more stocky than sporty—and that’s a good thing. Long, low, and pointy are okay for speed but not always for comfort. Absolute’s team believes today’s tastes have moved on to comfortable cruising and quality time aboard.

Solar powered

Note that this model has no sunroof option, principally because Absolute has started to embrace solar technology. The coach roof can carry up to 2.5 kilowatts’ worth of solar cells, part of which is inset into a thermally reflective glass panel that delivers light, but not heat, to the salon below. Half that kilowatt capacity comes standard. The other half is optional.

With the complete solar set, there should be enough power on a sunny day to run all the usual daytime utilities, save for the air-conditioning system, which needs either the main engines or the generator. Then again, there is plenty of fresh air when all the doors are open, and the picture windows on each side are lowered halfway down.

Absolute is keeping the 48 Coupe as simple as possible

The contemporary interior layout and most of the decor are fixed. There’s a choice of aft-deck doors; the 48 Coupe I got aboard had the optional triple-section set that opens extra-wide. The main salon has an aft galley on the same level as the aft deck. Up a step are a lounge and booth-dining area amidships. The single helm seat and bridge are forward. The salon’s sole is a stained oak that’s optional in the staterooms. The galley has 7 feet of headroom and at least 6 feet, 3 inches up by the prime seats.

Accommodations on the lower deck are three staterooms. There is a forepeak master, a location that makes for quiet should owners want to moor stern-to at the marina. The space beneath the foredeck is pretty good because the bow sections are fairly full. The berth is set on a diagonal.

There’s a closet to port, and the en suite shower is to starboard. Absolute uses sliding, or “pocket,” doors to conserve space. Completeness is relative to a cupboard and a closet inboard that runs across the rest of the beam to the starboard. A twin-berth stateroom is forward of that closet to starboard. Both guest staterooms share the portside shower, which doubles as a day head.

The salon sole is stained oak. Note the 2.5 kilowatts’ worth of solar panels in the sunroof. 

All of Absolute’s models have Volvo Penta IPS diesels.

The 48 Coupe has twin 480 hp D6 diesel and IPS650 pod drives. Expect about a 28-knot top-end speed at 3,800 rpm, depending on load. This model will be most efficient, skipping along at around 25 knots and 3,500 rpm, at which the fuel burn is about 1.6 gallons per mile. Given the fuel capacity of 423 gallons, that’s 10 hours’ worth of cruising time.

At 20 knots, the motors will burn around 34 gallons per hour, providing a theoretical range of about 224 nautical miles with a 10 per cent reserve. At 10 knots, the range would push out by another 40 nm or so, and at 8 knots, owners could conceivably run for around 500 nm.

Ergonomics at the helm are suitable whether the skipper is seated or perched on the bolster. Unusual for a size boat, there’s full-standing headroom at the wheel and a side-deck door. Thanks to all that glass—and the absence of a tall fridge/freezer in the galley—the views from the wheel are virtually 360 degrees.

I ran Hull No. 1 off Varazze, Italy, 20 miles west of Genoa. It’s a confidence-inspiring, stable yacht to pilot. Disengage the coordinated turn function in Volvo Penta’s Active Ride Control system to turn more sharply. Doing so will automatically limit any leaning through turns.

Absolute’s return to its roots with the 48 Coupe seems successful

The 48 Coupe offers the comfort and luxury of the Flybridge and Navetta lines but with a look and feel that sports cruiser enthusiasts can embrace.

The hydraulic swim platform’s capacity is 500 pounds, enough to accommodate a Williams MiniJet 280.