SUNSEEKER MANHATTAN 52 TEST
The yard’s first new entry-level flybridge in over a decade is already making waves in the market with its clever design features. But how does it perform out on the water?
The new Manhattan 52 is one of the most eagerly anticipated boats of the year and we joined it on passage from the factory in Poole to the Southampton Boat Show
The phone rings on a Friday evening. On the other end is Sunseeker’s marketing manager. “The Manhattan 52 is leaving Poole at 9am on Monday bound for Southampton so it can be lifted on to the boat show stand,” he says. “Do you want to join it?” Without hesitation, I say yes, not considering logistics or whether there will be a photographer available. We have been pestering Sunseeker to let us on board for weeks and if this is the only opportunity, we’ll have to grab it with both hands.
We’re not usually in the business of rushing a test out as the boat cruises from factory to show stand, but in the case of the Manhattan 52, we were willing to make an exception. This is the smallest Sunseeker flybridge for over a decade and if the sales patter is to be believed, they’re already flying off the shelves as fast as they can build them. It also arrives at a time when competition from rival yards could not be stronger. Sealine is back in the market with the clever, spacious F530, Princess has two 50-footers that mount a challenge and come January, there will be an all-new Fairline Squadron 53 to chuck into the mix. On top of that lot, Absolute and Cranchi have new 50ft flybridges on offer and Ferretti, Azimut and Prestige aren’t exactly lacking quality product either. If you are after a new 50ft flybridge then rarely has there been such glut of choice.
Nine in the morning and I’m standing at Sunseeker’s West Quay Road yard watching the 52 back out of the shed in slings. It has no exterior upholstery and the radar tower is lashed to the flybridge table but there it is, in the flesh, the most important new Sunseeker for quite some time. It looks huge out of the water, tall and intimidating with an almost unfathomable amount of glass in the superstructure. There are shades of Absolute in the design of the saloon windows with only two small licks of glassfibre interrupting the giant panels of glazing. Below, a twisted ribbon of glass peels across the hull linking the master cabin amidships and VIP forward. It looks great and makes the boat instantly recognisable as the Manhattan 52 in profile.
The boat is dropped into the water and staff busily set about peeling off protective film, adding upholstery and securing the radar mast; talk about box fresh. As the finished product comes together, details become clearer, like the teak table in situ on the foredeck, the flip-up panel on the transom that suspends a proper showerhead over the bathing platform, and two flip-down panels adjacent that reveal a BBQ grill and double bench. It’s described as a beach club, which may be overdoing it a bit, but it’s a lot more than most rivals offer, and the proper shower does make a nice change from holding a kinked hose over your head.
In the cockpit there are two fixed stools that can either face the table or swivel to meet the bar, formed from the aft end of the galley counter, and a window that glides down into a recess under the bar. Substantial is a good word to describe the 52 – it’s a chunky thing, solid and imposing on the water.
POWER PLAY
We’re ready. The ensign is fluttering, engines firing and it’s time to navigate Poole’s pair of lifting bridges and head for the show. The 52 is available with IPS950 but this one has a pair of 725hp Volvo Penta D11s on shafts with V-drive gearboxes. A 50ft flybridge with this set-up is an increasingly rare commodity these days, and it feels nostalgic to be at the helm of a Sunseeker like this with the exhausts chattering away on the waterline and meaty kicks in and out of gear punctuating slow-speed manoeuvres. It feels good, though; it feels right.
We break free of Poole Harbour and set a heading for the North Head buoy on calm seas beneath leaden skies. I bury the throttles and it’s not long before we are up to a 32-knot top speed. Progress is smooth and easy, the steering light and agile and it’s notably quiet. The chunky, tactile steering wheel feels good in your hands and urges you to engage with the boat. It reacts well, leaning eagerly into the turn but never once relinquishing its tenacious grip on the water. It feels secure and dependable, like a well-sorted shaftdrive boat should.
Given that IPS950 uses the same 725hp engines, I would expect a slight increase in top-end speed from the slippery pods. The reduced drag should also improve its fuel efficiency. There is a joystick control option for both versions, although the vectoring pods of the IPS boat are likely to give better control than the linked thrusters and gearboxes of the shaftdrive variant.
Sunseeker has also elected to use its own joystick system to control the trim blades. It’s a neat idea but without an indicator to show what each blade is doing, I didn’t find it as intuitive to use as traditional buttons.
From the lower helm, you sit high in one of two snug seats, which makes for a superb view forward but the view aft is partially obscured by a pretty major blind spot and the relative height of the helm compared to the cockpit.
The dash is simple and tidy, though there is only space for 8in screens, which look and feel small on a boat of this size.
The driving position at the upper helm is great. There are two low-slung bucket seats that
The cockpit and galley combine to form a single, seamless entertaining space that helps make the Manhattan feel even larger than it really is
can be drawn close to the helm to bring the wheel and throttles within easy reach. The helm is set quite far back from the windscreen to allow space for a sunpad ahead of it which can make it quite breezy, but they’ve thought of a solution by fitting a pull-up wind deflector.
It’s a lot of fun from up here though, the extra bit of elevation, low driving position and positive steering making for a bigger grin factor than the quiet, refined lower-helm position. Just as it looks tall from the outside, it feels tall from up on the flybridge, the lean exaggerated by the height at which you sit. There’s good reason for these proportions though, and that’s to house its spacious interior.
ALL ABOUT THE SPACE
There’s a reason the Manhattan feels big and that’s because it is. Forget the 52 nomenclature, this boat measures 56ft 5in from stem to stern and a whisker under 16ft across the beam. That’s longer than a Princess 52 (54ft 8in) and wider than a Princess 56 (15ft 7in), so any comparisons with the all-new Princess 49 have to take this significant advantage into account.
It feels that way too from the moment you step on board, not just in terms of the physical dimensions but also the big-boat features that come with it. Hydraulic bathing platforms are nothing new at this size, but the mini superyacht-style beach club transforms this area into a waterlevel socialising space with its own aft-facing bench, fold-down wet-bar and flip-up shower. It also provides access to a very comfortable crew cabin with plenty of natural light, a good-sized bed, a washing machine and a separate toilet and shower compartment.
Two tall steps lead up to the cockpit and a conventional U-shaped dinette with a chunky teak table and leaves that fold out to cater for six diners with ease. However, it’s the way the cockpit and galley combine to form a single, seamless entertaining space that helps make the Manhattan feel even larger than it really is. Instead of a simple Ferretti-style flip-up window at the aft end of the galley, Sunseeker has gone for an electric drop-down one that disappears under a hinged countertop. This then folds out to create a small bar counter where guests can rest their drinks and shoot the breeze with whoever’s in the galley while perched on the two adjacent cockpit stools.
Helping to blur the lines between inside and outside spaces are a pair of glass cockpit doors that slide and then fold to one side, leaving an uninterrupted aperture all on one level. Fiddled galley drawers with customised slots for every cup, glass and plate add to the impression of a well-thought-out craft.
Further forward, the saloon’s large windows allow light to flood in from every angle as well as providing panoramic views out from the raised dining area. With comfortable seating on both sides (thanks to folding helm seats that free up additional space behind them) and the vast pop-up television to starboard, it makes for a bright, spacious and sociable place to hang out during the day. Elegant LED strip lights in the headlining and spotlights casting pools of light down both sides ensure it’s equally cosy at night.
Of course if the sun’s shining, chances are you’ll be spending most of your time up on the flybridge or chilling out on the foredeck lounge rather than tucked away inside, however nice the saloon may be. Draughty driving position aside, the flybridge is as good as it gets at this size with wide, shallow steps for easy access up and down, acres of seating and sunlounging space, a big table and a really sociable layout with plenty of forward-facing seats in close proximity to the helm. The foredeck lounge moves the game on even further with full-height seats, proper backrests and yet another solid teak table, making it the perfect private spot for a candle-lit dinner à deux.
COMFORT AND JOY
When the time comes to retire for the night, you’d expect to find a proper full-beam owner’s suite waiting for you below decks. What you wouldn’t bank on is one as roomy as this. It’s not just the fact that even tall people can walk around the bed without having to bend or duck an inch, it’s the complete absence of intrusions in both the floor and deckhead that put it in a different league to most of its rivals. It also means uninterrupted views out through the big hull windows and enough room for a proper breakfast dinette on one side and a full run of drawers and lockers down the other.
The VIP cabin forward fares almost as well, with excellent headroom and ensuite access to the exceptionally large bathroom it shares with the guest cabin opposite. The one thing it lacks is the option of scissor-action berths due to the deck moulding which forms part of the fixed double berth. The third cabin is a proper twin with a pair of slender single berths rather than the usual cramped bunks.
VERDICT
It’s not only the scale of everything that makes its mark, it’s the feeling that Sunseeker really understands what people want from a boat this size. In the past, it sometimes felt as if its interior designers went overboard in their efforts to impress, resulting in a rather fussy, flashy interior. This boat feels a bit simpler, calmer and in my opinion, all the better for it. The money has been spent on the things that really matter like good-quality lighting, fabrics
It’s not only the scale of everything that makes its mark, it’s the feeling that Sunseeker really understands what people want from a boat this size