Palm Beach GT50 Express

Palm Beach Yachts recently took the wraps off its GT50 Express, the first model in a lineup of performance-oriented sport yachts. An open model based on the same hull is scheduled to debut in 2019, and the planned range for the series will include 60- and 70-foot models.

“When I started Palm Beach almost 25 years ago, I had one overarching set of objectives: to design and build the best-performing, most efficient and most beautiful yachts on the water,” said Mark Richards, Palm Beach Motor Yachts founder and CEO. “The GT50 represents a culmination of the best of Palm Beach, and there’s really nothing out there like it today.”

Touched with a bit of Downeast DNA, the GT50 Express is curvy from stem to stern. The sleek, rounded glass that wraps around the main saloon is a reminder that she’s a Palm Beach, while generous tumblehome, an elegant sheer line and a flared bow create the illusion that she’s moving, even at the dock.

A pair of 600-hp Volvo Penta D8 diesels mated to IPS800 pod drives give the GT50 a top speed of 42 knots. According to Palm Beach, at a cruising sweet spot of 35 knots the two diesels burn a combined 40 gallons of fuel per hour.

Belowdecks, accommodations include two staterooms that share a head with an enclosed shower. The forward stateroom has an island berth, while the smaller stateroom—amidships abaft the galley—is ideal for guests or kids. The L-shaped galley is between the two staterooms, to port, and the head is across from it to starboard. Up a level is the main saloon, which has lounge-style seating, the helm and its bucket seats.

Outside, the cockpit has an integrated swim platform for dipping toes into the water, or for taking a swim.