From mainstream productions boats to semi-custom cruisers, picking the best flybridge motor yachts we've tested in recent years can be a difficult job
At Motor Boat & Yachting we test a lot of boats each year and one of the most popular model types that we test are Flybridges. But with so many to choose from how do you choose the best flybridge motor yacht?
It’s not a simple question to answer as there are many factors to consider when selecting. The word ‘Flybridge’ is a fairly broad term meaning any type of motor boat with an open upper deck. Generally they measure upwards of 30ft long and are particularly popular in warmer climates, such as the Mediterranean.
With so many models targeting this market the best flybridge for you may well be a small family cruiser or large luxury yacht. Every boat listed here has been tested by our team of motor boat testers.
Best Flybridge motor yachts 2025
Princess F58
Princess is so good at this size and style of boat that it would be churlish to gripe about the slightly half-hearted attempt at a beach club, not least because we suspect most Princess owners would baulk at the idea of any gizmos or gadgets that might compromise its primary role as a supremely capable, comfortable, reliable cruiser.
In that regard the new Princess F58 hits its target with unerring accuracy. It looks remarkably elegant for a sub-60ft flybridge cruiser, it feels bigger than its dimensions suggest, it performs admirably and the build quality is every bit as refined and detailed as you’d expect.
In short it achieves its goal of feeling like a considerably more modern, luxurious and sophisticated boat than its predecessor. We’d need to sea trial it back to back with its closest rivals to decide whether it’s the new class leader but it’s certainly right up there.
Length: 18.2m
Top speed: 33.5 knots
Price (when tested): £1.9m
Sleeps: 6
Silent 62 Open
The Silent 62 Open is a prettier boat than the closed variant and, if you tend to favour warm-weather cruising regions, it’s a more practical one too. Between the side deck alcoves, the aft cockpit, the bow lounge and the subtly zoned sections of the upper deck, there must be eight or nine places to pick from for a quiet drink – and that’s before you even investigate the sheltered day spaces of the internal saloon.
Clearly then, with more than 2,500ft2 of usable deck space allied to a level of quality that says very positive things about its Italian production facility, this boat fully validates its “compact superyacht” claims.
Given Silent’s CV, not to mention its trans-oceanic passage with the original 64, its ocean-crossing claims are also entirely credible. But while for many people, the idea of a kite sail, bladder tanks and low-speed energy management might make that element of the package one of principle rather than reality, that in no way detracts from what this boat represents.
Because while a great many electric solutions continue to feel like test platforms for early adopters, who have to adapt their lifestyle to suit the boat, the Silent 62 is a very real and practical solution for everyday boaters right now. It enables you to enjoy a mixed diet of day boating and cruising adventure, free from the need for shoreside support and safe in the knowledge that, should you want to operate in silence for extended trips, without recourse to your generator, then that is eminently achievable.
Length: 17.27m
Top speed: 25 knots
Price (when tested): £1,158,692
Sleeps: 8
Prestige F5.7
As a boat with a courageously clever and practical design, the F4.9 remains a very charming, as well as a very convincing, piece of work. But in spite of costing just 20% more, the F5.7 is better in some really critical ways.
It has a larger, more user-friendly flybridge and saloon; it has an uprated VIP double with its own bathroom and walk-in cupboard; and it has a sunken six-man bow lounge that enables you to find some privacy, improve your views and separate yourself from the main party.
As on the smaller F4.9, some people will continue to baulk at the idea of an owner’s cabin in the bow, but the ability of the F5.7 to let Prestige’s “next generation” design ideas flourish makes this, by some margin, the strongest F Line model yet and a serious threat in what is, arguably, the most talented sector in the market
Length: 17.27m
Top speed: 25 knots
Price (when tested): £1,158,692
Sleeps: 8
Hardy 50DS
This is not your typical 50ft motor cruiser. It doesn’t have quite the seamless ergonomics or the pace of a Targa or a Sargo. With a modestly sized flybridge and relatively sparse ‘trick-free’ foredeck and cockpit, it also lacks some of the space, flexibility and features you get from a modern production flybridge cruiser.
But in a market that places ever greater emphasis on adventure boat credentials, the 50DS delivers the goods to an extraordinary degree without explicitly signposting it. There’s no fuss or fanfare; just smooth, safe, comfortable progress on a boat that’s styled like a patrol craft, built like a bunker and engineered to boss a seascape like little else out there.
For our money, that sees it flex more towards the heritage of Hardy than the custom elegance of Cockwells but if you are looking for a serious passage maker with a premium quality interior the new 50DS will feel like a stupendous success.
Length: 15.80m
Top speed: 27.5
Price (when tested): £1,700,000
Sleeps: 5
Nimbus 495
If the idea was to deliver simple sportsbridge flexibility rather than flybridge volume, alongside a faithful coupé-style aesthetic, all wrapped up in a package that echoes Nimbus’s heritage while differentiating itself from the rest of the market, then it’s worked.
If you own a Nimbus and are keen to upsize without abandoning the brand, this is the solution; and if you enjoy Nimbus coupés but fancy the extra flexibility of a flybridge, this will hit the mark.
There are some provisos of course. The flybridge is small, the styling is understated and it doesn’t come with the option of a crew cabin.
But if none of that fazes you, then this ultra-refined Nordic interpretation of the 50ft flybridge cruiser is likely to raise a very big smile.
Length: 15m
Top speed: 28.6
Price (when tested): £1,019,449
Sleeps: 6
Targa 41
If you don’t buy into what Targas are all about, it’s perfectly possible (likely even) that the new 41 will miss the mark. After all, its elevation lends it quite a lofty profile – and excellent though it is in almost every practical regard, the style remains a bit predictable.
Like most Targas, it has the look of a boat your Dad might own and while the new hull and superstructure windows certainly help with the overall aesthetic, it lacks the fresh and playful dynamism of a boat like the Sargo Explorer. But in all honesty, what did you expect?
This might be the latest model but its attempts at reinvention were always likely to be tempered by its respect for heritage – and given how iconic the Targa brand has become, that’s just as it should be. So whatever you think of the small flybridge, the elevated profile or the classical looks, the truth here is simple.
This extraordinary combination of day boat, cruise boat and sea boat is, without doubt, the most perfectly resolved Targa we’ve ever tested.
Length: 13.82m
Top speed: 38.3
Price (when tested): £658,310
Sleeps: 5
Absolute 52 Fly
The 50ft flybridge segment is an extremely competitive place. Galeon has been a major player at this length for many years and Prestige’s devilishly clever F4 has made things no easier – but this Absolute 52 is a boat without any significant flaw.
It offers three outstandingly strong day boating zones, its internal spaces are as well finished as they are thoughtfully designed and wherever you are on the boat, there’s a sense of open space, natural light and unobstructed views.
The cruising potential is also very strong, and not just in terms of the overnighting facilities and storage options, but also in terms of the engineering spaces and the easy, novice-friendly refinement of the drive. And on top of all that, this lovely looking cruiser is now available to those in the UK.
We expect that some people will continue to baulk at the idea of an owner’s cabin in the bow but if that’s not a problem for you, the Absolute 52 represents a truly formidable package.
Length: 16.76m
Top speed: 3o knots
Price (when tested): £1,128,213
Sleeps: 7
