With the Open it looks as though Palm Beach has achieved the impossible and made the GT50 even more gorgeous
The hardtop Express version is a handsome machine but the Open, with its exposed cockpit and faultlessly clean profile is a thing of rare beauty. You can practically count the number of true open sportscruisers of this size on one hand.
Admittedly, it’s a pretty niche market that will want a boat of this size without even a T-top, but clipping along at 40 knots, courtesy of the twin 600hp Volvo Penta diesels, with nothing to cocoon you from the wind and water will be quite something.
The main galley is below decks with a wet bar in the cockpit
The layout doesn’t stray all that far from the Express but the varnished timber and marshmallow-soft leather of the enclosed wheelhouse is gone and been replaced by an altogether more hardy and contemporary looking cockpit. With four forward facing helm seats as well as a dinette and two L-shaped transom benches, there is seating aplenty as well as a wet bar to serve them all.
Though the main deck is clearly the Open’s USP there is still decent accommodation below decks with a pair of double cabins sharing a bathroom and a galley.
Palm Beach’s dedication to performance is clear from the position of the centralised engineroom where long jackshafts lead back to the IPS pods to ensure optimum weight distribution. It may have show pony looks but there is a thoroughbred underneath.
Specification
LOA: 55ft 2in (16.8m)
Beam: 14ft 8in (4.48m)
Engines: Volvo Penta IPS800
Top speed: 40 knots
Price from: $1.6m ex VAT
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