Palm Beach 52 Yacht Review

With a nearly seamless joinery, each cabinet and drawer closes softly but not without a reassuring clunk with just enough sound to let you know your task is complete. Founded in Palm Beach by CEO Mark Richards and his team of engineers, the Palm Beach 52 displays the art of reconciling an occasional boxy-looking Downeast line combined with a modern sleekness.

Construction

The Palm Beach 52 is 57 feet LOA (length overall) with an exquisite interior, her joints are also seamless. Mark Richards is known for his attention to detail which is evident each of his masterpieces. Legend has it when workers are hired to build boats at Palm Beach’s factory, first they are given a vacuum to keep their space clean, and then handed an ID card to get in the building. Every worker is held responsible for making sure each tool is put back in its place at the end of the business day. Whomever was the last to use a particular tool, would need to explain if that tool was not returned to its proper storage area.

Accommodations

She has a cockpit that is larger than usual and is bigger than all other parts combined. Amidship, the Palm Beach 52 could house a forepeak master and a stateroom that can accommodate two berths. The forepeak is smaller and thus used as a guest space. Below deck, the Palm Beach boasts of space that can take another 2 staterooms that could be used as the owner sees fit. The front is made of teak planks, stretching out to the bow. The bow is enclosed by rails, keeping all safe.

Performance

On a ride deep into the Atlantic, a 3 feet game chop slapping at her Corecell-cored hull structure, she did not levitate or make a disenchanting noise. Effortlessly she pushed further with grace through the heavy blinding fog and sea current. She has a strake-less flat bottom that wages her safely through rough waters.

The dense fog covering Charleston harbour, blinding one’s vision of what is ahead, behind, left or right is less than idle for a smooth sail, but the 52’s supremacy sails through all these and the ghost superstitions, the wild imaginations that come and go with vessels sailing by after long silence.

LOA: 57′
BEAM: 17’2″
DRAFT: 2’10″
DISPL.: 37,000 lb.
FUEL: 630 gal.
WATER: 180 gal.
TEST POWER: 2/600-hp
TRANSMISSION: Twin disc 2.04:1
PROPELLERS: 30″ Teignbridge cfoil 5-blades