Boat test for the 2006 Cabo Yachts 52 Express with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2006 Cabo Yachts 52 Express.

I’m going to take her from the tower, okay?” I enthusiastically inquired with Cabo Yachts’ international sales manager Steve Boerma. I’m a certified tuna-tower nut, although I don’t entirely know why. Perhaps it’s because I grew up with one on my dad’s boat, run my own boat from her tower, or just enjoy the solitude up top. Maybe it’s all of the above. I do know that when I saw the optional Pipewelders tower onboard Cabo’s 52 Express shining in the midmorning South Florida sun, I had to check it out.

I worked my way up to the tower’s helm, selected the station, and opposed the single-lever MAN electronic controls just to the right of the wheel (the bridge-deck helm is set up in Palm Beach fashion) to spin and line up the 52 on a down-sea heading. There was a steady 15- to 18-knot breeze, and I was curious what effect the short-spaced three-footers might have on her. I knew if there was going to be motion during the wring out, I’d feel it up here.

I put the throttles fully forward as the 52’s optional twin 1,550-hp MAN diesels (1,360-hp MANs are standard) quickly spun up to 2340 rpm and my test boat edged toward her average top hop of 47 mph. Yep, that’s 55,950 pounds of boat skating across the Atlantic at the equivalent of 40.5 knots. I put the wheel hard over at WOT, and her power-assist steering easily helped carve a boat-length-and-a-half turn with only about a 200-rpm drop. Even while I was on the tower, she was steadfastly stable. Of course, this speed has a cost: 166 gph. However, when I dialed the MANs back to their 2000-rpm cruise, the 52 sped along at 40.5 mph (35 knots) at just 114 gph, and she tracked straight on all points, with only occasional and minimal correction needed from the wheel. I concluded that this boat is destined to become a Bimini-start leader and first with lines in the water at a tournament near you.

To tower or not to tower? That's the only question the Cabo 52 Express leaves for you to answer.

Her speed comes from a combination of that big power turning big wheels—34x53 five-blade Veems, to be exact—and a Michael Peters modified-V hull. Peters is notable for designing boats that can go really fast (try 175 mph), but he’s also drawn lines for a 38-knot, 78-foot Garlington convertible and a 54-knot, 38-foot Sterling center console. He’s additionally responsible for the Cabo 40 Express, which initiated a shift in look and lines for the builder and which, like the 52, features a fine entry and exaggerated flare to keep spray to a minimum.

Also contributing to her impressive speed is a hull that is completely cored, a first for Cabo Yachts. Boerma told me that to construct the boat in solid glass would have meant too much weight, and that impressive top end might not be achievable. So the fiberglass hull is vacuum-bagged with Corecell, which adds stiffness and strength without adding excessive weight. If the lighter-weight cored hull (that is, if 27-plus tons can be considered light) was going to pound, it would’ve during my test day’s conditions. It didn’t. In fact, running straight into the breeze, she could’ve been drier, especially considering that I was running the 52 at 40 mph into a 17-mph breeze for a true wind speed of 57 mph. (We should have put up the optional isinglass around the bridge deck.)

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