The first thing I noticed about the 50 was her lines. For such a low-profile and athletic-looking boat, there’s also something undeniably tank-y about this vessel. She’s angular, with a squared-off and recessed windshield, and a sharp—nearly right angle—drop off from her shearline down to the swim platform. But those angles are leavened by a curved superstructure that swoops back to cover the forward part of the cockpit, as well as curved gunwales on her aft section that flex downward like a parenthesis that’s been blown over by the wind. To my eye, the overall effect is reminiscent of a GMC Hummer EV convertible. The 50 GLS looks like she could run through a brick wall just as easily as she could outrun a wahoo.
The engines certainly help with that impression. The 50 in Fort Lauderdale had massive triple 600-hp Mercury Verados hanging off the transom. The cowlings alone on these things are worth the price of admission. The big power plants simply look like heavyweight fighters making an entrance to the ring. With the standard trips, Cruisers reports a blistering top end of 56 mph, which begins to nudge into go-fast territory. The builder has not reported a cruise speed as of test time but somewhere within the 40-mph range seems about right. At those speeds, the hop from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini would be about an hour and a half. So if you often find yourself with a hankering for conch ceviche for lunch but don’t have time to spend an overnight in the Bahamas, this yacht might be a good option for you.
The 50’s hull was designed by longtime Cruisers collaborator Donald L. Blount, known for building hulls that can move quickly and efficiently through rough water. Blount has worked with Buddy Davis, Rybovich, and the U.S. government. He also has loads of experience with very big boats that go very fast, like the 74-mph, 164-foot Devonport Alamshar, as well as the 222-foot Destriero which set a transatlantic crossing record in 1992 averaging 52.6 mph along the way. Suffice to say, a boat built like a sporty Humvee (the 50 GLS displaces 38,000 pounds dry) is right in his wheelhouse.