Looking at a ST52

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are going to look at an ST52 this week. Is there anyone here that has experience with this model and is there anything specific to the 52 that I should be on the look out for? The boat of course lwill be in the water until (and if) we choose to make an offer and eventually have her pulled out of the water for survey.

I appreciate any feedback.

There is (was) one in Sidney BC that looked nearly new. Very low hours on Cummins 8.3s. Great engines. If possible, I'd suggest be careful with the 575 Volvos.

sunchaser said:

There is (was) one in Sidney BC that looked nearly new. Very low hours on Cummins 8.3s. Great engines. If possible, I'd suggest be careful with the 575 Volvos.

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Sunchaser thanks for your feedback. The 52 we’re looking at does have Volvo 575s, listed at 1340 hours each. Is there something specific with these engines or are they just generally problematic?

BIue said:

Sunchaser thanks for your feedback. The 52 we’re looking at does have Volvo 575s, listed at 1340 hours each. Is there something specific with these engines are they just generally problematic?

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Suggest you go to boatdiesel.com and look them (D9s?) up in archives. It is essential that owners do recommended maintenance by the book on these high HP/liter engines.

For sure correct propping to allow rated plus 50-100 RPM should already be in place. This is a heavy planing high RPM vessel and I'd guess has been run at high loads. That is OK, but props must be set up right.

An expensive and necessary servicing is removing, cleaning and testing the after coolers. If not done about every 3-5 years again be careful. Nice boat from what little I know of them. Good luck and keep us posted.

I was thinking about a 52 or 50. I really like having a straight shaft inboard versus pods but seems the newer generation of pods aren't too worrisome. I feel like the engine they put into the 50 is underpowered. They went from 600hp to 435hp. I wish it cruised a few knots faster and had a bit better fuel burn.

Hello BIue,


The mrs and me do own a st 52. It is based in Croatia, Split. We bought the boat from the first owner, an Italian. He used it for five years and then put it for two years in a hangar to sell it. The guy treated it as his baby. We have seen several ST 52 and read some Surveyor reports, so we had a pretty good idea of what we were buying. We are very satisfied with it. It meets all our expectations and more. We had some issues with the Raymarine depth meter/ fishfinder , but we got a new one for a very reasonable price. The boat handles very well. We have three steering stations and a wireless docking system.
It is really a boat for couples. Coming from a 1992 President 358 Sundeck the space is overwhelming. We spend a lot of time on the flybridge. The dinghy is situated on the swim platform, which implies that you have lots of space on the upperdeck.
We have the Volvo 575 engines and they work great. We once had an issue with the starboard electric starter but that was all.
It is a very stabile boat.
We are going to put some solar panels on the steering house roof but that is merely for convenience than that you really need them. The generator and batteries are more than sufficient. If you have any specific questions do not hesitate to ask
We had a major repair on the passarella. An oil leak due to a collision that the previous owner did not mention. They renewed the main cilinder and now it doesnot leak any more.

A few pictures

Very nice!

We changed the Italian flag to the Dutch one. That was really the hardest part of the buy. Italy is renowned for its bureaucracy.

I am looking for a ST52 in the USA or abroad. Any current owners whose brains I can pick please let me know. My primary concern is around converting the electrical so it works in the USA. Also interested if anyone might want to sell. Thank you!

Ours is no 52, but we'd buy an ST again.

Every Good Wish!

still hoping to find a st52 owner who has a european spec st52 whose brain i can please pick. thank you.

Anyone have a ST52 with Cummins QSC 8.3 600hp. Curious how it stacks up against the Volvo in terms of reliability, cruise speed, fuel consumption. Thanks!

boater3 said:

Anyone have a ST52 with Cummins QSC 8.3 600hp. Curious how it stacks up against the Volvo in terms of reliability, cruise speed, fuel consumption. Thanks!

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Not familiar with the boats but as far as engines go, absolutely go with the Cummins. I had one boat with Volvos and will never have another. Parts are difficult to get and are very pricey. A friend was crewing for a delivery captain and trying to move a 50’ with twin Volvos from Maine to Florida. They flew to Maine, one of the engines had a fault code. Three weeks for a technician to be flown in. Fixed so they fly back in. This time they got to NY another fault. Three more weeks for technician. Flew back to boat and got as far as Annapolis. Fault code. You would think that they would be able to get service quickly in Annapolis, three weeks. Then SC another 3 or 4 weeks. Jacksonville another 3 weeks so the owner told them to leave the boat and he turned the problem over to the dealer to get the boat to Tampa. Never hear about this kind of thing with Cummins.

boater3 said:

Anyone have a ST52 with Cummins QSC 8.3 600hp. Curious how it stacks up against the Volvo in terms of reliability, cruise speed, fuel consumption. Thanks!

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At least here in the US, Cummins has far better service and parts support. I suspect you are in Europe but including your location would clarify this.

Gdavid said:

At least here in the US, Cummins has far better service and parts support. I suspect you are in Europe but including your location would clarify this.

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I am in the USA. I already know Volvo parts and dealer network stinks. I am curious about the Cummins performance in this specific boat. Interestingly enough appears the displacement on the Volvo engines is higher.

If you are comparing an IPS Volvo with a traditional drive Cummins then the Volvo will perform better, when it runs. But if you can’t keep it running then the performance is sorta irrelevant.

Comodave said:

If you are comparing an IPS Volvo with a traditional drive Cummins then the Volvo will perform better, when it runs. But if you can’t keep it running then the performance is sorta irrelevant.

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No, I am talking straight shafts. No IPS.

Then if the HP is equal then the performance will be similar. Just you can get parts and service for Cummins.

OK thanks. Anyone seen a ST52 on the East coast of the USA? I am mainly curious to actually look at one in person, even if its just the exterior. I know there are very few in the USA to begin with. I will consider buying from other locales but we were just hoping to get eyes on one in real life.

If the Volvos pass a mechanical survey I wouldn't let them scare you away from an otherwise beautiful boat.

The consensus around here regarding Volvos seems to be parts availability and long delays in getting them. I am not sure if they are referring to common "consumable" parts like impellers, starters, alternators and misc. bolt on accessories but I would order a few of the most common replacement parts right away and have them in your parts locker.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

If the Volvos pass a mechanical survey I wouldn't let them scare you away from an otherwise beautiful boat.

The consensus around here regarding Volvos seems to be parts availability and long delays in getting them. I am not sure if they are referring to common "consumable" parts like impellers, starters, alternators and misc. bolt on accessories but I would order a few of the most common replacement parts right away and have them in your parts locker.

pete

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Thanks. I had volvos in my last boat, smaller version of this boat. I am well versed in Volvo. I think they stink as a company. They make it very difficult on the end user to get basic information or support. Their dealer networks are weak. My question is not about whether Volvos are OK but really if this particular Cummins is a good engine.

I have not seen any Cummins engine to be a bad engine. And IMO any Cummins is better than a Volvo due to the lack of support.

Anyone want to sell their ST 52?!

Good idea to get on board one if you haven't already. A few years ago I looked at a smaller model at a boat show. What was most impactful to me was not the exterior but the interior. To me, it looked kind of sterile and cheap, like something out of Ikea. That is not to say it is, just a matter of personal preference and taste. You'll know if it's right for you when you see it. Best of luck.

backinblue said:

Good idea to get on board one if you haven't already. A few years ago I looked at a smaller model at a boat show. What was most impactful to me was not the exterior but the interior. To me, it looked kind of sterile and cheap, like something out of Ikea. That is not to say it is, just a matter of personal preference and taste. You'll know if it's right for you when you see it. Best of luck.

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Thanks, we owned the one model smaller version, built in the same factory, with same/similar materials. If you can point out any comparable boat in terms of functionality that is not 2-3x the price, or even only 2x the price, please let me know. Thank you.

agree