The Sabre 456 is coming to life

I like color renderings. As a student I was a pencil and paper drawing guy with aspirations in the field of architecture and so I truly appreciate the skills required to create a rendering such as this one. I also like renderings because they take an inanimate object and bring it to life.

 
  
  
The updated interior drawing shown here depicts a new owner's stateroom in the bow of the boat with a full qqueen sized island berth. To port is a full head and shower and to starboard a large hanging locker space. The main cabin bulkhead has been shifted aft as has the starboard side settee. This shift has reduced the physical size of the chart table but with today's electronics, the chart table no longer needs to be the large space that it once was.

In her galley a passageway has been created to provide direct access to the sail/mechanical locker where a top loading freezer and the optional gen set will reside. There will be space here as well for bulk storage of galley supplies. And in her galley there will be no more diving into the ice box as the fridges installed on the 456 are stainless steel drawer style units.

Hull #1 is starting soon and her first show will be the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October.

Yawn or Scream with delight ?

In the days when the America's Cup was played out in Newport, Rhode Island we all knew it was happening and we read the details of every race in our daily sports pages. Sadly, in most major cities today, the sports columnists don't cover boating and the main stream media focuses more on the price of the boats and the wealth of the owners than they do on the sport itself. And, so much has been written and spoken about the law suits surrounding the upcoming America's Cup that most of us have trouble staying aware of the realities of what is actually going on.

And what is going on is nothing short of amazing.  Whether you are a sailboat owner thinking that 8 knots is really cool or a powerboat owner who thinks that sailboats take forever to get where they are going, the new AC boats are a revolution in sailing.

Imagine a sailboat that can sail at 30 knots in 10 knots of wind. Yes I am serious. Then close your eyes and imagine a rigid, winged shaped spar that is 190 feet tall and replaces traditional sails. Yes these are the boats that will meet in Valencia, Spain from February 8th to 12th to vie for the "Aulde Mug".

The boats are BMW Oracle, a 90 for trimaran, versus Alinghi 5 a 90 foot catamaran. The tri does have some incredible technology on board her and right now has the technical edge in the contest. Folks used to say that watching the Cup on TV was like watching paint dry. Well, at these speeds you may not have time to go back to the fridge for another cold one in case you miss the action
 

The (Boat) Show Must Go On

In the deep, dark days of winter it's both hard and easy to think about the boating season and all of the pleasures it has to offer.

It's hard because you know there are 16 more weeks before the season starts again but it's easy because when you are passionate about boating (as I and my family are) all one has to do is summon a memory of time on the water and the darkest, snowiest day can suddenly become warm and bright.

One sure way to rev up your boating enthusiasm is to attend a boat show. Not only are there boats to see, there are new electronics to check out, items to purchase for your boat's stores and at many shows these days there are seminars to attend that will make you a better boater. January through March are the best months of the year with shows in London, Toronto, Seattle, Cleveland, New York, Miami, Boston, Maine and Palm Beach (to name but a few)

The 2010 versions of these shows are well worth attending for us as boat builders. There is no better opportunity for us to put our best foot forward and show the boating world what we do so well. We can meet prospects, talk with existing owners and do some professional development by checking out what our competitors are bringing to market.

For our customers there has rarely been and will rarely be as good an opportunity to check out what is new and see what manufacturers are offering to entice you to make the step to a new yacht. There are excellent buys to be found on 2009 inventories and there are exciting new developments to see in design and technology that may also encourage you to think about something new at your dock for the start of the 2010 boating season.

So if the dark days of winter are getting you down and boats are what truly make you happy, check out our show calendar and come on down. We would love to see you.
 

Sabre Yachts 40th Anniversary Rendezvous

What an exciting time ! We look forward to next summer and the celebration of 40 fabulous years of Sabre Yachts, and we want to pass the word to as many owners as possible. This celebration will include our sister company Back Cove Yachts and their many owners.

Plans are taking shape and more details will be published as we get closer to the event. The plan is to gather at Wotton's Wharf in Boothbay on the afternoon of July 9th. From there we have a series of events and meals planned for attendees. With 40 years of history there will plenty of old images to show, great stories to tell and memories to recall.

Keep an eye to the blog for details as they firm up and most importantly plan to be in Boothbay Harbor, Maine in July 2010 !
 

The Sabre 456 is coming

The Sabre 456 (ex-452) will make a come back in the summer of 2010. This fabulous Jim Taylor design is timeless. She sailed so well that most people would not believe she could compete boat for boat with the likes of the J46 but once the results were in, the Sabre 456 had shown her transom to most of the fleet.

In this new layout, (original version is shown here below) the forward cabin berth will be shifted aft to create an island berth forward for the owner. The owners stateroom will also include a larger dressing area, more hanging locker space and more drawers for personal effects and gear.

In her aft cabin the berth will be laid athwartships so that the guests too will have a queen sized mattress on their berth. They too will enjoy more standing/dressing space in their cabin.

Jim Taylor will be working on a new keel design to really optimize her performance with the latest research.

Look for the 456 launch in mid-summer 2010 !

 

And look for an updated interior layout posting in a couple of weeks from now.
 

 
  

Sabre 386 Ekaterina Maine to Ireland

http://www..com/member/ekaterina/

Until June of this year, each time I left my dock at Brewers South Freeport (Maine) I set my eyes on the magnificent Sabre 386 Ekaterina belonging to Michael Bull. She is with no doubt one of the prettiest boats in our harbor and that is saying a lot given the fleet of boats in the harbor we call home. I came into work one day and heard that Michael was setting sail for Ireland and since then I have followed his blog as he sailed through tempests and light airs, bright sunshine and moonlit nights.

I found Ekaterina's blog to be a compelling story about three good friends fulfilling a lifelong goal to sail across the North Atlantic. By the looks of this barrel collection (photo from the blog) the boys built upquite a thirst along the way.

Congratulations to Captain Michael and the crew of Ekaterina.

Jim Taylor goes sailing ?

I always laugh when people say, "your job has to be the best thing on earth, you get to go sailing all the time." Truth be told none of us sail as much as we should so when I read this email from our designer Jim Taylor I got a chuckle and thought it might make a nice posting for the blog.

 

 

I got to enjoy the other side of Sabre Spirits on Sunday, spending the afternoon with Ken Taylor aboard 'VIM'.  Our respective brides were with us, neither of whom are dedicated sailors, but both are happy to 'be sailed' as long as they don't have to do much of anything.  With a Spirit, they don't. 

 

The breeze was puffy and shifty near shore, but the Spirit heels to a certain (and not uncomfortable) angle, stiffens up, and never seems to need a dump of the main sheet to keep under control, with just finger tips on the wheel.  The ladies chatted away happily all afternoon, Ken and I got in enough tweaks, tacks and jibes to keep us happy, and we covered about 13 m in a 2 hour sail.  The boat always seems to be going at least 6.5 kts, whether or not you are paying any attention. The cockpit is a nice social size, with plenty of room to move around without tripping over each other.  It would be really hard to have a nicer day on the water.

 

Vim still looks brand new well into her second season, inside and and out, which is a tribute both to Ken's careful boatkeeping and to the quality built in by Sabre.  It certainly is not due to light use, since Ken goes out several times a week, often single handed.

 

Winning races one day, ideal daysailing the next. 

 

To Furl or Not to Furl ?

That may be the question. But here's my problem. You see, I was reading a magazine review the other day of the new Catalina 445. Once the reviewer had given the overall design, concept and application his blessing he went on to say that "not everyone will want the in mast furling"

And so I wrote to a few friends to try to flesh out this idea that in-mast furling is perhaps not desirable. I told them that few years ago I entered a boatshow in Oakland, California that had been set up by my local dealer. I had no idea where our boat was within the show but quickly realized that there were only a couple of boats without furling masts making my search for our boat (without) far easier. That image has stuck with me and I continue to swing back and forth on the subject of in-mast furlers and their market acceptance. Should Sabre's be equipped as standard with in mast furlers?

On the (very) positive side the sail isso easy to deploy and refurl and without the sail cover there is no yelling associated (with this maneuver anyway). Nobody has to go out on deck. The purists, including me I will admit, don't like the sail shape, don't like the weight of the sail aloft when I am at anchor or under power and I am always afraid of a jam when the sail is half way in (or out).

But is my own view of the world the wrong one?

Get the feeling!

Does everyone remember that first time they stepped on a boat for an exhilerating ride, perhaps their first sail - or maybe just one of those manifest destiny boating days where the boat, company, conditions and surroundings just gelled?

Friend of Sabre, Sara Noyes has just posted on her blog about her sublime day sailing on hull #1 of the Sabre 426.  You should all read her musings about that day in 2003, her quick rise to magazine and boat brochure fame and how she's still sailing now!  In fact, she'll be racing up in Toronto next month with an all women crew.  She writes passionately on her blog about sailing in Canada and racing their boat, 'Girls Round the Bouys'.

This is what its all about... bringing someone into the world of boats in an auspicious moment and cascading that experience to grow our boating community so we can find more crews out there enjoying life on the water.  Please share your own stories like this in our comments section.  Have a wonderful late summer weekend of boating all!

Read Sara's post here.

VIM Update

This morning I opened my inbox to an update and photo from one of our exuberant Sabre Spirit owners who has been enjoying bringing out VIM on breezy days in Marblehead, MA.  He writes that he and his daughter were sailing the boat by their house and his wife was able to take this shot.  The were powered up and probably at the borderline of reefing, but the boat is fun to bring out with friends and they continue to enjoy passing people in the bay.