Great video of the voyage of the Sabre 456 St Elmo from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja1qnjgYC1Y . This is truly what offshore voyaging under sail is all about. I only wish I had been aboard.
Sabre 456 to Puerto Vallarta
Last spring our west coast dealership JK3 Yacht Sales delivered a new Sabre 456 to David Jensen who has now set off on an adventure that he would like to share with our readers. David's blog is well written and has a lot of really nice photography for you to enjoy. Having sailed in the Bay of Banderas, I can attest to the natural beauty and terrific sailing conditions that can be found there.
Enjoy !
An Update from Sabre Yachts
The first rule of blogging is "Don't talk about yourself" which in this case is our company Sabre Yachts. Well I have never been much for rules so I am going to talk about us because we have a lot to tell you.
First and the fall boat shows were very good to us. Sales of sail and power yachts were strong and we feel a great relief as we head into the winter months with a strong backlog and the "help wanted" signs soon to be hung at the end of Hawthorne Road. The star of the show season was and continues to be the new Sabre 48 Salon Express. I personally have never worked a boat at a boat show that created so much buzz and excitement. Thank you to the owners who allowed us to show their boats; It really helped to get things rolling.
The second bit of news is a new design for the Sabre range to be launched next spring. The Sabre 38 Salon Express is being tooled in Cape Coral at present and molds and parts will be in our shop early in 2012. I will be covering this boat's "birth" on the blog so stay tuned right here.
The Sabre 38 Salon Express. Coming June 2012
An Update from Sabre Yachts
The first rule of blogging is "Don't talk about yourself" which in this case is our company Sabre Yachts. Well I have never been much for rules so I am going to talk about us because we have a lot to tell you.
First and the fall boat shows were very good to us. Sales of sail and power yachts were strong and we feel a great relief as we head into the winter months with a strong backlog and the "help wanted" signs soon to be hung at the end of Hawthorne Road. The star of the show season was and continues to be the new Sabre 48 Salon Express. I personally have never worked a boat at a boat show that created so much buzz and excitement. Thank you to the owners who allowed us to show their boats; It really helped to get things rolling.
The second bit of news is a new design for the Sabre range to be launched next spring. The Sabre 38 Salon Express is being tooled in Cape Coral at present and molds and parts will be in our shop early in 2012. I will be covering this boat's "birth" on the blog so stay tuned right here.
The Sabre 38 Salon Express. Coming June 2012
Open Boat Yard Days
As an active member of Maine Built Boats, Sabre Yachts wants to be sure you are aware of Maine's Open Boatyard Days coming up in August. Many of Maine's boat builders who will participate in the event. If you love boats you will love this inside look at our yards.
The 2nd Annual "Open Boatyard Days" will be held August 15 & 16, 2011, in boatyards and boat building companies across the state. The public is invited to tour the insides of companies which include boat builders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses across the state of Maine. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about boat building in Maine, and to see first hand the passion that boat builders have for their art. The dates will build upon the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, held in Rockland, August 12th-14th. People can visit the show and see a very broad array of boats, then go on to visit the boatbuilders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses at their location. More details will be posted as they become available.
Keels are Sexy
What weighs 10,000lbs is six feet tall and is grey all over? Whatever it is it doesn't sound very attractive unless of course you love sailboat designs which I do. The answer is the deep keel of the Sabre 456. We had one in the yard just before Christmas and it shipped with it's hull to San Diego, California where it is now being attached and the boat being readied for the January Boat Show.
Keel design is all science but to my eye it's also art. The profiles created by Jim Taylor for this and all of our current designs are truly beautiful and what makes this huge chunk of lead so amazing is the way that it moves the boat through the water. To the unknowing observer sailboat keels just keep the boat upright and that is of course true. But their shape makes the boat sail to windward and resist side slip too. It provides lift just like an airplane wing. Modern keels are an amazing piece of technology.
I have keel discussions a lot. One thing I have learned from 30 years in the sailboat business is that old books don't go out of print so that expert advice given in 1980 is still out there today. The problem is that old books don't adjust for technology. I am frequently asked to compare shallow versus deep keels and that's pretty easy these days because shallow keels, due to technology and the advancement of design, can perform very well for the typical sailor. The center of effort is about the same since the keels typically have additions in the form of wings or torpedoes on the bottom. Most (and I mean >99%) of all sailors would not be able to steer their boats consistently enough to adjust for the tiny difference in pointing angles of today's designs.
The sole exception is that if a boat is going to race most days and if the water is always deep enough then go with the deepest keel that you can. There will be a tactical advantage to the deeper keel that would help to defeat a competitor who could not point as high. So if you are in this league then go deep. Otherwise let your home port, your cruising grounds and your docking situation be your guide.
Sabre 456 Sailing Yacht gets rave reviews
I have been around the sailing industry for a while and as one of the the good old boys/girls I have the pleasure of being asked to serve on panels such as the Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards panel. I am not a judge. Let me get that straight right off the bat. No, what I do is I work with other builders and with the magazine to establish guidelines that monitor the competition and the judging process. I am a huge fan of Boat of the Year, not just because we have won so many awards, but because I think that a competition which is judged by some of the strongest experts in their field, makes better sailing yachts.
The winners are not Edsels that are one companies "market researched, perfect vessel". No these boats are really good because of the variety of opinions that are fed into the ballot box and the variety of backgrounds of the judges.
This morning I was pleased to see my Fedex package arrive with the January issue of the magazine and the announcement of the winners. I was even more pleased to see that Catalina Yachts won the Domestic Boat of the year and also won their category. You may ask why I am so pleased about Catalina and my answer is that I am thrilled that an American company can stand up the all of the European builders and come out a winner. I am also very fond of the owners and senior management of Catalina and always wish them well. We are in two very different market segments and we feel no competition between us.
So Frank, Sharon and Jerry, congratulations on your big win and best of luck for the 2011 with your Catalina 355. It's a great boat and it deserves the recognition.
For our part the Sabre 456 was not a new design in terms of it's tooling and molds and the rules for the contest prevent such a redesign from entering the fray. Oh but I wish we could have been there.
Wow. The Sabre 456 is Making Waves
We could not be happier with the reception that met the Sabre 456 at the recent United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis. An overwhelming number of visitors came to inspect the new arrival and the comments were very heart warming. From the Selden mast and boom to the latest Harken deck hardware, there were no concerns about the integrity of the gear.
Once below deck the ooo's and aaahhh's were countless. One visitor screamed so loud when she saw the drawer style reefers that it scared the attending broker. The men loved the man cave where the gen set and mechanical systems live aft of the galley and the shoji screens on the lockers and passageway door were a huge hit.
Here are some images of her interior to entice those who did not come to Annapolis to take the next step and arrange an appointment to view the Sabre 456. Our National Sales Manager Brenda Collins can be reached at brenda@sabreyachts.com or by calling 207-655-2396 X 235
As soon as we have some sailing images I'll be putting those up here on the blog and on the yacht's gallery
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