Who makes a better BBQ?
by John Curnow, Global Editor, Powerboat.World 25 Sep 2024 10:00 NZST
Magic looking Sabre 51 Salon Express - note the enlarged glass area of the Pilothouse © Sabre Yachts
Hold that thought. We'll come back to it, because this story is right, bang, smack in the middle of our wheelhouse. Sabre is part of a small group of boatbuilders who started out making yachts (sailboats) before venturing into motor yachts. For their journey, they took an attention to detail, a timeless nod to the overall aesthetic, and a robust practicality that made them not frightened of blue water. Very appropriately, Sabre call all of that, 'Nautical Sensibility'.
Sabre was also one of the first to get right into vac-bagging to ensure minimum weight, and maximum strength. That was something like 15 years ago. They also elected to use only vinylester resin for all the structural components. It's far more expensive, but there's a reason. It can handle water far better. Effortless efficiency was also part of the mantra, as Sabre got into Volvo-Penta's IPS early on, as well. Currently, Sabre deliver about 50 vessels per annum to a savvy and ultra-precise market base.
Our good friend, the American-Aussie (or is that Aussie-American?) Jed Elderkin of E Marine is also pretty enamoured with Sabre. So much so that he became the Australian dealer for them and sister brand, Back Cove.
Now Elderkin is not a fan of likening Sabre to any car brand. We know I am more than happy to, and for me Packard comes to mind because they were forthright vehicles with sound engineering, then Studebaker as performance really mattered to them, and finally Duesenberg, because once you're at that level, nothing else mattered at all. So, if you get all of that, then you definitely get Sabre. Plain and simple. You won't be looking to add much to a Sabre. It's pretty much all there.
Still need convincing? Well, take this on. The cove line that is moulded into the topsides is filled with 22 karat gold leaf. Does that do it for you? Does for me...
A born and bred Mainer, and locally they refer to themselves Downeasters, Elderkin stated, "Boating there is obviously seasonal given the inclement winter. The waters are a mixture of absolutely no breeze, and of course significant conditions sometimes, hence the notion of the express part of the mix."
"Maine has very coastal type conditions, where there are fjords to visit, along with places like Cape Cod, which can be treacherous. That's why a Sabre is comfortable with the modified V hull, and enclosed pilothouse, along with a very American level of performance, which is distinct. The US market loves a quick boat, and we're talking 32 knots plus here.
"The single level is suited this kind of activity, as too a very open aft cockpit for the entertaining time, and then the look is all very much down the heritage line. Quality with a capital Q abounds, which is why they all have a solid teak cap rail, for instance," said Elderkin.
New but not departure
The new 51SE (Salon Express) is the larger sister to the highly acclaimed 48SE (with 200 examples delivered to date). It has a slightly reverse transom, and raked prow, as opposed to plumb, and a significant 16 degrees of deadrise at the stern for ride and seakeeping. They are built to CE Category B (Offshore), which will get you just about everywhere you want to go with one of these gems.
Departure is not part of the sacrosanct inscriptions in the Sabre bible. It is more like evolution without forsaking tradition. This was very much made clear, as in 'reading you five by five', during a recent discussion with Sabre's Kevin Burns, who is the VP of Design and Product Development.
Point to make here is in the number of TVs, the Fusion sound system, and boat connectivity for onshore monitoring. Stuck in the past would not even contemplate those, let alone incorporate them.
In the new 51SE the VIP is for'ard, and the Master runs athwartships, amidships. The massive galley and pantry is on the accommodation deck as well, where it gains light and air due to a huge number of ports, and the stairwell. There is no option to bring it up, where it would be much smaller. Rather, there is a console at the back of the saloon that has a fridge and icemaker, trash receptacle, as well as a sink.
You've been holding your breath so patiently. Here's the answer!
Now the cockpit is served by both forward and aft facing seats. These are magnificent, especially the latter, which have to be the primo real estate on board. Alas, this is where we get to our headline. The optional BBQ takes out the port aft facing seats. As Elderkin says, "I don't think anybody does a barbecue like the Aussies!"
So. Over on the starboard quarter, a demountable electric BBQ would hang outboard to deposit its spoils, and could be stored in the lazarette, whose hatch is immediately under your feet. These can be made to slot into rod holders, or attach to the grab rails that are already there. By placing the feast maker here, you would not cover the saloon doors in splatter, nor interfere with access for anyone moving around the boat, or accessing the hydraulically actuated swim platform. Go Aussies, huh?!
Remember, at anchor, the best seats in cockpit are the ones that face aft, where all the unobstructed view is.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and hull geometry have been optimised for IPS (which you access through the large hatch in the cockpit). There is no shaft drive option, as this would skew the outcome one way or the other to achieve the result, both dynamically, and from an accommodation point of view. Consistent 30-knot pace from Volvo-Penta's 7.7l D8s delivering 600hp a side, and high efficiency are assured with this arrangement, especially offshore. (P.S. Don't go looking to put bigger blocks in. Ain't happening.)
Burn's stated, "It comes out to just under a US Gallon per nautical mile, per side. So something like 3l/nm a side. Knowing your fuel burn at say 27 knots, no matter what the wind and the weather, is all part of that crucial nautical sensibility we spoke about. Our baseline is usually right around having a 300 nautical mile range with a 10% reserve."
So the new 51SE is just that. All new. The pilothouse gets sleeker and yet even lighter with bigger glass, but trusty faves like the pilot's door remain. What a real bonus this is if you are operating short-handed. Put the Dynamic Positioning System on and do all your own fenders and lines.
There is also more overhang from the coachhouse roof, and options exist for yet more coverage for'ard and aft. The optional cockpit SureShade (electrically deployed) is available for the 51SE, as too the manually deployed MakeFast shade system that uses the same carbon fibre poles and hardware as the foredeck shade option.
The book according to Sabre
A company like this builds legacy boats. What does that mean? Well, they have learned over the years.
Sabre can infuse your colour gelcoat into the mould. The steps will always be the right height and depth, the grab rail will be where you need it, the drawers open smoothly and then lock away securely, and your knees won't smack into things. This is what happens when the people building them know how it is, or listen to their customers when they tell them what they need.
Sabre helped to create the niche, and there is a reason for that, which is in evidence over the entire boat. It is the outcome of being one of the forefathers of this evergreen and burgeoning segment, and Sabre owners are the direct beneficiaries of that.
Burns added, "We very much see ourselves as being very responsible to our customers to qualify the advancements in our industry through our lens to make sure that we're proving the concepts all the way through. The windows aren't just a styling exercise, as much as it is a pragmatic, practical approach to increasing your visibility out of the boat, and allow sunlight into the boat.
"All of the good things, like the side door that you mentioned, give access to the side and fore decks of the boat immediately while you're docking and doing manoeuvring operations. They serve a purpose, but we want to make sure that we're approaching them with not only our aesthetic eye, and more importantly, our same engineering scepticism that we've always applied over the years."
"Another great example is the traditional sheer line of our boat. A lot of people see that as an aesthetic choice, right? A very traditional aesthetic choice, but the reality of it is that it's a pragmatic evolution for transitioning between the freeboard at the bow and the freeboard at the transom. Both of those things are driven by really practical things like what we want the hull form to do, and that sheer line is as beautiful a curve and as elegant a transition between the pointy end and the blunt end of the boat as we can get it."
Now did someone just say PT Boat?
"We obsess about these things, and there might be some that it wouldn't matter greatly to, but there's a really fine line that we walk with all of these proportions and aesthetics and pragmatism. We'll have conversations that go on for weeks about the rake of a bow and all this kind of stuff, but we take it very seriously. We're old school designers and builders at heart, I think. So we obsess about those little details."
Those conversations also extend to things like will they or won't they have loop rails on the swim platform, but you will always see a Sabre with grab rails everywhere, and the bulwark the right height for small children or fur babies, as this is part of the consideration set for how people go 'Sabreing'. A real boat for real boaties.
NOT lost in translation
Now we mentioned the long, island galley earlier (as opposed to a Galley in Long Island, boom, boom!), but it is actually so totally fundamental to the very ethos of the boat. OK. It is more strip than island, so much so that Sabre have nicknamed it 'The Coast of Maine' precisely because it is so long.
All jokes aside, it is also super light and airy due to the stairwell, four opening ports at head height, and then two massive through hull windows. The clever part is in the galley section plus what is really a Butler's Pantry. You have the traditional workspace, plus countertop space for mixers, toasters, blenders and the de rigueur coffee maker.
The pantry also carries four drawer type refrigeration options, and the convection/microwave in the aft bulkhead. This means all the outboard cabinets are available for storage. In this way the pantry keeps noise away from the door to the Master Stateroom, and best of all, it serves as a translation space when accessing into the third cabin and/or utility room where the washer/dryer are.
That is smart, because you can put the foldable bikes away for instance, without smacking into objects or people, and bring your supplies down below to place them away without putting them on couches or strewn all over the floor. If you go boating, you'll know what all of that is about.
A final comment about evolution
A Sabre with foredeck seating. Yep. And not just any old seating, but a lounge and articulated, raised two-person lounge for the ultimate in Sundowners. Best of all, it has not affected the profile on iota. The Choir would not be happy about that! I get the impression there was years of debate around the execution of that one. Now the outcome has been well worth it. Let me tell you that. The first glass of wine up there will be so rewarding!
Similarly, out aft, the overhang goes all the way to aft edge of the table, which in turn means the angle of shade delivered by the extendable cover is not going to interfere with the occupants. Might not be a big issue in Maine, but in AUS it is a real bonus.
In the 51SE in kind of get the impression that Sabre is just that little bit less 'Horse and Hound' nowadays, and a tad more 'Vogue'. I'm tipping the next generation of boaters are going to get right into that subtle yet significant shift. After all, it's got to stack up when you do your Insta posts!
So, you want a new Sabre. Yeah. Me too...
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Finally. Please look after yourselves,
John Curnow
Global Editor, Powerboat.World