Sabre 52

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Photo by: Billy Black

This design, a collaboration of the Sabre Design Team, began with a critical examination of yachting trends both national and international, filtered in healthy doses of large-yacht systems knowhow through their in-house engineering team, and paid plenty of attention to customer input about layout and feature preferences.

Case in point: Recognizing the international trend to bring more light into boats, even to the extent of creating fixed windows in hull sides, the interior of the 52 is bathed in abundant natural light, with the intention of bringing the outside in, transforming the interior into what feels like an outdoor space (without the negative impacts of less than perfect cruising weather). Light on the water reflecting in windows and extra-large port lights plays beautifully on the American Cherry furniture, teak and holly floors and cherry latticed ceilings. The deckhouse is positioned so that light illuminates the galley as well as the saloon, with a structure that is strengthened to withstand the rigors of cruising offshore while supporting large strong windows. And it is shaped aesthetically not only to resemble the rest of the Sabre yacht family, but also to afford guests and the helmsman unobstructed views of their surroundings.



Building a yacht of this size posed no problems for the craftsmen at Sabre’s two Maine plants. What challenges existed lay more in systems than actual structure. “We’ve built boats of this and much larger dimensions in our Rockland facility,” says Collins. “However, for our engineering staff, this was a dream project, moving from simpler systems found in most forty-footers to the more sophisticated and costly systems found in larger yachts.”

For example, the LED lighting system in the Sabre 52 Salon Express has an extremely low consumption rate. If you turned on every overhead light on the boat and left them on, it would take 65 days to bring down the house battery system. The electrical system is 24-volt DC, with 12-volt DC available for helm electronics, saving about 1,000 pounds of electrical wiring per yacht, and creating an electrical system that is inherently more durable. Having been aboard well after dark, I can attest that there is more than enough lighting for pleasant entertaining and cruising.

Currently offered in only one interior layout, the Sabre 52 Salon Express is nevertheless a well-thought-out design for living afloat. The helm deck is furnished with an oversized U-shaped lounge to port aft, upholstered with a choice of custom fabrics; it converts to a double. The high-low, fixed pedestal table serving it is a masterpiece of woodworking, and has a removable center leaf for dining or entertaining options. Directly opposite, Sabre craftsmen have created a beautifully joined entertainment cabinet housing an LCD-TV on a lift, a supporting surround-sound stereo system and bottle storage.

To port forward is a bench for a mate or guests, but for those who want to take part in and enjoy the navigation and operation of the yacht, Sabre includes two Stidd helm seats on pedestals at the starboard command console. The helm dash is tall and wide enough to accept dual displays for networked electronics, with room left over for dedicated engine monitoring displays and more. There’s an area for paper charts to port of the custom teak and stainless wheel, with controls for trim tabs, engines and bow thruster all within easy reach. I particularly liked the stout watertight door to the starboard side deck that opens out and folds flat against the house side.