The most exciting moment in the product development cycle of a new boat is the day when the deck goes down. Then and only then can we see just how well all of the calculations and design work come together as a whole. We certainly were not disappointed today when we had a chance to see just what the main salon, cockpit and lower lounge areas feel like with the deck in place.

BTW kudos to the entire design team. The tooling work is extraordinary and all of the tooling bits fit like a glove.

In the cockpit the sliding seat was temporarily put in place and a mock-up of the aft facing seat was also placed on the cockpit sole. As you can see from the smiles on the faces of Aaron Crawford Sabre's COO and Kevin Burns, Head Designer, they think it's pretty cool. I do too.

A bit of trivia here. When sailing ships did not have the conventional rudder we know today a long oar or board was used to steer the ship and this oar was hung from the right hand side (facing forward) of the ship. The other side was the one that was used to tie up to the pier for loading and unloading so the "port" side is named for the way the ship was docked. The other side slowly evolved from steer board to starboard which is what we call the right hand side of the ship today.

In the Sabre 38 Salon EXpress there are no steering boards because the steering is done with the latest in technology: the Volvo IPS pod system. And in the main salon the starboard side offers an abundance of storage and a location for the television on it's lift. Diane in the wood shop finished assembling this first starboard side cabinet and called me down to check it out. Beautiful work Diane!

The deck of hull one of the Sabre 38 Salon Express was released from the mold last week and the style and finish are exceptional. We have all seen the styling in the drawings and renderings but nothing brings it home like an actual part. I will give you some closer details later this week once the deck is turned over and placed in the deck shop for hard top and hardware installation.

This image shows in great detail the two tone gelcoat process that I blogged about a while ago.

On the styling cues and the practical apsects of this part, Kevin Burns has done an exceptional job of creating yet another elegant and highly functional design.

Probably not one of those questions that keeps you up at night is it? Well I am going to tell you anyway just in case you are counting sheep while trying to figure it out.

First of all the gelcoat (or colored pigment) that you see on the deck of a boat goes into the mold first unlike a house that is painted after it is built. The process of creating a two tone deck is not complicated but it takes a lot of patience to create the perfect lines that you see separating the two colors. In the case of the Sabre two tone deck the basic areas that are done in the contrasting color are the non-skid surfaces.

Here our associate is taping out the areas that are going to be sprayed in the darker of the two colors and covering all of the smooth surfaces with a protective layer of plastic sheeting. Once this task is done the gelcoat is sprayed onto the non skid areas, those exposed outside the plastic cover sheet. Then the tape and plastic are removed and the second, or base color of the deck, is sprayed in behind the first. When the part is removed from the mold, it will have two tones: one in the smooth areas and the second in the non-skid.

Hopefully now you can get some rest. More on this first Sabre 38 Salon Express deck later this week

This year, Sabre Yachts will celebrate it's 42nd anniversary of building fine quality sail and motor yachts. Walking through the shop the other day I saw one of our associates doing what needs to be done every time a new model is introduced to our range. He was building new bunks for the cradles that we use in production to support the hull of the boat.

This particular set is for the new Sabre 38 Salon Express and it made me wonder how many times this event had occurred since 1970 when the first bunks were built for the Sabre 28; the model that launched the company.

I thought to myself, wouldn't it be fun to see if anyone can guess how many times this has happened in our company's history? Care to take a guess? Hint: there is information on our web site that will lead you to the answer but even then you will need to be a Sabre officiando to get it right.

There are two Sabre ball caps in it for the first person to get the correct answer. Remember that some models such as the Sabre 28 MKII did not need new hull bunks because they were variants on the older designs with new interiors but with the same hull design.

Good luck and have fun  

Nobody can accuse Sabre Yachts of resting on it's laurels after the stunning success of the Sabre 48 Salon Express of which almost 30 hulls have now been sold (12 have been delivered).

We announced the new Sabre 38 Salon Express plans about 12 months ago and now she has entered production. Over the next three months we will follow hull #1 through every phase of production from fiberglass to sea trials. It's a fascinating process so we hope you will follow along.

Her molds are now prepped and ready for fiberglass part production. In this first image, gel coat has been sprayed into the mold and all fiberglass and coring materials have been loaded "dry" into the mold.

At this point a large "bag" is pulled over the entire part and is sealed along the edges of the mold. Tubes are inserted into the bag that will draw in catalized resin and draw off excess. Although the dry layup took days to accomplish the actual infusion of the part takes just 90 minutes. Resin flows from the keel up to the coamings. Here's what the hull part looks like a few hours later. Note the areas where the SAN Corecell is held back along the keel and in specific places alongside for insertion of through hull fittings.

Until boats got really big and difficult to exhibit at indoor shows, the New York Boat Show, which runs this week from the 4th to the 8th, was known as the New York National Boat show. Today there are other shows like Miami and Ft Lauderdale that dwarf this show but nonetheless I have heard many stories about young boys and girls in the good old days, going to this show with their parents and falling in love with boating. I can see why. Th excitement of the city in the dreary days of winter can create some real magic.

So why not get the kids in the car or on the train, head into the city for the day and check out the boats and the gear. Boating is one of those family activities that makes families tighter knit and brings families closer together. There is nothing quite like it. See you in the Big Apple.