Last spring we launched an interesting variation on the standard Sabre 42 Fly Bridge Sedan. This one was not a fly bridge boat at all but rather a true sedan with a fully enclosed main salon and a helm deck in the forward end of the salon.

This experienced boating couple no longer wanted a ladder to the bridge. They also knew that they would find cruising in a luxurious interior would be more comfortable that sitting out of doors on a bridge in the open air. On very hot days in the south they can cruise with air conditioning on and when the weather cools too much on their summer cruises to Maine they could turn on the heat cycle. On moderate days, overhead hatches, opening side windows and a sliding door at the helm station allow plenty of fresh air to flow into the interior.

The owner is a very active member of the Cruising Club of America and has written an article with images on the club’s web site. You may want to check it out.

Sorry I have not been too prolific of late. Lots of new product development nd very busy days

We launched the new 34 powerboat in August and we have shipped six of them now so they are now appearing in shows around the USA and in the UK at Southampton.

For our sailboat fans we are finishing tooling on the new Sabre Spirit weekender and she will launch in March 07. Hull mold is done and deck plug is in the shop now.

The Sabre 52 Salon Express powerboat is in the shop now and she will be ready for a January launch.

Meanwhile the fall show season i going along and there are plenty of shows at which to see out latest boats. Upcoming this week is Boston in Water then we go to Annapolis Sail followed by Annapolis powerboat and the biggie, Ft Lauderdale

Over the next few weeks and months I will be blogging about these shows and all of our new boat so stay tuned. Again sorry for the break in the action

The 27th of July was launch and initial sea trial day for the new Sabre 34 hard Top Express.   Everything went as well as we had hoped and we are extremely pleased with the results. Top speeds of over 30 knots were recorded with the optional Volvo D6-370 hp engines. Fuel consumption and sound tests are being performed in the days to come. First show for the 34 is the Maine Boats and Harbors show in Rockland, Maine August 11 to 13th. Stay tuned!

Thanks for your comment Lisa. We are a very open company and we can be that way  because we always try to do the right thing. We may not be perfect and no company is but we try hard to be the best. When blogs came into being we welcomed the chance to open up ourselves to the scrutiny that blogs invite. Bring it on we say.

Do you know of any other boat builders who have blogs?

While our boatbuilders, electricians and mechanics have been putting the boat together over the last few weeks as she has passed down the line, there’s another group of associates working in the background waiting for the yacht to arrive in the completion area. I always say to folks here at Sabre that this group is the one that makes the biggest impression on clients when they first visit our boats. This small and dedicated group of craftsmen and women has the responsibility of varnishing the interior woodwork and reassembling the loose pieces which have been removed from the boat for that purpose. They also add the Imron waterline stripe and perform all of the last minute detailing which makes the boat look her best as she leaves our yard.

As our Sabre motoryacht started down the assembly line, large furniture parts were loaded and tabbed into the hull. All of the cupboard and passageway doors, drawers and other loose items were fitted into those components and once that had taken place the loose pieces were removed and sent to varnish. They would eventually meet "their boat" again in final assembly. The varnish crew takes each piece and applies two coats of oil based sealer to the wood, sanding carefully between coats. Sealer is used to raise the soft grain of the wood and to fill the grain. After these two sealer coats have been applied two finish coats are applied and finally, the entire boat is "rubbed down" to obtain and super smooth surface which is silky to the touch. All of this work is done by hand and no varnish is applied with a spray gun. This is true craftsmanship.

Next time we’ll talk about the salon and helm deck tables which represent the ultimate in the varnisher’s skills.

From the time that our deck is down until the Sabre motoryacht is shipped to the dealership and client, most of the work being performed below deck is the completion of tasks started prior to the decking of the hull. For example, all of the wires that were installed in the deck now need to be connected to the electrical system and panel which were based in the hull.

Another major event when the hull moves away from the decking station is the tabbing and trimming out of bulkheads where they come in contact with the deck. Final touches are made to the headliner and overhead, Cantilupi lights are installed.

Outside the hull to deck joint is made. 3M 5200 Marine adhesive is used to create a watertight joint in this "shoe box" style hull to deck joint. The joint is thru bolted every six inches. Once the joint is firmly secured it is covered with a PVC rub rail and stainless steel cap, screwed to the PVC rail

Our final station prior to shipment is a beehive of activity. I’ll talk about that and the final varnish work going on inside the yacht next time.

Our deck is now completely fitted out. Every piece of deck hardware including the stainless steel mooring chocks, Lewmar deck hatches, stainless steel portlights, custom air intake vents, large diameter 316 stainless steel hand rails and the hard top are fitted to the deck. Under the deck the headliner is installed and our deck is ready to catch up to her hull on the assembly line.

Jason and his crew bring the deck to the assembly area. Inside the hull everything is ready. All major furniture and mechanical components are installed. But we need to stop and consider the shape of the deck and how it will line up with the interior components. Consider the shape of the top of a bulkhead for example. That curve has to line up perfectly with the inside shape of the deck. So what will happen here is the crew will lower the deck down to the top of the bulkheads and then wooden wedges will be used to support the deck while last minute adjustments are made to interior joinery.

There are several elements to the deck of a powerboat. First there is the deck structure itself. And  of course there are hatches which cover the openings in the deck to engine rooms, lazarette storage areas and the anchor locker. Then, in the case of the Hard Top Express models, there are three more large FRP parts. The first is the "house" or the sides of the hard top enclosure then that it is topped off with the hard top itself. And to make the inside of the hard top look pretty we also mold a liner with a smooth gelcoat surface to cover the rough underside of the hard top.

In this image the hard top and liner are being attached to the top of the house. Once all of this work is completed the deck is ready to go out to the assembly area where the decking will take place

As you can see, we have now removed the deck from the deck mold and rolled it over into it’s correct orientation. The goal now is to complete as much work on the deck as is possible, prior to attaching it to the hull or "decking the boat" in boat builder’s terms. Here the crew from deck preparation are buffing the deck’s smooth areas and cutting out all of the openings where everything from hatches, to lockers and portlights will be installed in the deck.

Deck hatches (other than the aluminum framed overhead hatches which we purchase from Lewmar), are made to suit the pre-determined openings in the deck. In order to create maintenance free surfaces on both sides of these hatches, we create two molds which are matched. We then lay up the two halves independently and use a structural adhesive to bond the two halves together. That way we end of with smooth gelcoat on both sides of the hatch.

The hatch pictured here is the engine room hatch. Perhaps you can see the recesses where the two latches and the two stainless steel hinges will be located on the finished part. In this hatch we will use a foam core because we want to reduce engine room noise as much as possible. In addition we will attach sound suppressing materials to the underside of the hatch. Once installed the gasketing around the perimeter of the hatch drain becomes another essential element in noise suppression.

This style of hatch is used in the aft cockpit, above the engine room, and at the bow for access to the anchor chain locker.