Windmill Harbour Basin in Hilton Head, South Carolina was visited earlier this winter by Sabre 48 Salon Express owners Graeme and Erica Wheatley. Above, their lovely boat, Lady Erica, rests peacefully in Windmill Harbour Marina.

One of the most remarkable things about this Harbour is that it’s tide free! The harbor was built with a lock to help keep the water level the same at all times. 

According to the Marina, “Transiting the lock is a cinch. Our helpful harbor master and his staff are there to operate the lock during normal hours and 24 hour access is available when you have your own personal lock card.”

Graeme Wheatley writes, “Access through the lock does not even require lines and, of course, the Zeus Pods on the Sabre 48 enable the skipper to keep the boat perfectly stable throughout the locking process.”

“We felt secure there and the absence of a tidal effect meant that the boat remained very stable and soundly tied.” 

In addition, the HQ of the South Carolina Yacht Club is in the basin and, through the Wheatley’s membership of the Chesapeake Yacht Club, the couple had reciprocal rights there. “It is a very upscale club. We had dinner there one evening and it was excellent. Guests have a special pennant for their table and one of the members, seeing the pennant, came over to introduce herself and made us feel most welcome.”

I don’t know about you, but this harbor is definitely on my bucket list. And the Wheatley’s? They are off to the next harbor and more importantly, the next adventure…..

To learn more about Windmill Harbour Marina, please visit their website.

Paper Moon, a Sabre 36 Express, gets a lot of attention from Bentley in the off season so the couple can enjoy themselves in the prime of the summer!

How to prep for a season of stress-free boating with Bentley Collins, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sabre Yachts.

 I have been boating all my life and most of my boating has been done where the seasons dictate spring launch and the preparations that go along with it. In that regard, I am a contrarian.

My preference is to start boating early, mainly because the tail end of my boating season is cut off with boat show activities in the fall. My preparation time is in the fall, just after my boat is hauled for the all-too-long winter. That’s when I do the bottom paint and complete all of my spring prep.

Around the 15^th of April I launch my boat and enjoy some spectacular spring time boating while others are still in the parking lot covered in bottom paint dust. I enjoy strolling by and saying hello as these other boaters look at me through white slits in their otherwise “blue man group” faces.

Bentley and Brenda enjoying summer in Maine aboard their Sabre 36, Paper Moon.

Anyway, back to prepping to boat. I am always amazed at how boaters try to save money by skimping on the least expensive things. Here are some tips:

1. WATER IMPELLERS — Even though raw water impellers may be costly, can that possibly compare to losing an engine mid-season or having to be towed to port when an engine overheats? Change your impellers annually.
2. BELTS — I believe in changing belts frequently so as to avoid summer breakdowns
3. ZINC — There is no such thing as a zinc that “still looks OK”. Replace them and don’t risk damage to your boats running gear.
4. FUEL FILTERS — Fuel filters should be changed every 100 hours or more if practical. Again, breakdowns in mid-season are no fun!
5. FUEL — Always top up your fuel tank. Even if you are betting on the cost of diesel fuel going down next week, it doesn’t pay to run around with a half empty tank. Condensation and air in your tank allow algae to grow and algae will ruin a day on the water by clogging filters and injectors. Top up your fuel as frequently as possible.
6. BATTERIES — If your batteries are three to five years old, depending on the type, chances are you are going to run into an issue during the season. Don’t wait for them to go bad and lose time on the water. Replace them as recommended by the battery supplier.

….and that’s how I roll.

To learn more about Bentley and the Leadership at Sabre Yachts, visit the “About” section of the website.

Sabre Yachts has an unequalled reputation for building strong, durable boat hulls and we have our lamination department to thank for that. When Sabre Yachts started building fiberglass parts or components using the VIP (Vacuum Infusion Process) system in 2007, the company also reduced their VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) output by over 80%. 

So how does the VIP (Vacuum Infusion Process) work? Here is a step-by-step run-through of the process. As you will see, it’s no easy feat.

1. The first step is to inspect the mold and prepare the mold surface. Here is a picture of a Sabre 38 Salon Express mold where a Sabre Associate is wiping down the surface using 5+ coats of mold release wax. The wax is applied to ensure the part is easily removed from the mold. 

Sabre Associate preparing the mold surface.

2. After the wax is applied, we spray gel coat to the mold surface.

3. The next step is to reinforce gel coat with chopped-strand E-glass (CSM) & resin system. This is referred to as a “skin coat”.

The skin coat

4. Once the skin coat has cured, we load the mold with an engineered recipe of various fiberglass fabrics and materials to provide the highest strength and weight ratio for the composite structure. This includes outer reinforcement skins, any required core material and inner reinforcement skins. Skin coat and outer reinforcement skin helps prevent print through (when one can see the checkered design of the fiberglass fabric).

5. The next step is to install resin feed (liquid), and vacuum plumbing system (including perimeter vacuum) per designed layout. The vacuum removes the air from the dry stacks and laminates and ensures a more even resin to fiber ratio and makes the hull or part stronger and lighter. The result is remarkable; the VIP process produces significantly less waste.

6. In the image above, you can see the vacuum bag covering the entire mold, leaving lots of slack, and sealing along the entire perimeter mold flange. We use a yellow rubber sealant tape called butyl to seal the resin vacuum.

7.  After the bags are sealed tight, we install the remainder of resin delivery plumbing from resin supply –to- ports of entry through the vacuum bag.  (Typically color-coded when there are lots of hoses so that the choreography of the resin delivery can be managed.)

8. Below the mold is being filled with the infusion-grade resin. As you can see, the resin remains in the plastic bag which significantly reduces the number of VOCs the company releases into the environment as well as making the work environment a healthier place to work for all Sabre employees.   

9. Once the dry stack is fully infused, the resin hardens (cures) while under the vacuum. A typical Sabre hull takes about three hours to gel (liquid solidifying).

10. Sabre generally leaves the part in the mold overnight to fully cure. The next day, the associates remove vacuum bag, resin supply & vacuum plumbing.

 11. Finally the new completed fiberglass part is ready to be removed from the mold. Below the Sabre Lamination Team is using an overhead crane to flip the deck out of the mold. 

The end result is a stronger, lighter and aesthetically better looking part that was built in a more environmentally conscientious way.

To learn more about the fiberglass and lamination process at Sabre Yachts, take a look at a blog written a month ago about Mike Inman, Lamination Department Supervisor.

Many thanks to Glenn Campbell and Dave Newcomb in the Sabre Engineering Department for their assistance with this blog.