Sabre 38 Salon Express in the Bahamas

Patrick M., Chief Operating Officer at Mack Boring had a tough work assignment over the holiday season. Task? To run a Sabre 38 Salon Express outfitted with Yanmar engines and ZF pod, through the Bahamas with his family. Sounds like a fantastic adventure!

Mack Boring, a long time supplier for Sabre Yachts, is a supply chain partner for diesel and related products. Mack Boring and Yanmar approached Sabre Yachts because they needed a platform to couple their motor to a pod drive system. Yanmar is a manufacturer of Marine engines and marine transmissions for pleasure boat use in a range from 15 hp to 900 hp. Mack Boring worked with Sabre to install the system. The Sabre 38 Salon Express is a prototype of that collaboration.

Back to Patrick’s “task”….take the Sabre 38 Salon Express, Sabre’s newest model, and continue to test drive the ZF pod system with joystick control throughout the Bahamas over the holiday season. “We had many admirers of the 38’ along the way, including many who promised to look us up in Miami and take a closer look at the boat.  Everyone said they are so happy to know you can now buy Yanmar’s in this model.” says Patrick McGovern, COO of Mack Boring.

Captain Patrick , COO of Mack Boring

He writes, “We had a great cruise, leaving from Port Lucaya Marina, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island on December 21^st, 2012 and arriving at Treasure Cay Marina, Abaco Island. It was a 120 mile run with 4 adults and 3 children on board. All were very comfortable for the six hour run.”

Holy Mackerel! Son Will with his big catch.

The group stayed at Treasure Cay for 4 nights; from Treasure Cay they had a short run over to Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina on Great Abaco Island for a 3 night stay.  This was their favorite stop, “very beautiful beaches, a great value, and a great feeling of remoteness to it all. “

Next stop was the Abaco Beach Resort and Marina, another 3 night stay.  The group had a good time here, including a nice near year’s eve celebration prior to returning to Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island the first of the New Year. 

Patrick writes, I think this will be a winning package, we made it back to Port Lucaya in perfect running conditions the first 100 miles or so, cruising at 29-30 knots the whole way which was great.”

In mid December a group of General Dynmaics, Bath Iron Works (BIW) Engineering Leaders visited Sabre Yachts to meet with the Sabre Engineering Department and receive a tour of the facility. Bath Iron Works is based in Bath Maine; the company is a full service shipyard specializing in designing and building high tech US Navy destroyers.

According to John Manganello, Employee Development Specialist, the goal “was to share a common experience that would provide the opportunity for reflection, comment, and comparison in terms of safety, quality, and leadership.”

John writes, “While these were the loose guidelines, the tour of SABRE allowed for each individual to get whatever insights or takeaways he or she may have found most relevant. The Associates at Sabre Yachts were incredibly accommodating, and we at BIW are very grateful for their time and energy.”

Below are some images taken by General Dynamics BIW as well as some participant comments following the event.

Profile on Sabre Yachts Associate Mike Inman – Lamination Department Supervisor

Associates in the Sabre Yachts Lamination Department

One never knows where life is going to lead you. Just ask Mike Inman, Supervisor of the Lamination Department for Sabre Yachts. 

Six years ago Mike Inman was working for Spurwink Services in a home for adults with Autism and severe mental disabilities. Mike and his wife, Leanne found great reward working with this group of people and helping these adults lead positive and productive lives.

Mike Inman, Lamination Department Supervisor

In 2006 Mike and Leanne decided to build a home in Raymond, Maine. Mike, who many describe as an extremely skilled craftsman, acted as his own general contractor and worked on the house every minute he could spare. Mike completed all the fit and finish on the house as well as all electrical work, tiling and floor projects. As the house project was wrapping up, he started looking for jobs closer to Raymond and their future home. Luckily for Sabre, Mike stopped in at the front office and was soon Sabre Yacht’s newest mechanic. Working for a boatbuilding company made sense for Mike who was a Merchant Marine sailor for five years before he met his wife, and spent months at sea working in the bulk shipping industry.

Mike enjoyed work as a mechanic but Sabre saw more in this skilled craftsman. In 2010, Don Wentworth, Production Manager, appointed him supervisor of Deck Assembly. A few months later he became supervisor of Fiberglass Lamination.  

Mike clearly has an eye for details. He enjoys lamination because “it’s the foundation – where everything begins.” He takes pride in his job and he is constantly learning. “I’m proud of the direction that Sabre is taking me. There are always new things being introduced.” He notes how the infusion process has improved. Mike says, “We, the team, look at each hull and discuss what we can do differently next time. We really try to make each hull as close to perfect as we possibly can.”

Outside Sabre, Mike keeps himself busy as an auto customization and restoration enthusiast. He and his father, Michael Sr. are restoring a 1940 Packard Coupe. He and Leanne also have two kids, Logan age six and his daughter Lauren who is fifteen months old. Mike enjoys his work at Sabre Yachts. “I work with a great bunch of individuals who truly care about their work”. We know that the other Sabre associates feel the same way.

Perhaps you just received the latest tablet (iPad, kindle etc) as a holiday gift. Now for the best part! Downloading the apps….

We at Sabre absolutely LOVE our smartphone and tablets. In fact, we give an ipad away to each new Sabre 48 Salon Express owners (complete with owners manual etc).

So now that you have a new tablet, where do you start? We’ve assembled the TOP 5 most essential apps for our fellow boat lovers.

5. Harbor Master

iTunes says, Relax and let the sounds of the sea transport you far away. You are the Harbor Master in a busy harbor. Direct boats into the docks, watch them unload their cargo, and direct them off the screen. But be careful not to let the boats crash, and watch out for the pirates, monsters, and cyclones!

Sabre Associates say, “If you’re like us and have snow on the ground right now, this app is a fun way to stay connected to the water while sitting next to the fire”.

4.  Ship Finder

iTunes says, The original and most highly rated ship tracking app, ranked top 10 in the Navigation category in over 30 countries.

Sabre Associates say, “It’s like Facebook for ships….enter the boats surname and you can view pictures, its height, length, home port. It’s very entertaining!”

3.INavX

iTunes says, “ iNavX brings the freely available, official and up to date NOAA RNC raster waters marine charts to your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Included detailed chart coverage: West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii and US Virgin Islands and beyond….”

Sabre Associates say, “We use this app everywhere…from the Coast of Australia to Monaco to Maine. It never lets us down.”

2. DragQueen

iTunes says, DragQueen is a simple anchor alarm. It provides distance and GPS accuracy alarms along with an alarm delay. The alarm is quite annoying and is the perfect thing to waken you at night if it detects anchor dragging to your specifications.

Sabre Associates say, “The name alone is entertainment. My wife actually was worried…it’s a bonus that it actually is quite effective!”

1. Sabre Yachts

iTunes says, Sabre motor yachts are available in Salon Express and Fly Bridge styles and in lengths from 38 to 54 feet. All models cruise in the mid-twenty knot range and use pod drive systems for quiet and efficient operation.

Sabre Associates say, “Our new app allows you to view brochures of all of our models. The app has videos and pictures. You can even pick out the color hull you want!”

What are YOUR favorite apps?