Sabre 34 for $8K

[Tmacmi]

I was just offered a Sabre 34 for $8K.

We went and looked at it more to educate ourselves about these boats as we look for one in the future than anything else

Here's what I can generally sum up. At some time in its past it was in Rhode Island. I didn't look in detail, but I didn't see any particular corrosion problems.

I spent a bit of time with a tap hammer crawling the deck and did not find any obvious problems.

It was clearly once set up for racing. All the winches and blocks looked in great condition, again not an in depth search but it was a beginning.

Now the problems.

It needs a completely new cabin sole. Rain came down the mast over the years and rotted everything from the V-Berth hall to the stairs from the cockpit. I suspect that sometime in its past it was left on the hard for a lengthy period of time and water built up to the sole (maybe above) and it rotted. I was disappointed to discover that the sole is made of plywood. I would have thought Sabre did a better job.

Two of the chain plates are leaking quite a bit. They need to be rebedded. I don't think that is inherently a hard problem, but does anybody know if the plates are set on cored wood or on a fiberglass hardened area?

It has no cradle. That can be problematic around here. Most of the yards are not allowing boats to keep their mast up if they aren't on a cradle.

In truth we weren't bowled over by the layout. Its pretty much a larger version of the existing boat. We are looking at a boat that can legitimately sleep one other couple. There is a true door between the V-berth and the saloon. There is a fold out on one settee to make a larger bed, but it didn't appear to be much larger than a full.

I was looking for one of the versions of a Sabre or Ericson that had the table that dropped to form bed.

Anyone have experience with that?

What do you think

[Oohla]

I don't know the Sabre 38, but my Sabre 42 like I most Sabre's had the same Sabre-specific dining table tipped up to permit A pull out plywood sheet with a twist done leg doubles the size of the berth making a double bed in the salon. The bed is simple. The fold down table has very close tolerances. Look at photos of Sabres on Yacht World for clues.


BTW Sabre have a good reputation for being solidly built boats. I got mine for offshore work.

[billknny]

Sabre built some very robust boats. Hardware was typically oversized compared to other production boats. Overall, great vessels, but... like every builder they were not perfect.

The cabin sole was frequently an issue on the ones I have seen. The plywood sole rested on a shelf built into the hull The problems came because any condensation or leak around the sides of the boat, ran down and soaked into the endgrain of the ply. As far as I saw there was no effective setup for draining the water into the bilge. So... the cabin sole issue is not an unusual one, although what you describe is worse than most.

It will be a major carpentry project to fix... but you get a good price too.

As for the cradle, seems to me that you can have the mast pulled for many seasons for the cost of a custom cradle. I am not at all sure why your area should be different, but that is a new requirement to me...and I have been in a LOT of boat yards!

[Tmacmi]

Oohla,

This is a Sabre 34 like yours, for whatever reason this one doesn't have the drop table that turns into a bed.

The cost of this one goes up because I would leave it on the hard while I do the carpentry and sell the current boat.

What about the chain plates? Are these through a cored area?

[psk125]

Originally Posted by Tmacmi

Oohla,

This is a Sabre 34 like yours, for whatever reason this one doesn't have the drop table that turns into a bed.

The cost of this one goes up because I would leave it on the hard while I do the carpentry and sell the current boat.

What about the chain plates? Are these through a cored area?

Oohla says he has a Sabre 42 with a drop-down table/double berth. He does not have a 34. Is there an owner’s group you could contact for more info?

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by psk125

Oohla says he has a Sabre 42 with a drop-down table/double berth. He does not have a 34. Is there an owner’s group you could contact for more info?

Owners' group - https://groups.io/g/SabreSailboat

Here's a detailed discussion about the mast step issue on Sabres, also discussed is the cabin sole - https://groups.io/g/SabreSailboat/to...0,2,0,70982994

You can join the group and post photos of the Sabre 34 you visited and whatever questions you have, someone may even know of that particular boat.

[Dave Lochner]

There is a known issue in early keel stepped Sabres with the mast step, soul, and sometimes the bulkhead rotting from water not draining properly from the mast step. It can be fixed, but it is not inexpensive. Follow NavDi's advice and join the Sabre list and take at look at the archives on Mast Step Disease. A number of members have done this job themselves. The cost is in the labor, not materials.

Sabres are stick built boats. With the exception of the heads, there is no fiberglass pan that allows good access to the bilge and if there is a problem, the sole can be fixed as can any other part of the interior by someone with good carpentry skills.

The cabin sole starts with a layer of plywood that is bonded to the floors with screws and resins. Once the sub-sole is in place the finish layer is bonded to the subfloor with thickened resin or a layer of glass and resin. This makes it as strong or stronger than a fiberglass pan and more expensive to build.

The chain plates are attached to knees that are tabbed to the hull. If they have been leaking, the knees probably need replacing. Again a messy job, but not technically challenging.

Sabres are well built boats capable of extended offshore passages. Several have made trans-Atlantic passages. The owners of those boats are on the Sabre group and will gladly answer questions. The group is very active and has about 1000 Sabre owners and a few "not-a-Sabre" owners. Collectively they are extremely knowledge about Sabres and their care and maintenance.

Sabre Yachts continues to provide customer support for sailboats, even though they haven't built a sailboat in a number of years.

Bill and Grace on Calico Skies (a Sabre 36) just replaced the knees on their boat and posted a video on the first half of the job. They have completed 2 transatlantic passages on Calico Skies.

Sabre owners tend to be a bit passionate about their boats. I'm on my second Sabre, first was a 30 and currently a 362. I do have photos of an early 34 with the cabin sole removed. PM me if you would like to see a few.

A lack of cradle should not deter you. Used cradles abound and they can be purchased for not a lot of money.

https://youtu.be/pUXvUTJZAC4

[Dr. Sea]

Since the boat has been leaking quite a lot around the chain plates, those chain plates need to be pulled and carefully inspected before you reseal them. The evidence of leaking raises questions about crevice corrosion, which could endanger the rig.

[Tmacmi]

Thanks all! The Sabre owners forum was quite interesting. We are going to take a pass. I just spent so much time on our boat, I just want to relax and enjoy before the next project.

[Oohla]

Good for you. Going with your gut. T hat's the smart move.

There are so very many used boats out there. and I think if you are patient you will find what you need.

I am happy with my own Sabre, but it was a point in time purchase and I might not do it again.

And, for me, that is the magic of selecting a boat for your needs. Think about your needs, not your wants.

[Island Time O25]

FWIW, early in the Fall my winter haul out yard haulers which has a marine junkyard on the premises brought a Sabre 34 for a part out. I was surprised, since it looked fine on the outside. Turned out it needed a new set of chainplates and that boat owner's upscale yard quoted $10K for the job. So he decided to junk it instead.

The junk yard in turn was willing to sell it as is for about $6-8K (depending on if the sails, etc stayed with the boat or not). At the end there was no takers at that price range and the boat was parted out. I couldn't believed it, since from my own fiberglass work on my total of 5 boats the chainplate job would not be that difficult of a project. In fact IMO compared to other projects it would be somewhere in the middle level of difficulty.

Had I been boatless/between boats I would've grabbed that Sabre, assuming the engine was turning over. Perhaps there were other issues I didn't know of besides the chainplates but still - a Sabre 34 with new chainplates gotta be worth at least $15-20K or more.