The 58 Salon Express from Sabre Yachts
The Sabre 58 Salon Express embodies the Sabre Yachts motto, "crafted in the Maine tradition." Aside from bespoke yachts, the Sabre 58 Salon Express is the only American-built, Down East-style yacht in this size range.
The company's 50 years of boatbuilding experience was evident everywhere I turned on board the Sabre 58. My finger couldn't find an edge in the corner joint of the American cherrywood (not veneer) interior. The galley also has a bank of dovetailed maple drawers.
It is smaller than Sabre's flagship motoryacht, the 66 Dirigo, which is the largest in their Salon Express line of 38- to 48-footers. A side-deck access door next to the helm seat serves as a reminder that the Sabre 58 is designed for owner-operators and does not have crew quarters.
Naval architect Kevin Burns and the Sabre design team designed the yacht's hull. There is 15 degrees of deadrise at the transom and 24 degrees amidships on this modified deep-V planing hull. Billy Black
The twin Volvo Penta IPS950 diesels are controlled by a joystick on the helm. A joystick is located beneath the teak steering wheel in the armrest of the twin Stidd UltraLeather seats. Under a pair of flush 17-inch Garmin touchscreen multifunction displays, a cantilevered solid cherry plank supports a tidy row of rocker switches. This wooden rendition of a glass-bridge system is equipped with an eyebrow to prevent reflections from the windshield and a glove box for the skipper. To the port side is a double-wide companion seat.
On the same deck, stainless-steel doors aft fold away for entry into the yacht's salon, removing the usual divide between interior and cockpit. You'll be in the galley, which is the first aft galley on a Sabre. There are two steps between it and the cockpit's dining table, as well as two steps between it and the dinette and settee behind the helm.
But as Bentley Collins, vice president of marketing at Sabre, points out, “If you use your boat for cruising with family and friends, then what better spot to put the galley than smack in the middle between the indoor and outdoor social spaces.”
A skylight illuminates the atrium next to the helm. Beyond that is the full-beam master stateroom, along with a hidden washer and dryer. Inlaid headboards and a 10-inch-thick mattress grace the 76-by-80-inch king island berth in the stateroom. Nightstands are on each side of the bed, and a pair of cedar-lined hanging lockers have shelves in addition to drawers and underbed storage.
Aside from resin-infused biaxial glass, Corecell foam coring, and foam-cored biaxial glass stringers, Sabre 58 Salon Express hulls use the latest technology.
There is a VIP space forward of the vestibule with a walk-around queen bed, a built-in bureau, and a double-door hanging locker. The VIP's en suite head has a stall shower with a door and doubles as a dayhead, accessible from the vestibule. The third stateroom has a shower en suite and twin berths that can be converted to a double.
When waiting for bridge openings, the dynamic-positioning system should prove useful. There is a non-slip walkway between the engines in the engine room, which is accessed by way of a stainless-steel ladder through a hydraulic cockpit hatch. In addition to the engines and pod drives, a 21.5 kW generator is equipped with an oil-change system. Onboard power is provided by a 3.5 kW Mastervolt high-output inverter/charger for onboard use without generator and a pair of 85-foot Glendinning shore-power cords.
In addition to the Racor Max 1000 fuel filters and Groco water-intake strainers, the noise barrier is made of gloss-white, Mylar-faced foam.
There is more space for provisions than usual, since the builder added cabinets high above the galley countertops.
Onboard Wi-Fi and digital switching are both included as part of the CZone NMEA 2000 electrical system on the Sabre 58. A variety of circuits can be monitored and controlled using the iPad Mini provided by the manufacturer. The salon includes launch ports for two iPad Minis (a second is optional). Master staterooms have fixed-network displays, and engine rooms have another.
In February, Sabre reported that the 58′ cruised from Maine to the Miami International Boat Show at an average speed of 28 knots. The boat traveled 370 nautical miles over 13 and a half hours from the Shinnecock Canal off Long Island, New York, to Norfolk, Virginia. "That's cruising," Collins says.
In addition to its cherrywood interior and bow and trunk-cabin design, the Sabre 58's Down East heritage is immediately apparent.
As a result of the boat's sound-attenuation insulation, noise levels at the helm barely exceed 60 dB (A) while cruising at 28 knots, according to the builder. Noise reduction measures include coring on cabin sides and bulkheads in the engine room, as well as taping all furniture into place.
In its 50th year, Sabre Yachts introduces the Sabre 58 Salon Express, which embodies the builder's knowledge, classic lines and modern technology. There is something timeless about this yacht, as well as something modern about it.
