heads.

Early models had a 13 hp diesel, but the later ones had an 18 hp or 20 hp Westerbeke. Fuel tanks and water tanks are of good size, with the option on auxiliary tanks to increase capacity.

Overall, the Sabre 30 looks an excellent cruiser, well-made, with plenty of room for a couple to cruise extensively, or for family cruising. It should also behave very well in heavy weather.

Sabre has been building boats on Sebago Lake near Portland, since the 1970s, starting with a 28-footer and the Sabre 30 was introduced in 1979. Now they produce yachts from 36-feet upward – like many sail boat builders they found that the costs of building 28-30 feet was almost as high as for a 36-footer.

However, there are plenty of Sabre 30 around, and they still make excellent cruisers. Because the company has been making fiberglass boats since 1970, the quality is good, and you should be able to find a good model from the early 90s perhaps a Mark III for around $60,000. The 28-footers are generally quite old these days, but are a cheaper alternative.



Sabre 30 Sailboat Mk IIISpecification

LOA: 30'7”(9.3 m) LWL: 25'6" (7.8 m) Beam: 10'6" (3.2 m) Draft:  5'3" (1.6 m)  Displacement: 4.2 tons (4265 kg) Ballast:  1.7 tons ( 1725 kg) Ballast ratio: 40% Sail Area: 462 sq ft Engine: Westerbeke 20 bhp

There is also a company called Sabre Yachts at Highbridge, Somerset in the UK. This is a much smaller firm, which used to make a 27-footer and more recently a 35-footer which was actually a 32-footer with a scoop stern added to increase length.