2007 Sabre 34 Express

Built in Maine, home to America's finest yacht builders, the Sabre 34 Hard Top Express design offers the classic look and performance for which Sabre Yachts is so well known. But the Sabre 34 has even more of the elegance and creative details that boat buyers have come to expect from the Sabre Design Team. Her elevated helm deck offers clear sight lines from the Stidd helm chair and the elevated L-settee to port provides ample views for her crew and guests. A convertible back rest at the forward end of the settee creates a comfortable mate's seat. A fully functional galley is located to starboard aft of the helm seat. Optional power for the Sabre 34 is a pair of Volvo D6 for those seeking higher cruise and top end speeds. The standard engines will provide a cruise speed in the mid-twenty knot range. A generator and below deck air conditioning system are included as standard equipment. Below deck, this 34 footer is truly unique, designed as an open layout which creates a private owner's suite. A full, queen-sized berth, low to the cabin sole, is easy to access. To port and aft is a full head with separate shower stall. To starboard is a comfortable L-settee with matching ottoman.

• Engines are new in 5/20/2021, Model D6-380i-G, Tier III. They have 3 months remaining of the full warranty (expires 5/20/2023) and an additional 3 years of warranty for major components only (expires 5/20/2026)
• The engines have 310 hours on them, and the 200-hour service has been performed.

This boat features a new suite of Garmin electronics.

• Garmin GPSMap 8616xsv, 16" HD touchscreen Display, Chartplotter, Radar, Depth, BlueCharts,  (New April 2021)
• Garmin Fantom 24" Radar Dome HD, (New April 2021)
• Garmin/Volvo Glass Cockpit System, specifically made to monitor engine systems with full instrumentation. (New April 2021)
• Garmin GC Marine wireless Camera (New April 2021)
• Dual Transducers for vivid Fishfinding on Garmin Display
• Garmin GC Marine IP Camera (New April 2021)
• Garmin Auto Pilot (New April 2021)
• Volvo Penta Electronic Shifters (New April 2021)
• Fusion Apollo MS-RA770 Stereo System (New April 2021)
• Wireless Remote for the Fusion Stereo System on aft deck
• Wireless Remote for Spot Light control
• Trim Tab Actuator switches
• Garmin GXM 54 Sirius XM Satellite Weather and Audio (New April 2021)
• Standard Horizon Matrix AIS/GPS VHF Radio (New April 2021), including new high power Antenna

• Onan 9kW in sound box, 175 hours
• 2) Lifeline 4-D House Batteries
• 2) Group 31 Batteries for engine start
• 1) Group 24 Battery for generator start
• Pro Mariner 50amp smart battery charger

Small, efficient Galley along the starboard side between the helm and the cockpit.

• Gourmet 2 burner electric ceramic cooktop
• Single polished stainless steel sink, with pull-out designer faucet
• Dometic Microwave Oven
• Dometic AC/DC small refrigerator with freezer section located at settee across from galley
• U-Line Icemaker located in the cockpit
• Additional AC/DC small refrigerator located in the lower cabin, (non-op)
• Corian style countertops
• Cherry wood cabinetry and drawers

• Lewmar Vertical Electric Windlass
• Ultra Stainless Steel 35lb anchor with Swivel on estimated 150' of 5/16" chain
• Canvas enclosed helm area
• Wired for cockpit down-riggers
• Camera System for both back camera for cockpit and engine room camera
• Sunscreen window covers
• All new Cockpit and helm area LED lighting, that are dimmable, and can be switched to red light only.
• New Wash downs, both salt water and fresh water
• Step Through Transom door
• Under swimstep mounted swim ladder

I'm hesitant to deride a builder for added bells and whistles, but I get disturbed if a vessel's functionality is compromised by them. The trick is to strike a balance among functionality, safety, and creature comforts while maintaining aesthetics. During the time I spent aboard the Sabre 34 Hard Top Express, it was apparent that the South Casco, Maine-based builder understands this concept in spades.

I met Scott Shane, the sales manager for DiMillo's New York Yacht Sales, in Freeport on the Long Island town's famed Nautical Mile, a stretch of waterfront jam-packed with boat dealers, seafood restaurants, and salty types. Shane escorted me to the 34, tied stern-to among a number of other Sabre models. She cut a handsome profile: Her optional blue hull, set off with gold striping, gleamed with morning dew and contrasted nicely with the teak toerail and the creamy white pilothouse, hardtop, and coach roof.

Walking alongside her, I noted the cast stainless steel fairleads midship in the teak toerails, another nice detail. As I stepped aboard via her fiberglass (teak is optional) swim platform, through a 30-inch-wide transom door, and into her cockpit, she barely moved under the weight of my 175 pounds plus the 35 pounds of equipment I was carrying.

From the 50-square-foot cockpit, it's one step up to the 34's seriously windowed pilothouse, where her owners will likely spend the bulk of their time. I unzipped the optional three-side isinglass enclosure to enter (a hard-back enclosure with an aluminum door is a $17,500 option) and passed the galley, all the way aft to starboard. While it's a simple setup—with a bullnosed Corian countertop, a two-burner cooktop, a stainless steel sink, and microwave, with a refrigerator/ freezer to port—there's enough stowage for a weekend of sundries for two. The galley-up also frees space below decks and is convenient for dining, as the standard inlaid cherry table at the L-shape settee is just to port.

The entire pilothouse is bathed in light from three forward and four side windows that offer panoramic views in all directions. For days when it's not warm enough to run the optional 18,000-Btu air conditioning here, ventilation is available from a number of sources: 2'2"x3'4" sliding windows to port and starboard, two 1'8" square Lewmar sliding hatches in her hardtop, and a slick, electrically actuated center windshield. Both the helmsman and first mate are ensured all-day comfort at a pair of standard Stidd helm seats finished in the same beige Ultraleather as the settee, which looks great against the cherry accents and optional teak sole in the pilothouse.

The handsome appearance extends below decks, where simplicity dominates: Accessed via a centerline companionway and down four steps, her saloon is homage to what Sabre calls "crafted in the Maine tradition." The cherry interior is artisan-grade, with flawless grain matching and first-rate joinery. Stowage areas are also well crafted, with dovetail joints in all drawers. In addition, many of the stowage spaces have louvered doors, a great look that also allows for air circulation, which prevents mold. A cozy, starboard-side, L-shape settee and a cherry table with gorgeous bird's-eye maple inlay set off the saloon, providing a great reading spot or premium viewing for the standard, swing-arm-mounted, 15-inch LCD TV.

Although the saloon settee can convert to a double berth for guests, the 34 is an ideal boat for a couple, with a forepeak queen-size berth separated from the saloon by a privacy curtain. Opting for a curtain instead of a bulkhead frees up space, allowing for a convenient fridge-freezer to port and a 2'8"Lx 2'Wx3'4"D cedar-lined hanging locker to starboard. It also gives the port-side head a larger footprint, which the 34's designers used for an enclosed shower, a nice surprise on a boat of this size.

Another welcome surprise was her combination of superlative performance and fuel efficiency. During the sea trial on the flat backwaters off of Freeport, the 34 achieved 1 mpg or better throughout her engines' entire rpm range, except at WOT, where she registered a still-respectable 0.93 mpg while topping 38 mph. In the confused, crowded waters of the Jones Beach Inlet, the 34 busted through the two- and three-foot wakes with ease, weaving her way effortlessly around groups of anglers that were gunning for stripers just outside the inlet. Integral spray rails kept the windshield dry, and sightlines were excellent in all directions from the starboard-side helm.

However, I noted that her optional twin 370-hp Volvo D6 diesel inboards were running about 120 rpm above rated maximum rpm. After discussing this with the builder, I learned that Sabre specs the ZF props assuming that four people and their related gear are aboard.

The 34's craftsmanship, performance, and all-day cruising comfort impressed me, but what I liked best was her practicality: nothing felt superfluous. Yet she's no plain Jane, turning more than a few heads along the wharves of Freeport. And for a lot of owners, that will be this boat's main attraction.

Article by Jeffrey Moser