The largest and most luxurious Sabre motor yacht to date will make her debut in the winter of 2016 at the Yachts Miami Beach Show on Collins Avenue. The Sabre 66 Dirigo is the first American built, downeast-style motor yacht of this size to be introduced to the market. The 66 will be equipped with Volvo Penta IPS3-1200 pod drives which helped define the operating parameters for this new model. From day one the Sabre Yachts Design Office knew they had to carefully monitor weight to keep the 66 Dirigo both light and strong.
Each of the designs for new Sabre models receive several sets of eyes before committing to a final hull form. In the case of the 66, Vector Works was used to build a model and check all of the weights and balances of the design. Vector Works confirmed Sabre’s expectations that the 66 would be able to get a top end speed of 30 knots and a cruise of 25 knots – right on the typical Sabre numbers. The next level of verification came from Volvo Penta. They too wanted to be sure that the IPS 1200’s would give Sabre the same performance parameters and not disappoint.
As a first step in the weight control process hull #1 weighed in at 17,775 lbs. which fell below the target for the hull part which was set at 18,000 lbs. The weight of each part of the 66 build will be controlled by design. Two good examples are the main cabin soles for the forward arrangement and the master stateroom. The forward accommodation sole is cored with balsa to keep things light, make them strong and also help to keep the sound of water running across the hull out of the interior. In the full-beam master stateroom there is a requirement for structural stability which led to using carbon fiber in the layup of the cabin sole.
Sabre Yachts has gone to great lengths for weight reduction in this newest model including the use of a special material to construct most of the interior joinery of the 66 Dirigo. This new material is a fiberglass reinforced polyurethane core material with a cherry overlay. The main reason for this change is weight: one cubic foot of regular marine grade plywood weighs 35 pounds whereas one cubic foot of the new composite weighs just 13 pounds. The weight savings on a vessel this large will be a key factor in the fuel economy and performance on the Sabre 66.
Most recently, the near-completed Sabre 66 was spotted cutting a path through the streets of Rockland, Maine as she made her way to Journey’s End Marina to receive her finishing touches which included paint. This stunning new model from Sabre Yachts can be seen at the 2016 Yachts Miami Beach show from February 11th through the 15th at the first slip of Downeast Cove at Ramp 4 off Collins Avenue in Miami. Feel free to contact a Bluewater team member for more information about this amazing new model, and to schedule a time to see her at the Yachts Miami Beach Show in February.
