Category Archives: Sabre 42

Winter Sabre Projects #2

Sabre 42, Winter 2014-2015 Projects

By Rich

We’ve got a bunch of projects started and underway, but progress is already being hampered by harsher than normal temperatures for this time of the year. All indications are that we are facing a very ugly winter here in Maryland.

The aft head door has been test fit twice and with some additional sanding it can be touched up with varnish and fit back into place permanently.

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In the interest of eliminating a musty smell from the forward air conditioning system, I’ve removed the air handling ducting and have replacements on order.

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Winter Sabre Projects #1

Sabre 42, Winter 2014-2015 Projects

By Rich

Last fall we were looking forward to our January charter in the BVIs. This fall, with the cold about to steamroll us and the dark already here, I’m reminded that deferral of gratification is a hallmark of emotional intelligence. The last morning I woke up aboard Le Saberage some weeks ago, it took literally all of my self control not to turn right out of Lake Ogelton and start sailing for Florida instead of turning left for the boatyard. Alas, in my 40s I’m more mature than I was when I owned my first boat. Perhaps, with the Sabre in much better shape in the spring, I’ll see the virtue in my personal growth. But right now maturity feels like darkness, cold, and a huge To-Do list.

Still, there is progress and that’s good for morale. With Lisa’s help I got our new beast winterized – which is a much bigger accomplishment than it was with the J/29.

I’ve started some more substantive projects too. While winterizing the boat I elected to remove the water tanks to thoroughly clean them inside and out. During the removal I discovered that I am not pleased with the way they are secured against coming adrift and killing off-watch crew in the event of a severe knockdown, so I plan to reinforce part of the settee face before re installing them.

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We Face Our First Significant Test Aboard Le Saberage

Fall 2014 Cruising, Sabre 42

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By Rich

Whoooooooooosssssssshhhhhhhhhh…

Boom, Boom…

Slap, slap slap…

It’s 4 a.m. this past Saturday, and Lisa and I are asleep in the forward cabin of the Sabre, which lies on a mooring in front of Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford, Maryland. Actually, Lisa is sleeping but I have been drifting in and out for a while now. The wind is howling through the rig. Since arriving Saturday afternoon we’ve had a sustained 15 knots with frequent gusts into the lower 20s right here in the anchorage. Each gust makes the ominous noise cheap B-movie film makers like to dub over footage of the haunted house on the hilltop in the dead of night:

Whhhoooooooossssssssshhhhhhhhhh…

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A Windy Weekend (Finally!)

Fall 2014 Cruising, Sabre 42

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  • Stab self in the eye with a fork
  • Get a root canal
  • Prepare own income tax return, then write check  to the IRS for the balance due plus interest and penalties

File all of the above under the heading of “I’d rather [fill in one of the above] than …” Racing sailors have at least one more item to add to this list: trying to sail downwind on cruising boats that aren’t rigged with spinnakers. Apart from being painfully slow, cruising boats (and even race boats for that matter) often roll miserably when sailing deep angles under main and jib & main alone.  Ugh. This weekend I got a great surprise: our Sabre’s centerboard underbody means she isn’t a dullard going downwind without a chute. Actually, she runs dead downwind like a champ.

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Another Fantastic Weekend Away on the Sabre

Fall 2014 Cruising, Sabre 42

By Rich

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For the second weekend in a row we had only light winds, and so relied on the diesel exclusively to get to and from Rock Hall. But we had an absolutely fantastic time nonetheless, and we’re happy to be putting plenty of testing hours on the engine before next season. So far we are right on track with our Fall plan of getting as much experience with the boat as possible to (i) learn how everything works (ii) learn as much as we can about living aboard and (iii) find as many bugs / problems / issues as we can so that we can work over the winter to make the boat as reliable as possible for next season. We currently have a very long list of mostly minor problems, which is terrific news. We continue to be most leery of the diesel but our confidence is growing after putting over 15 hours on it over the last two weekends.

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Our First Overnight Away On the Sabre

Fall 2014 Cruising, Sabre 42

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By Rich

Wins:

  • The best onboard shower design (in the aft head) of any sailboat we’ve been on
  • The Sabre’s galley can be easily worked by two people at once
  • The V-Birth is super cozy
  • Two four hour stints logged on the diesel (the most suspect part of this boat by far) with perfectly reliability. Whew!
  • Some unexpected, alluring boat porn at St. Michaels. Somehow a couple of beautiful Swans made in between the giant McProductionGrade powerboats crewed by the overly-tanned and the chronically over-served ….

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Sunday Video and Photos

Fall 2014 Cruising, Sabre 42

By Rich

Sunday was another wonderful day on the Bay: a 10 knot Northerly and high temps only in the 80s. This time I brought friends!

Below: I took a break between my two trips out to chill on the mooring for a while. I love having the boat on a mooring!

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After cleaning the boat up I ran to the house for a couple of items, then stopped for takeout Chinese. When I returned to the boat to enjoy my takeout and settle in for the night, I was met with this incredible sunset!

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Single Handling The Sabre (W/ Short Videos)

Sabre 42, Single Handing

By Rich

With Lisa in Newport to contest the J/70 Worlds and other cronies tied up with miscellaneous distractions, I needed to do some single handling today if I was going to put hours on the Sabre to learn how to operate it and to look for bugs to fix before the spring. I learned a lot today and Seb and I had a ton of fun together after a (steaming hot) 10 knot Southerly filled in.

The weekend started Friday night when Brian, Lisa and I took the boat to the Club. After dinner I spent my first night on the boat.

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Key learning: The AC works! And what a difference. I never would have stayed on the boat at the dock in that heat without AC. Very nice! Growing up, our boats didn’t have heat, AC, or microwave ovens. Cruising sure has changed.

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