Review of Sabre 27

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

The boat is equipped with one cabin, 5 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.

Galley of Sabre 27. Kajania interior

Rig of Sabre 27. Kajania

The Sabre 27 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The Sabre 27 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

The Sabre 27 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

Sabre 27 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.37 - 1.47 meter (4.49 - 4.79 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Unknown keel type

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.91 - 1.01 meter (2.99 - 3.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The Sabre 27 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD7A diesel engine at 14 hp (10 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.9 knots

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

Alternative 2:

Sabre 27 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD1B diesel engine at 10 hp (7 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.1 knots

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

Alternative 3:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Bukh DV10 diesel engine at 10 hp (7 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.1 knots

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

Alternative 4:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Beta Marine BZ 482 diesel engine at 14 hp (10 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.9 knots

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 68.0 liters (17 US gallons, 14 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Sabre 27 is 1.86, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Sabre 27 is about 124 kg/cm, alternatively 694 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 124 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 694 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Sabre 27 is 25.0.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sabre 27 is 3.00.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Sabre 27 is 46%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sabre 27 is 293 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 13.75

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 21m² (226 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Sabre 27 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.