Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › What’s the fastest a Sabre has been?
misr12.
Heard of a few that have hit 72 with newer 175s, just curious if anybody has been faster than that? Maybe with an older modded 2.5 if they care to share?
I hit 69.9 with a mercury XR-6 and a member on here named Flyswatter busted 70 with his HO 150 a few years back. I never tried running mine empty so the 69.9 was with a full tournament load or Sabre load as I can not fit what I have in my Eyra in a Sabre. I have heard of several Sabre with the 175’s running close to mid 70’s
72-73 for our old Sabre. Had an 89 Sabre and in 1995 we put a stock Mariner Magnum 175 EFI on it. First one in the state for that model year. It was shipped from a boat company based in Kilgore, Tx, before they became a Yamaha company. My brother wound up with it when I got our new boat.
Sure did look great as it passed my 97 P2/200 one morning at a tournament on Lake Ouachita…like it was on rails..
Edit: Got a message from the driver of the Sabre that day(brother). I stand corrected. It wasn’t 72-73.
It was 74.2 mph to be exact. That was a GPS speed as well. That Sabre probably greatly reduced his learning curve for performance driving those Puma and Cougar FTDs.
I have seen 70.6 gps with a half tank fuel and a light load in my 17 Sabre FTD
One of the member on here had a Sabre FTD with a 175 SHO and seen a bump over 73 mph.
So a good estimation of the difference in speed that roughly 25 hp makes in the 65-75mph realm is ~5mph given a 150 Sabre will run about 65, a 175 Sabre around 70 and a 200 P2 75ish? I understand aero/hydro drag aren’t linear and it requires more hp to overcome them the higher the speed as well as there will be some guys on the pointier end that will get a little higher numbers than I referenced with worked props in perfect conditions etc.
Its my understanding that the 175 carries a load better than the 150 with just a slight speed increase.
My Sabre FTD with the Merc 175 ran 69.4 with a 25 Trophy Plus. A Fury 3 series prop would have given me more speed but the Sabre handled great and carried the bow well with the Trophy.
It cruised easily at 65 mph
I’m seeing 69.8 GPS in a 2017 Sabre FTD AE with dual consoles, fortrex, and 30 gallons of fuel. That’s with a worked 24″ Tempest Plus on a 175 SHO. I have NO doubt (after the prop work) that it will hit 72 once I learn to drive it better. I also have a 25″ Bravo I FS and it will run a good solid 68, even in warm/hot weather. Again, if I could drive better, I think it would run 70 solo. When you get above 65 mph in a Sabre that has the right prop and PTP height, it IS going to chine walk, and as you near 70, you’d better be on top of it because the boat is literally flying.
jignpig wrote: 72-73 for our old Sabre. Had an 89 Sabre and in 1995 we put a stock Mariner Magnum 175 EFI on it. First one in the state for that model year. It was shipped from a boat company based in Kilgore, Tx, before they became a Yamaha company. My brother wound up with it when I got our new boat.
Sure did look great as it passed my 97 P2/200 one morning at a tournament on Lake Ouachita…like it was on rails..Edit: Got a message from the driver of the Sabre that day(brother). I stand corrected. It wasn’t 72-73.
It was 74.2 mph to be exact. That was a GPS speed as well. That Sabre probably greatly reduced his learning curve for performance driving those Puma and Cougar FTDs.
But for some reason, your brother has a knack for milking every last mph out of a boat.
jignpig wrote: 72-73 for our old Sabre. Had an 89 Sabre and in 1995 we put a stock Mariner Magnum 175 EFI on it. First one in the state for that model year. It was shipped from a boat company based in Kilgore, Tx, before they became a Yamaha company. My brother wound up with it when I got our new boat.
Sure did look great as it passed my 97 P2/200 one morning at a tournament on Lake Ouachita…like it was on rails..Edit: Got a message from the driver of the Sabre that day(brother). I stand corrected. It wasn’t 72-73.
It was 74.2 mph to be exact. That was a GPS speed as well. That Sabre probably greatly reduced his learning curve for performance driving those Puma and Cougar FTDs.
That’s awesome! No doubt, driving an 18′ that fast takes some skill.
Cajunhunter67 wrote: Its my understanding that the 175 carries a load better than the 150 with just a slight speed increase.
My Sabre FTD with the Merc 175 ran 69.4 with a 25 Trophy Plus. A Fury 3 series prop would have given me more speed but the Sabre handled great and carried the bow well with the Trophy.
It cruised easily at 65 mph
I think I’m in going to move to the 3.4L V6 DOHC 4-stroke for the benefit of the increased torque for holeshot and when carrying a heavier load in the heat as well as being able to cruise faster with less trim meaning more boat in the water for stability. The faster trim of the single ram system on my 150 3.0L SOHC I4 4-stroke is beneficial when needing to trim down quickly and bring the boat off pad to set it down to cross a set of wakes though think the traditional slower 3-ram tilt/trim system is better for high speed fine tuning. It’s nice to have the extra power there if needed, don’t have to necessarily air it out if the conditions aren’t favorable.
The Sabre model has changed over time. The 1988-‘89 models, then 1990 to 1998, those from 1999 through 2003 and finally 2004 up, and the Sabre FTD in 2007 came to the front. The model is due an update though the smaller 18’ market definitely has slowed progress as larger models take space for R&D. Since the 2010 era focus has to be where the market leads us, and that’s not 17’ to 19’ models.
Bass Cat Boats wrote: The Sabre model has changed over time. The 1988-‘89 models, then 1990 to 1998, those from 1999 through 2003 and finally 2004 up, and the Sabre FTD in 2007 came to the front. The model is due an update though the smaller 18’ market definitely has slowed progress as larger models take space for R&D. Since the 2010 era focus has to be where the market leads us, and that’s not 17’ to 19’ models.
Understandable as outboards are getting heavier/more powerful as well, still believe it’s the best bang for the buck entry level boat though guess the 150hp tour isn’t very popular. Is there a governor built into the hull of the FTD like y’all stated on the Eyra?
I was in a late 90’s Sabre about 6 years ago that was lightly loaded that hit 72 – 73 GPS with a 2.5l 175. Those things just flew out of the hole. You can calculate top possible speed using max RPM value, gear ratio, and prop pitch — on many boats they will never actually see this speed because their hull is too inefficient, but Bass Cat hulls are so efficient in general that you can realistically look towards that number when doing setup. My dad was very good at propping out his Cats while I was growing up, getting the motor height, load, and prop just right. We had a ’96 Pantera II during the 150 hp limitation era (for Bassmaster) with a Johnson 150 Fast Strike that we hit 67 on the GPS with a light load and the two of us (big boys) fairly regularly. Dad drove by water pressure (along with the rest) which was less common years ago and how I learned, and the driver makes a difference in speeds seen, too, of course.
Top ultimate speed is nice, but it’s hard to compare a Bass Cat to top speeds achieved on other brands – those others may hit them in ideal conditions, but they aren’t indicative of what you’d do in those boats in normal situations. I remember fishing a Governor’s Cup tournament (old Florida team trail) on Okeechobee with Dad in ’98 when he had a Jaguar with a 150 on it (crazy, but Bass still had the 150 limit and he wanted the Jag) that we could routinely hit 60 – 62 in, where every dude in a Stratos or Javelin or Gambler (saw LOTS of those in FL during the 90’s) was goofing on us in the locks and at the marina because of the undersized motor. But when the water was even a little rough, we ripped past them like we were riding on a cloud. Even in the modern era, this is frequently true. I was in a 20+ model of a major brand on Lake Fork a couple years ago where we were doing 70+ getting around the lake, but I’m pretty sure I lost a filling in one of my teeth and my back ached for days afterward. Man did I miss being in a Bass Cat then and told me all I needed to know about the progress of other brands’ hulls & construction over the years. Anyway, just some reminiscing there – not entirely relevant to the Sabre question.
Missed those days.
21012 SabreFTD /175HPDI, winter temps, full load by myself 72.5 mph.
2008 Sabre/150HO Etec, full load by myself 7o.o mph.
Seems I can’t login on my old account.
Most fun boat experienced I’ve ever had was my 2008 Sabre/150HO Etec.
I’ve owned a few more Basscats over that time. I will return to a BassCat!
Flyswatter
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