Sabre

[lebowski]

I keep reading different things, has the Sabre been discontinued ?

[tdobb]

His names’ Lebowski, that’s your name dude.

Favorite movie of all time.

But yes, as of right now the Sabre is not in production.  It may come back, but the market has definitely shifted away from smaller boats.  That said the Bobcat being wider up front and just a touch shorter is probably consuming a few Sabre sales and its not a whole lot more to step into the P2.  I think if the Sabre comes back, there may be some retooling done to the top cap to make it more current as the Sabre and P2 share the same top cap design, with the P2 being stretched another foot on the front deck (maybe a little in the cockpit too).  I’ve been hoping for years that the Sabre and P2 would get a top cap update to freshen them up.  I don’t mind one bit that they are narrow up front, I absolutely love my P2.  But there are a few tweaks I would do that could make it the ultimate 19 footer.

One factor that seems to be forgotten by the manufacturers is not everyone has a garage that can fit a 20 foot boat, and some don’t even have room for a 19 footer.  Being able to fit the boat into the garage is absolutely the number 1 consideration that I look at when evaluating boats.  I am in an even tougher spot than most because not only am I limited in length, but also height.  My garage door is only 5′-11″ clear when open, so with my P2 I have to tilt the motor down to fit under the door on the garage and the leaning seat post has to be collapsed down to the lowest setting to slide under the door.  I bumped out the back of my garage by about 8″ as well so that I could get the boat in there with the motor down and the swing tongue folded.  I have about 4″ to spare with the P2 in there but I don’t have to go at an angle and the door still closes.

[Anonymous]

As a Sabre owner myself  it’s a bummer to see it not in production anymore. But it’s also kinda cool to have a piece of history. The transition to all these larger boats intrigues me. The cost to operate, size of vehicle needed to tow them, and garage size needed to store them you’d think would be a limiting factor, but doesn’t appear to be. I think the Sabre fills a perfect niche, hopefully they decide to bring it back in an updated form.

[tdobb]

So true Jeeper.  There are a lot of folks out there that want a nice boat but don’t have a 26′ deep garage or a 3/4 ton diesel to pull a 20 footer with.  My garage is about 21′-10″ front to back, I can’t fit a 20 footer in there, and even squeezing the P2 in there is really tight.  But one of the standout features of Bass Cat Boats are the trailers and the design of the folding tongue.  Their pivot point is directly under the bow so you don’t have extra length of trailer beyond the length of the boat.  If you look at all of the other manufacturers boats sitting on the trailer, the pivot point for their inferior swing tongues all extend 6-18″ beyond the bow of the boat, greatly reducing the amount of boat you can fit in a small garage.

With inflation being what it is, and high interest rates, a lot of people are overextending themselves.  Obviously the tournament trails have a major influence on the size of rig people seek out, everyone wants a 20 footer with a 250 cause that’s the status quo.  All the while, 90% of those buyers would likely be better served being in an 18 or 19 footer.  I would be pushing those 18 and 19 foot boats as a better value proposition for the majority of anglers.  A refresh on the top cap for the Sabre and P2 could really turn the sales around on those models I feel as they fit much better in the budget for the average bass angler vs the 20/250 rigs.  But then again from a manufacturers perspective, those 18 and 19 footers don’t have as great of a margin on them so they are less likely to take up production space to turn a smaller profit.

[Wheelman]

I get the bigger trend in boats as I think it’s like cars in that they make a person feel safer, but I’m waiting to see if the green movement is going to have an impact on boat sizes as the weight of batteries is definitely not going to favor small boats. Atleast the EPA isn’t regulating outboard manufacturer’s with carbon credits as far as I’m aware, it seems like the choices of the future for fishing are going to be a kayak or a barge. I don’t think big boats would be as popular as they are if they hadn’t have stretched loans out to 20 years and wonder what the average term length is on financing?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by Wheelman.

[lebowski]

I’m a Sabre owner too.  And it is a bummer☹️

[Anonymous]

I agree with everything you said wheelman and tdobb interestingly the dealer I bought my Sabre was remarking I was one of the few people he had in the last 6+ months that came in looking for an 18 footer. He was commenting he was selling then (last year) 20 footers to 18 footers at a ratio of 8 to 1. Tdobb, he also mentioned the popularity of MLF and Bassmasters and said everyone thought they “needed” a 20 footer with a 250 hung off the back. Funny thing was that he said at least 50% of the customers are back in a year wanting to trade them in for something smaller. He was impressed I had gotten to realizing an 18 footer was plenty of boat, without wasting $$ on something larger first. In my home state the largest lake is 5400 acres. The ramps are marginal at best. A 20ft boat is just too much in my opinion. Not to mention people underestimate a 250 hp engine. That’s an incredible amount of power back there and can get you in trouble in a hurry. End of the day, I love my Sabre for everything it is and everything it’s not.

[Wheelman]

Jeeper8822:

I agree with everything you said wheelman and tdobb interestingly the dealer I bought my Sabre was remarking I was one of the few people he had in the last 6+ months that came in looking for an 18 footer. He was commenting he was selling then (last year) 20 footers to 18 footers at a ratio of 8 to 1. Tdobb, he also mentioned the popularity of MLF and Bassmasters and said everyone thought they “needed” a 20 footer with a 250 hung off the back. Funny thing was that he said at least 50% of the customers are back in a year wanting to trade them in for something smaller. He was impressed I had gotten to realizing an 18 footer was plenty of boat, without wasting $$ on something larger first. In my home state the largest lake is 5400 acres. The ramps are marginal at best. A 20ft boat is just too much in my opinion. Not to mention people underestimate a 250 hp engine. That’s an incredible amount of power back there and can get you in trouble in a hurry. End of the day, I love my Sabre for everything it is and everything it’s not.

I mean an 18’ boat with less horsepower uses less fuel therefore produces less emissions than a heavier/less aerodynamic boat with a larger engine if they’re concerned about the impact on the environment. I’m more concerned about the money difference personally and the boat doesn’t put food on the table for me, but I’ve never understood how a luxury item could sell so well when it costs more than the necessary vehicle towing it.

[Author]

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