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Sabreski2.
2011 Sabre FTD with 150 pro xs, dual blades, most of my heavy stuff behind the seats- I’m barely touching 60mph @ 5550rpm and 23P tempest plus. prop to pad 4.1″
Bow doesn’t seem to have any lift. If I have a passenger I was hitting 50mph, but couldn’t trim any more or I’d loose water pressure.
I’m trying to get more speed out of the boat, both solo and with a passenger.
Should I get my prop worked or does anyone have a recommendation on new prop?
Also thinking about plugging top two inlet holes on the lower unit.
Any advice or experience would be great!
Not sure how long you’ve had the boat or if it’s always been configured the same way, but my assumption is the twin poles are slowing you down though they shouldn’t be inhibiting lift with a passenger. Your slip is good at that speed, rpm and that prop according to calculator, so don’t think you have an issue currently. I’ve run a Tempest, Fury and Trophy on my Sabre FTD, the 4-blade having the best lift and might be worth a shot though they don’t make 22” it appears. I stepped down one pitch relative to Tempest for same speed/rpm and why I recommend doing the same, though 21” might be ok when loaded as you can turn a few more rpms than you are currently. What trolling motor do you have up front and do you have dual graphs by chance?
Wheelman:
Not sure how long you’ve had the boat or if it’s always been configured the same way, but my assumption is the twin poles are slowing you down though they shouldn’t be inhibiting lift with a passenger. Your slip is good at that speed, rpm and that prop according to calculator, so don’t think you have an issue currently. I’ve run a Tempest, Fury and Trophy on my Sabre FTD, the 4-blade having the best lift and might be worth a shot though they don’t make 22” it appears. I stepped down one pitch relative to Tempest for same speed/rpm and why I recommend doing the same, though 21” might be ok when loaded as you can turn a few more rpms than you are currently. What trolling motor do you have up front and do you have dual graphs by chance?
I have had the boat about 3 years. Normally fished smaller lakes so I never went over 45ish. Ultrex and single Garmin 106sv on front.
I was at 3.5″ prop to pad but fished a tournament with a partner on a big lake and made a long run, and had no lift. Boat plowed bad at 45ish. I would give it trim and got bow lift and increased speed, but my water pressure dropped big time.
gmosborne187:
Wheelman:
Not sure how long you’ve had the boat or if it’s always been configured the same way, but my assumption is the twin poles are slowing you down though they shouldn’t be inhibiting lift with a passenger. Your slip is good at that speed, rpm and that prop according to calculator, so don’t think you have an issue currently. I’ve run a Tempest, Fury and Trophy on my Sabre FTD, the 4-blade having the best lift and might be worth a shot though they don’t make 22” it appears. I stepped down one pitch relative to Tempest for same speed/rpm and why I recommend doing the same, though 21” might be ok when loaded as you can turn a few more rpms than you are currently. What trolling motor do you have up front and do you have dual graphs by chance?
I have had the boat about 3 years. Normally fished smaller lakes so I never went over 45ish. Ultrex and single Garmin 106sv on front.
I was at 3.5″ prop to pad but fished a tournament with a partner on a big lake and made a long run, and had no lift. Boat plowed bad at 45ish. I would give it trim and got bow lift and increased speed, but my water pressure dropped big time.
Ultrex is heavier than my Motorguide which doesn’t help. Going deeper PTP usually helps the prop bite more though it does cause more drag, but I assume you’re shooting a rooster tail over the cowl when trimming so high you’re loosing water psi as the intakes on lower units aren’t perpendicular to water surface any more. Full of fuel and loaded live wells along with a partner, ultrex and dual poles are definitely asking a lot especially in the summer when the engine is down on power with the high DA. Going down in pitch will help get rpms so it’s more in the powerband to push through the “dead” zone and pack some air for it fly the bow, though I still think you should try a 4-blade if you’re not concerned about top speed.
Chasing speed on a 2011 Sabre FTD would push us to the Trophy propeller as a test. The hull runs well with more blade and the Tempest allows the engine some slippage, that let the hull respond well overall. We haven’t seen best results with one wheels on the Sabre hull.
More trim isn’t what you need. I’ve been running a standard Sabre 2008 w/ Merc 150efi since new. The Sabre is a weight critical hull and hates weight in front of the consoles. You’re running a heavy trolling motor and don’t know in lbs. how much weight is in the front boxes. I carry 12 rods, life jackets, net, a day box, a jig box, and about 20 bags of soft plastics in the front. All my other tackle is in the box behind my passenger. There’s maybe 12-15 lbs in total front weight. My trolling motor is an old school motorguide which is light. I can put a 24 Tempest or 24 Fury on the limiter @ approx. 67mph by myself and empty wells. With a passenger, it’s 63-64. Weight in the rear won’t hurt speed and a light bow lets the air entrapment hull lift and carry with little trim ( 1/4 to 1/3 on the gauge).
I like the motor running at 3.25″ under as it has better holeshot and requires little trim to carry and run. I’ve chased the rabbit with this one and my two favorite props are an old school thin blade 24″ Trophy or my 23″ Tempest that Croxton has blueprinted, labbed, and added a little pitch. Both props are “under-pitched” by myself, but perfect with a passenger, full fuel, and full wells.
Just remember the immortal words of Ivan – BCB’s illustrious setup guru… 10lbs. on the bow equals 100lbs. on the transom equals 1mph. A Sabre won’t lift and run with a BPS in the front boxes, and heavy troller / electronics setups. Set it up right and you can run with any of the big boys and it’s a rocket ship, A Sabre will always be a compromise and you won’t be able to play the tackle organization games and gear in front of the consoles. I personally like not having all the crap to move around on tourney days to do bait swaps.
Jstew:
More trim isn’t what you need. I’ve been running a standard Sabre 2008 w/ Merc 150efi since new. The Sabre is a weight critical hull and hates weight in front of the consoles. You’re running a heavy trolling motor and don’t know in lbs. how much weight is in the front boxes. I carry 12 rods, life jackets, net, a day box, a jig box, and about 20 bags of soft plastics in the front. All my other tackle is in the box behind my passenger. There’s maybe 12-15 lbs in total front weight. My trolling motor is an old school motorguide which is light. I can put a 24 Tempest or 24 Fury on the limiter @ approx. 67mph by myself and empty wells. With a passenger, it’s 63-64. Weight in the rear won’t hurt speed and a light bow lets the air entrapment hull lift and carry with little trim ( 1/4 to 1/3 on the gauge).
I like the motor running at 3.25″ under as it has better holeshot and requires little trim to carry and run. I’ve chased the rabbit with this one and my two favorite props are an old school thin blade 24″ Trophy or my 23″ Tempest that Croxton has blueprinted, labbed, and added a little pitch. Both props are “under-pitched” by myself, but perfect with a passenger, full fuel, and full wells.
Just remember the immortal words of Ivan – BCB’s illustrious setup guru… 10lbs. on the bow equals 100lbs. on the transom equals 1mph. A Sabre won’t lift and run with a BPS in the front boxes, and heavy troller / electronics setups. Set it up right and you can run with any of the big boys and it’s a rocket ship, A Sabre will always be a compromise and you won’t be able to play the tackle organization games and gear in front of the consoles. I personally like not having all the crap to move around on tourney days to do bait swaps.
Thank you for the info!
i don’t know my weight up front, but I do store almost so my tackle in the rear compartment. And only have 4 boxes of tackle up front. I would actually say my front boxes are fairly empty- I don’t carry much tackle. The ultrex is a heavy beast, I’ve been drooling over the power pole move.
i can’t believe you’re running such low ptp numbers. You have to be getting more lift out of your prop than I am. With a passenger I’m plowing water so bad. I’m thinking about getting a trophy or getting my tempest tuned.
3.25″ ptp isn’t high at all for a performance hull. Every setup is a little different. Every prop runs a little different and your weight distribution matters as well. That big trolling motor is probably what’s killing your speed. A Trophy is going to be more forgiving of weight distribution, but may need to go to one of the better shops for a blueprint to make sure it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. A Trophy likes to run high on the plate and you won’t need much trim at all for it to carry and run. Some say it’ll be slower with the extra blade – but find the sweet spot and the extra blade is surfaced and creates no more drag essentially. My pre- plus 24 Trophy is absolute fun to run. It has thinner blades than the new Trophy Plus wheels, but was built for a 150 motor.
FWIW, I have a 2017 Sabre FTD with an ETEC G2 150 hp and am seeing similar numbers (close to 60). I have an Ultrex too and 1 small unit up front and am 3.5 inches PTP. My aim has been to move items in the boat around each time out to find the best balance of speed and usability. I think almost any Sabre can be likely stretched out to 65mph but at what cost. I have made my peace with running slightly behind 19 and 20 footers with 200’s knowing I’m more maneuverable, agile, and can routinely get into places they can’t all while using significantly less fuel. I love my Sabre!
@Jeeper – you’re spot on. Running mid to upper 60’s with a Sabre is doable, but not really on a practical everyday basis on a tourney boat. Upgrade to a 175 – you have an upper 60’s to just over 70 boat. The fastest 150 Sabre rig I’ve heard of ran 71, but it was a late rear gas tank Sabre and not a mid-tank hull. Our hulls are slower, due to forward weight, but run softer. My trolling motor is a bare bones 70lb thrust Motorguide freshwater unit which is way lighter than an Ultrex. That extra 20 lbs right on the bow is worth 2mph by itself.
You have to do your own adjustments based on how you load and run your boat. Weight in front of the consoles costs speed. No two props are the same and some motors just run stronger than others. Winter vs. summer temps matter huge. Tune and prop your rig to serve your own use and equipment choices. A Trophy or Bravo XS will go a long way to make the hull more consistent and forgiving. Be prepared to run the JP up much higher with that extra blade and only trim to your water pressure gauge. Rooster tails are a sign of overtrimming. If it’s pushing up, it isn’t pushing forward – that’s speed.
07 non-FTD Sabre 175 pro/xs. Lots of good info here. I would not plug any holes or add scoops-just asking for problems. I have tried several props, tempest, fury 3 & 4 of different pitches & top speed-25″ Fury 3-running light-very light 70.96. Easiest to drive-24 Fury 4, but only 64. Best all around 24″ Fury 3-3&3/8ths below pad. I would try a 23 or 24 Fury 3-a fresh non worked prop at 3.5″ below pad.
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