sabre ftd vs margay

[Jiggerpole]

I have no experience with the Sabre, but I just purchased a Margay. I absolutely love it. It fishes so much bigger than a 177″ boat. The only thing that I dislike is the absence of a place for a co angler to put their rods. But the Rac Bac Version two Rod Holder is suppose to fit the margay great. I just havent ordered one yet. Its also great in rough water. I do not have a tandem axel trailer and really dont see a need for one. My F-150 V6 tows it just fine.

[Grapela08]

My guess would be 7 grand, My buddy just bought a sabre ftd and we spent a week in canada with both boats. We have the margay with a bac rac version 2 and it is awesome for the guy in the back it is as if it was made for the margay. both boats have ultrex and 150 pro xs and I ran the troller on both. They both fish great the margay is noticably wider at the pedal though, interestingly enough the sabre on the water looks like a much longer boat than it is.

[Midnight Rider]

Its hard to compare apples to apples here, because there are some things available on the Sabre FTD Advantage Elite that are not available on the Margay Vision. When I was pricing boats and deciding between a Margay and a Sabre, by the time I added everything I wanted to the Margay that came standard on the Sabre, the price difference, if memory serves me, amounted to around 4K.

[Texas_Dan]

I agree with Midnight Rider. After comparing both models using their standard build packages, 7” electronics and Mercury 150 four strokes, the Margay was about $36K (3” trailer) and $41K for Sabre (4”trailer). I went with the Sabre, paired to a 175 Yamaha VMAX, Ultrex and 9” Helix. Ordered my boat in early March and was notified its build started this week, about 16 weeks.

[Midnight Rider]

Texas Dan…I know it might cost you just a bit more, but the Helix 10 Mega SI, with the transducer mounted to the starboard side of the jackplate with a Transducer Saver and L bracket. The 9″ and 10″ are exactly the same case size, and will fit in the console with no problem. The difference is the 10 has a LOT better resolution in pixels per square inch.I ordered my boat (a 17 model) with the Helix 7 SI in console and 7 DI up front. They did not offer the Mega units at that time. I ended up putting a 10 Mega SI in the console and moving the 7 SI to the front, along with the upgraded HD transducer, and it has worked out perfectly. I also had BassCat install the wiring connection to get information from the 175 SHO ECM, and had them install the NMEA 2000 backbone, dongle to convert that signal to Ethernet, then added the Ethernet 5 port box to hook it all together. The Helix models cannot share much, other than waypoints, transducers, etc through the Ethernet connections. What it CAN do (the Helix 10 Mega) is display engine temperature, oil pressure, RPM, fuel flow (gallons per hour), and other stuff if you have the engine sensors…like water pressure.Just something to consider…

[Texas_Dan]

Thanks for the insight Midnight Rider. After comparing Helix 10” model spec’s to Helix 9” and seeing its sizable resolution increase, I contacted my dealer today and requested a console unit upgrade to 10” Mega SI. Since the boat’s build is in progress, can only hope I’m not too late. I included Ethernet in my original order.

[Bass Cat Boats]

Texas_Dan wrote:Thanks for the insight Midnight Rider. After comparing Helix 10” model spec’s to Helix 9” and seeing its sizable resolution increase, I contacted my dealer today and requested a console unit upgrade to 10” Mega SI. Since the boat’s build is in progress, can only hope I’m not too late. I included Ethernet in my original order.Good call. I did the same. Ordered with 9″, did some research and called dealer to upgrade to 10″. After having it on the water, so happy I did.Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Bass Cat Boats]

The Margay and Sabre FTD have grown considerably in the 18’ Boat segment and are a significant percentage of that categories registrations. It is perhaps the highest segment market share for any Bass Cat model size category. Of course this is also at a time when the 18’ Boat segment is being vacated for aluminum registrations and newer offerings, as it appears in the data. The boats are totally different in areas and they perform differently. The engine options today also are going to change the views on these models. We are energized to see how people react to the engines and models going forwards and we know the 17’ 7” Margay, 18’ Sabre FTD and the Pantera models all will have a totally different consumer view. Often the selection on choices between the four (4)models will have a lot to do with three things, A> Size of Boats in areas the consumer cares, B> horsepower selection for the individual users needs and match up on performance, and C> th cost of the products in the $35,000 to $50,000 market as you can, and most will, add significant large cost options in today’s market.

[Grapela08]

I for one sure hope you never get rid of either boat as I think they are both fantastic and allow the weekend angler to get into a REAL bass boat package that will A) fit in a real suburban garage and B)not cost the same as a condo. I love that you can take them as is or dress them up as much as the big boys, I for one dont feel like I am missing out on anything. I cant think of a better retirement boat or a boat for someone who fishes alone as the front deck space of the margay is huge compared to its 17,7 length and what else is out there. Sure there are new aluminum offerings in the 17 and 18 foot range but have you seen what kind of garage space you need to store them in comparison to BCB. Anyway I applaud basscat for continuing to make these awesome smaller boats.

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