Sabre 30 v Tartan 28

[lbdavis]

All things being equal, including price, which would be a better buy:

A 1980 Sabre 30 in average condition with the original Volvo and only modest upgrades,

or

A 1985 Tartan 28 in average condition with the original Yanmar and a few more upgrades?

Both boats would be used for coastal cruising in Maine. Daysails, weekend/week-long cruises for 2.

Thanks!

[Brezzin]

I would go with the Tartan. Sabre is a great boat but that Volvo would put me off. Parts are expensive and servicing may also be an issue. Yanmars are everywhere, easy to service and parts are readily available.

All things being equal of course

[k1vsk]

Both are good boats. There was a discussion here recently about the perceived problem of maintaining a boat with a cored hull and all Sabres have them as well as wooden stringers. Not to impy it's a bad boat; to the contrary, they are well thought of. You might want to be aware of that other discussion as part of your thought process.

[lbdavis]

Thanks, Brez. That's a good point.

What about Tartan construction of that era. It looks good to my non-surveyor eye, but is it built as well as the Sabre? It looks like the hull on the Tartan is cored above the waterline. Should I be scared?

[camaraderie]

The Sabre 30 is NOT balsa cored. It is a solid fiberglass layup with balsa and fiberglass reinforement in hi stress areas (like stringers). I like the Sabre better but I too worry about the Volvo. Get a good engine mechanic to give her a once over if you go this route.

[PalmettoSailor]

Originally Posted by lbdavis

Thanks, Brez. That's a good point.

What about Tartan construction of that era. It looks good to my non-surveyor eye, but is it built as well as the Sabre? It looks like the hull on the Tartan is cored above the waterline. Should I be scared?

I've been struggling with this same question of late. It seems several of the boats generally mentioned as being higher quality boats (Sabre, Tartan) have cored hulls, while boats generally considered of more moderate construction (Catalina for example) have solid laminate hulls.

If budget dictates a used boat, what do you choose? The older cored hull "quality" boat or a newer "lower" quality boat with solid hull?

I'm vexed, very, very vexed.

[k1vsk]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

The Sabre 30 is NOT balsa cored. It is a solid fiberglass layup with balsa and fiberglass reinforement in hi stress areas (like stringers). I like the Sabre better but I too worry about the Volvo. Get a good engine mechanic to give her a once over if you go this route.

Cam
I defer to your expertise but according th this month's Sail magazine, all Sabres have cored hulls, both above and below the waterline. Again, that's not necessarily a show-stopper.

[iwm]

all current sabres, but not older ones

Van (former Sabre 28 owner)

[camaraderie]

Here's the brochure for the sabre 30 and you can see the NON cored hull details for yourself. This applies to all 3 series of sabre30's.
http://www.sabreyachts.com/pdf/S30-Series-1.pdf

[Maine Sail]

That would be all "CURRENT" Sabre's are cored hulls not all Sabre's. Sabre did not start coring until 1978 and even then it was an option beginning at 34 feet. Most buyers did not opt for the cored option unless they were racing. The new and current Sabre's are cored with Divinycell and vacuum bagged in both the decks and the hull.

If you're in Maine then the Sabre will give you a better re-sale being 30 feet and also a Sabre but the Tartan with the Yanmar would be the safer bet.

Volvo's SUCK and parts are very hard to get especially when you really need them. I was out of commission for an entire sailing season because of a stupid $5.00 part that was back ordered! I looked at 50+ boats last year and those fifty plus boats included NO boats with Volvo's. If the boat had a Volvo I would not even look at it that's how much I personally despise Volvo's.

The Sabre is a small 30 and the Tartan a big 28 so they should be roughly the same size and both are built well. It's a tough decision but if it were me I'd try and find a re-powered Sabre 30 or buy the Tartan. 28 footers are tough on re-sale though, regardless of how big they seem compared to a Sabre 30, so if you think you might eventually want to move up buy the 30 but not the one with the Volvo...

I'm guessing your talking about the Tartan 28 at Royal River Boat Yard. That boat has been cared for fairly well as I see the guy there each spring working his butt off. Other boat to consider would be a Pearson 303, Catalina 30, Cal 28 MKII, Sabre 28, J30 etc. etc..

The gray J30 listed by Jeff at East Coast Yacht Sales has a brand new Yanmar in 2005 and those boats sail great and are quite roomy for the price..

This link is a Yacht World search dialed in for just Maine boats from 28 to 30 feet and priced to 60k..

http://yachtworld.com/core/listing/c...ected=-1&ps=30