Washburn & Doughty Z-drive tug At WASHBURN & DOUGHTY ASSOCIATES, steel and aluminum vessels were in various stages of construction. In-progress were 2 Intercon Tugs measuring 121' in length, a 92' Z-Drive tug, and 2 98' Z-Drives—all for Moran Towing Corporation of New Canaan, Connecticut. (See page 90 for more about a recent W&D tug project.) Two 98' Z-Tech 7500 Class Terminal/Escort Tugs will go to Texas upon completion. The main construction building of the East Boothbay yard, destroyed by fire in July of 2008, was rebuilt and two of the above boats christened the new shipyard space. www.washburndoughty.com; 207-633-6517.
Billy Black(3)
Gregory Walsh
2009 BOATS OF THE YEAR
SABRE 40 SEDAN SABRE YACHTS by Peter Bass
S Wayfarer Marine: Volpaia WAYFARER MARINE of Camden welcomed
the Swan 68 Volpaia back to the yard for a major refit. Work ranged from mechanical— with major engine and generator servicing and new refrigeration—to structural and cosmetic—with a new layer of fiberglass added to the bottom, and painting of the hull, superstructure, mast and boom. Teak Decking Systems provided the new teak deck, the 10,000th deck made by the Sarasota, Florida, company, which has a local representative in Appleton, Maine. A plethora of other projects were completed—rigging, electronics, canvas, rudders, a carbon-fiber hydraulic swim platform, and anything else you can imagine—on power boats and sailboats, with names like Amore, Moonshadow, Tenacious, Pilgrim, and, dig it, Riva the Beaver. The company is expanding its international marketing efforts by attending events in Antigua and Palma de Mallorca, with the intention of making new friends around the world who have business to bring to the coast of Maine. A new refit and repair building is also in the works, with an anticipated completion date sometime in 2010-2011. www.wayfarermarine.com; 207236-4378.
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ABRE YACHTS HAS STAYED OFF THE WATERJET BANDWAGON and focused instead on continually refining their conventional shaft-and-rudder configuration, which offers better efficiency than jets at a range of speeds and the dependability and simplicity of seasoned engineering. Given this long history of staying with the tried and true, it took a compelling new propulsion system to convince Sabre to design a new boat and make that system standard equipment in it. Welcome to the pod-drive era. The small motor-yacht world is abuzz these days about the adaptation of azimuthing thrusters—propellers that can be rotated horizontally—from big commercial vessels to planing hull yachts. The result—twin pod drives—allows each drive to be pointed independently, and their power and thrust direction controlled separately. This enables a vessel to go forward, backward, and sideways without bow thrusters, stern thrusters, or rudders. Think of the drives as inboard/outboard drives that stick out of the aft portion of the bottom of the boat. Sabre has put the Cummins Zeus System, which was developed in collaboration with ZF Gears, into the new 40 Sedan. In addition to being designed for pod drives, this boat is Sabre’s first to be entirely infusion molded. This not only saves weight at higher strength, but also provides a safer and more pleasant working environment in the shop. (Infusion molding allows more precise usage of resin, resulting in less waste and fewer noxious fumes.) Sabre has a lot of experience with pod drives in general, having built about 25 yachts fitted with them to date, ranging from 38 to 52 feet and utilizing both the Cummins and Volvo systems. SPECIFICATIONS / SABRE 40 SEDAN LOA: 40'10" Beam: 14'0" Draft: 3'4" Fuel: 380 gal. Water: 140 gal. Holding Tank: 60 gal. Displ.: 26,000 lb.
Power: 2 380-hp Cummins diesels
paired with Zeus pod drives Builder: Sabre Yachts, Box 134,
South Casco, ME 04077. 207-655-3831; www.sabreyachts.com
MAINE BOATS, HOMES & HARBORS
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February / March 2010
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Issue 108
BOATS OF THE YEAR 2009 The combination of pod drives and infusion molding enables the 26,000-pound 40 Sedan to cruise at 25 knots while burning approximately 25 gallons per hour. The efficiency gains are most impressive at high cruising speeds and are comparable with shaft-drive hulls at lower speeds. Pods really shine in the maneuverability and sound-isolation areas. The engine and pod package is located well aft in an isolated compartment; engine exhaust is ducted out through the propeller hubs. Trim tabs are also built into the Zeus package, which has everything, it seems, except a quiver of thunderbolts to hurl at nonbelievers. While Sabre has long been at the forefront of the quiet movement, pods and the opportunity to design a new model around them took them to a new level. Sound measurements at speed are remarkably low in the 40 Sedan thanks to both the inherent smoothness of the propulsion system and the devotion of Sabre to sound suppression. The whole package is much easier to understand after watching the animations at the Cummins site: www.cmdmarine.com/prop/zeus.html. Sabre’s website is unusually comprehensive, too; a little intuitive poking around there brings up all kinds of performance and fuel-consumption data, in addition to a complete list of specifications and an array of mouth-watering photos. As usual, Sabre’s fit, finish, and systems installations are top notch. The layout is great for a couple or family, although for two couples the second stateroom looks a tad snug with its
The deckhouse layout is simple and understated.
double berth. The sedan configuration means the weather door is at the aft end of the helm deck, so that area can also be fully utilized as living space. A flybridge option is available. All in all, the Sabre 40 Sedan is a very appealing package from one of Maine’s (and America’s) top production builders. N
Everything about the Sabre 40 is top-notch, which is to say, excellent in all respects. www.maineboats.com
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