Overview
The Sabre 362 is a Jim Taylor design built by Sabre Yachts in Maine from 1993, replacing the Sabre 36. Practical Sailor calls it a performance cruiser with an all-wood interior that has done well in ocean races but is too heavy to be flat-out fast.
Design and Construction
Taylor drew the hull for modern shapes rather than the IOR rule that shaped the 36, with a keel 12 percent deeper and 23 percent more righting moment; a keel-centerboard version was also offered. Practical Sailor gives a positive stability limit of about 118 degrees. The bottom is balsa-cored to the waterline with solid topsides, and the deck is bonded with 3M 5200 and through-bolted on 6-inch centers. Practical Sailor reports 47 changes to the 362 since the first boat was launched. Taylor describes a fuller stern than the 36, which adds interior volume, and shorter overhangs, and the 362 is only 2 inches longer on deck but more than a foot longer on the waterline. The engine bed is plywood stringers with threaded steel caps encased in fiberglass.
Under Sail
The reviewer found her stiff, seakindly and quick through a tack, making 6.5 to 7 knots at 47 degrees in 14 knots of wind. An owner reports no weather helm in 25 knots with one reef. Practical Sailor records first-in-class finishes in the Annapolis-Bermuda and Daytona-Bermuda races. The 40-inch destroyer wheel takes up little space and can be steered from a seat aft or from either corner of the cockpit. Primary winches are Lewmar 48 self-tailers within reach of the helmsman, and the boom is more than a foot longer than the 36’s, so most owners fit a full-batten mainsail and lazy jacks.
Buyers Notes
Check the rudder (see Known Issues). The traveler at the forward edge of the companionway is hard to reach from the helm and complicates fitting a dodger, and the aft section is cramped for installing autopilots and refrigeration. Belowdecks the interior is varnished cherry with a teak and holly sole. The forward cabin has a 78 by 73 inch V-berth and the aft stateroom a 77 by 60 inch double, and Practical Sailor counts room to sleep seven adults. The galley is L-shaped below the companionway with a double stainless sink and a two-burner propane stove.
