Overview
The Sabre 452 is a Jim Taylor design built by Sabre Yachts in Maine from 1997 to 2006.
Design and Construction
The hull is hand-laid fiberglass over balsa core, and the deck a single balsa-cored unit with plywood in high-load areas. It has a fin keel, with a bulb and wing keel as an option, and a spade rudder on a carbon stock whose bottom 40 percent is designed to break away and leave the boat steerable. sailboatdata.com lists 45.17 ft overall on a 38.33 ft waterline, 14.08 ft of beam and 6.75 ft of draft, with 10,200 lb of ballast in a 26,500 lb displacement and about 1,043 sq ft of sail. The rig was kept short enough to pass under the Intracoastal Waterway’s 65 ft bridges. The tester counted 10 hatches and noted a wooden toerail slightly higher than usual for secure footing in a seaway. The keel-stepped mast is masked by a hinged closet that reduces noise and can be snapped open in seconds. The main is a 525 sq ft sail on a boom more than 19 feet long.
Under Sail
SAILING Magazine’s tester found it dry, fast and steady in a gusty 12 knots and called it one of the finest boats he had tested. Under power it cruises at about 7 knots. He reported perfect balance at the helm and little spray from the usual bay chop. He was also impressed that the boat carried her way in fluky air as the wind faltered under the lee of Treasure Island, and said he would have no hesitation sailing her up to a slip among moorings. The test boat carried the optional inner forestay, which can fly a storm sail or a staysail when the wind pipes up.
Ocean Racing Record
Freedom (Cary W. Thomson) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2008). Seafox (Larry Fox) finished the Pacific Cup (2000). Rossaveal finished the Marion-Bermuda Race in 2025.
Buyers Notes
John Neal rates it 3 of 5, noting modest quality and limited tankage and storage for long passages; SAILING estimated about 400 miles of range on 100 gallons of fuel.
Below, the saloon is finished in cherry with a U-shaped galley to port and a navigation station to starboard with its own upholstered bench seat. There are two cabins, one at each end, and the aft cabin to starboard has a smallish double berth that the tester thought would make a good sea berth. A single berth to starboard in the saloon makes a good passagemaking sleeping place.
