Recently I had the pleasure of accompanying Yacht Broker, Andrew Cousins’ and his clients, Rob and Rebecca, to the Sabre Yachts factory in Raymond, Maine to see their Sabre 45 Salon Express in the build process!
To give you a bit of background; Rob and Rebecca live in New York and are avid boaters, spending much of their time boating in Long Island Sound. They are not strangers to the boat building process. In 2013, they built a custom Calvin Beal 38 Special Edition at SW Boatworks in Maine. Rob & Rebecca enjoyed all the qualities the Calvin Beal offered, including the downeast style.
Rob and Rebecca were introduced to Sabre Yachts by friends who own a Sabre 42 Salon Express. This beautiful yacht caught their attention and persuaded them to think about looking into a more luxurious downeast style yacht. Rob and Rebecca did their research on Sabre and during their search, they came across the DiMillo’s website and got in touch with our Glen Cove, New York, office. After meeting with Yacht Broker Andrew Cousins and determining that the 45 was the direction they wanted to go, Andrew scheduled a sea trial with long-term DiMillo’s customers (and four-time Sabre owners) who currently own a Sabre 45.
During the personal tour and sea trial, Rob and Rebecca were thrilled with the space that the Sabre 45 SE offered as well as the smooth and comfortable ride. At that point, there was no turning back- Rob and Rebecca were sold! Knowing that they wanted a new boat for the 2019 boat season, they signed the contract in September of 2018 and were eager to get started on customizing the build. Months later, they made the journey to the Sabre Yachts facility in Raymond, Maine, where they were able to not only see their new boat in build, but they had the opportunity to meet the craftsmen and craftswomen who are building the boat for them.
Prior to going to the factory, Rob and Rebecca went to see Susan and Denise at NorthStar Yacht & Home to finalize their fabrics and design for the custom pillows and bedding that they would be making. Rebecca had done her research before the visit and really knew what she was looking for. Couple that with the many choices of fabrics that NorthStar had laid out for Rob and Rebecca to look at and touch, made the process very easy. Rob and Rebecca ended up with a color scheme of navy with hints of aqua, which is sure to look stunning!
At the Sabre factory, the boat had not been decked yet, so Rob and Rebecca were able to see the engine room, galley, heads, and the forward and guest cabins without any obstructions. If our clients can go to the factory a couple of times, we think seeing the boat without the deck on really is fascinating and gives you a sense of where all of your tanks, wiring, etc. is located. While the hull of the boat is being built in one location, the deck is also being built in another location. The hardtop had been pulled from the mold and was sitting just behind the hull of the boat. While seeing the boat in this stage, Rob was enthralled with the engines and the amount of wires that will be eventually hidden, while Rebecca was getting last minute measurements for décor!
The next step of the build process was to move the boat up in the line at the factory and complete the decking. The process of decking the boat is when they marry the hull to the deck.
The boat has completed it journey at Sabre and is currently at our Freeport yard being outfitted with electronics and commissioning by our service team. As this boat’s homeport will be in New York, our NY Service team is in Maine working with the Maine team. This will make for a seamless transition when the boat is delivered in NY this spring
Rob and Rebecca have been so involved in every step and have been back to Maine to see her in our building. We are beyond excited for them and this journey, and will keep providing updates on their build and delivery this spring!
Stay tuned for more!
Contributed by Jordan Ash from our Portland, Maine, location.
