Sabre Yachts increasing production

SOUTH CASCO, Maine – As the winter boat show season winds down, Sabre Yachts is reporting better than average motor yacht sales during their boat shows, the company said in a press release Tuesday.

“We had a solid finish for this boat show season,” said Bentley Collins, vice president of marketing and sales. “The back log is as healthy as we can remember.”

Sabre estimated it will increase motoryacht model production more than 15 percent this year, largely as a result of activity from this winter’s boat show season.

Miami

The Sabre 38 Express was the crowd favorite at Sabre Yacht’s Miami International Boat Show exhibit, according to the company. Four Sabre 38 Hard Top Express sales were recorded, in addition to sales of the Sabre 36 Sedan and Sabre 42 Sedan.

“We are still following up on the inquiries received at the show,” Collins said. “This was one of the best Miami Shows we have ever experienced.”

Palm Beach

The strong attendance at this year’s Palm Beach Boat Show was reflected in the steady stream of potential buyers boarding the Sabre 42 Express and Sabre 38 Express at the show.

“It was a good crowd, plenty of serious buyers with homes in the region,” Collins said. “We had visits from a number of leads first generated at the Miami show, and expect to be closing on a good percentage of those in the weeks ahead.”

London

Sabre Yachts was a hit at the London Boat Show as well, it said. The appeal of the Downeast style is growing in international markets. One Dutch client ordered a Sabre 42 Hard Top Express for delivery to Dubai.

“This is our first sale into this booming market,” Collins said. “Once this first boat has been delivered to Dubai in July, we feel certain that we will be able to build a nice market for ourselves in this region.”

Seattle

Sabre was at the Seattle Boat Show in full force with the Sabre 426 sailing yacht in the water at Lake Union and the Sabre 36 Sedan and Sabre 38 Express on display at the Qwest Center.

“It’s clear that the Pacific Northwest has a natural affinity for the Downeast style,” Collins said. “This market has always been one of our strongest, but 2006 looks very good with stronger than typical sales of both our sail and power boat models. We could not be happier than we are with the way this market has embraced our brands.”

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