By the early 1970’s, fiberglass boatbuilding methods were coming of age, as was the market for pocket cruisers. In the narrow 27- to 29-foot range there were literally dozens on the market. Some builders differentiated their products by means of price. Some did it with speed. One did it by combining excellent construction techniques with good looks and yacht-quality finish. Roger Hewson, a Canadian engineer with International 14 designs and a scow-like 26 footer to his credit, had the vision and ability to design and construct such a boat. He also made a fortuitous decision to move to Maine, where he found like-minded craftsmen to help build his Sabre 28. Over the next 15 years he built and sold 588 of them and launched Sabre Yachts, which has become one of Maine’s two largest boat builders.

Although it was first introduced at the 1971 Newport Boat Show in an unfinished state, the 28 got people’s attention. Teak toerails on deck and a rich, wood-finished interior added luster to a boat that had a surprising minimum standing headroom of 5’11” and could feed and sleep a full family crew. The good-sized masthead rig was deck-stepped, which further enhanced the interior, and in combination with moderate displacement, gave the 28 a 20.6 sail area/displacement ratio. That was robust for its era, given the boat fit under IOR Half Ton rating and was often raced. Today, the 28 still competes on PHRF race courses across the country with a rating usually below 200.

The 28 was built with polyester resin and hand laid glass on a laminate hull. The decks were light, made with balsa coring except in high-load areas where plywood was substituted. Sabre’s quality workmanship was evident immediately to buyers, but over time that quality has proven to be more than skin deep. According to a used boat review in Spinsheet magazine by Jack Hornor, an Annapolis, Maryland, surveyor, “The construction details of the Sabre 28 are among the best of any 28-foot production boat on the market. Secondary bonding and attachment of bulkheads and structural members is almost always flawless.”

If Roger Hewson and his associates at Sabre Yachts hadn’t hit a sweet spot with the 28 – bringing the look and feel of a yacht into the pocket-cruiser size range – they wouldn’t have had a 15-year production run, nor gone on to build close to 2000 larger sail and power boats. Perhaps the truest testimony to their success in crafting a boat of lasting quality is the price a 28 fetches on the used boat market today. Depending on maintenance and updates, prices can range from $15,000 to $30,000. As Hornor writes, “The Sabre 28 is rather high priced for its size and accommodations. However, the boat has proven to be a good investment due to its ability to attract buyers willing to pay a little more”

- John Burnham