Sabre 38 Salon Express Specs, Price and Ownership Guide

Sabre 38 for sale, and which Sabre 38 you actually mean

Type Sabre 38 for sale into a listings site and you get two families of boats. One is the 1980s Sabre 38 sailboat and its later cousin the Sabre 386, both well-regarded cruising sloops from the company's sailing years. The other, and the subject of this guide, is the Sabre 38 Salon Express, a twin-diesel Downeast power cruiser with a 38-foot hull and a single-level salon. Power and Motoryacht drove a just-launched boat in Casco Bay in the summer of 2012, when it became the entry point to Sabre's power range, and Sabre reintroduced it for 2026 with new Volvo Penta DPI sterndrives.

Sabre was founded in 1970 to build sailing yachts that balanced elegance, safety and performance, and it still works out of Raymond, Maine. It now builds motor yachts exclusively and shares management with Back Cove Yachts and North End Composites, a group with more than 300 Maine employees and the largest recreational boatbuilding operation in the state. The sailing heritage still shows in the 38 Salon Express, in the joinery, the handholds placed where a sailor would want them and the obsessive attention to sightlines.

Why the salon is on one level with the cockpit

The Salon Express idea is simple. Put the helm, the main seating and the dinette on one level under a hardtop with large windows, and join it to the cockpit with wide doors so the whole deck becomes one room. On a 38, that means the skipper is never isolated from guests, and the boat works equally well in a cold June fog in Penobscot Bay and a hot August afternoon on the Chesapeake.

Sabre describes the result as giving 360-degree sightlines, and that is the most important practical benefit. From the helm seat you can see all four corners of the boat, which makes docking, picking up a mooring and running through a crowded harbor much easier than on a boat with a raised bridge or a cluttered windshield.

• Single-level salon and helm under a hardtop
• Open path from the salon to a spacious cockpit
• Air draft of 13 feet 3 inches with the mast
• Built to CE Category B, NMMA, ABYC and USCG standards

From IPS pods to DPI sterndrives

The 38 Salon Express launched in 2012 with twin 300 hp Volvo Penta D4 diesels driving Volvo IPS400 pods, and that was a big part of the boat's appeal. The hull, with its 24-degree midship deadrise, was designed around the pods. In 2013 Sabre added twin 370 hp Yanmar 8LV diesels with ZF pod drives as an option, and the builder reported a 30.6-knot cruise and more than 33 knots on top with them. Pods give efficient forward-facing propellers, a joystick that makes docking almost foolproof, and a quiet engine room set well aft. Power and Motoryacht tested a 2012 boat on IPS and recorded 30.5 knots at 3,540 rpm and a 23-knot cruise at 3,000 rpm on 20 gallons per hour.

For 2026 Sabre reintroduced the boat with Volvo Penta's Aquamatic DPI sterndrive package, twin D4 320 hp diesels and joystick control, with deliveries scheduled from March 2026. The reorganized engine room also makes space for a dedicated Seakeeper gyro, and a sliding salon door replaces the earlier arrangement. Sterndrives are simpler and less expensive to service than pods, with familiar Duoprop counter-rotating propellers, and still offer joystick docking. For a used buyer this means two clear options: a used pod boat at a lower price, or a new DPI boat at a significant premium. Neither is wrong, but the service history is critical either way.

A soft ride from a 24-degree hull

The hull carries 24 degrees of deadrise amidships, falling to 17 degrees at the transom. That is a deeper forefoot than many Downeast-styled boats and it shows in the ride. Testers found very little bow rise coming on plane and described the ride as soft and comfortable, with the boat holding its cruising speed in a chop rather than pounding.

Sound levels were notably low. In testing the boat stayed under 80 dB even at wide open throttle, and around 74 dB at 23 knots, which makes conversation at the helm easy at cruise. At 8 knots the boat burned about 5 gallons per hour, and at 10 knots just under 10 gallons per hour, so the 38 can also loaf along economically when the weather or schedule calls for it.

Galley down, master forward

Below decks, the layout includes a bright galley and a cozy lounge, with the master berth forward. A single head with a separate shower serves the cabin. The lounge converts to an extra berth for occasional guests or children, but like most boats of this type the 38 Salon Express is really a boat for a couple.

The joinery is cherry or a lighter wood finish depending on the year and option list, and it is among the best in production power boats. Opening ports and hatches give good ventilation, which matters in a cabin that is partly below the waterline. Storage is ample for a couple spending two weeks aboard.

Tankage, generator and range

With 300 gallons of fuel and 100 gallons of water, the 38 Salon Express is built for extended coastal cruising. At the 23-knot cruise, range is just over 300 nautical miles with a reserve. At 8 knots it stretches well past 400 miles. The 2012 test boat carried a 6 kW Kohler generator aft of the engines, and air conditioning is common on boats destined for the Chesapeake and points south.

The 40-gallon holding tank is adequate for several days aboard. Owners who cruise extensively often add lithium batteries and solar on the hardtop to reduce generator use at anchor.

Ownership costs for a twin-diesel 38

Expect to spend between $32,000 and $60,000 a year on a 38 Salon Express, excluding depreciation. Twin diesels and twin drives cost more to maintain than a single shaft-drive boat, and pod or sterndrive service is a significant annual item. Slip fees vary widely by region, from a few thousand dollars on a Maine mooring to well over $15,000 for a seasonal slip in parts of New England and Florida.

Fuel costs are reasonable for a twin-engine boat of this size. At 23 knots the twin D4s burn about 20 gallons per hour combined, and at 16 knots around 16 gallons per hour.

How Sabres hold their value

Sabre power boats hold their value well, helped by the brand's reputation for build quality and a strong dealer network on the East Coast and Great Lakes. The 38 Salon Express is one of the more liquid models in the range because it suits so many buyers: couples downsizing from larger yachts, sailors moving to power and first-time Downeast buyers.

Boats that have been maintained by Sabre dealers, with documented engine and drive service, current electronics and fresh canvas sell fastest. Boats with deferred maintenance on the pods or sterndrives, tired varnish or outdated electronics sit longer and sell at a discount.