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I am a former owner of a Pantera II back in the mid 90s, but stopped tournament fishing in the early 2000s so sold the boat. Now I am retired and thinking of another boat, and I think the Sabre fits my needs best, but wanted some opinions on my thought process.I have a Mazda CX-9 SUV to tow with. It does have the towing package, which includes a larger radiator, transmission oil cooler, and class III hitch. With these options, the vehicle is rated to tow 3500 lbs. The engine is a large V6 with 275HP and 270 ft lbs of torque. I will be getting a single axle trailer. The Sabre will have dual consoles. I am purchasing from a local dealer who only handles Yamaha engines, so it will be rigged with that motor. I am torn about getting the 150 2 stroke or the newer 150 4 stroke…I think the weight would be about the same, considering the oil container not being in the boat for the 4 stroke. Which would give better performance overall? There is over 1K + price difference between the two. I could get the 175, but for the 2-3 mph gain, Im not sure its worth it. The CX-9 is not a light vehicle, so with the surge brakes on the trailer, I think it should be fine. Opinions? Here are the options I am thinking about: Upgrade to the larger Lowrance GPS/3D Color (7″) depth finders, console and front. Minn Kota TM instead of the MG. The LED night fishing package…I wont fish much at night, but on the rare occasions I do, I figure it would be worth the few extra $$. How well does that system work? I also would like some opinions about the center seat as opposed to the carpeted step with storage.The boat will have a black boot, Apple Red Hull, Silver Mist bolt, Mailbu Silver trim stripe, Malibu Silver cap insert, Apple Red cap, Apple Red consoles. The photos on the web site for the carpet are not very true…The Ash color looks almost black, but I am thinking it is really a charcoal gray color. The Storm color may be too light…hard to tell. Platinum Seats with a Pewter and Red stripe. Any opinions on these color combinations? My Pantera II was all Malibu Silver…it was a beautiful boat, but the all black made it hard to keep clean, and Im a fanatic about keeping my boat looking new.Most of my fishing will be on the Alabama River system, Guntersville, Lay Lake, Lake Martin, Neely Henry, Tombigbee River, Warrior River. VERY rarely will I be pulling the boat more than 150 miles one way, and generally most destinations will be 75 miles or less. So no HUGE water, though Guntersville can get rough when the wind is howling. I may fish the occasional local tournament (I live in Selma, AL) just for fun. Im 63 years old, so this will be my last boat. I have kicked around the idea of a tin boat such as the new Ranger 188 or a G3 Eagle Talon, but I know the quality of a Cat, plus the ride will be better, and the handling. Im not a speed freak, but do like to occasionally run as fast as the boat will go. I have been told that I can expect speeds in the mid 60s with the 150, regardless of 2 stroke vs 4 stroke. I am no novice when it comes to driving a boat to its maximum capability.Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.2017 Sabre FTD AE DC2017 Yamaha 175 SHOMK Fortrex 80Helix 10 Mega SI in consoleHelix 7 GPS SI GN2 on bow
This is MY opinion on the motor selection. I would put MAX HP on the back if I had the means to do so. It isnt just for the top speed, but rather the top power when it may be needed. It will have plenty with a 150 no doubt about it, many of them are rigged with them and folks are plenty happy with them. Even though it may be your last boat, the resale of boats is much better with the MAX HP on it. BrianBrianHAWG Hunter2013 BassCat Eyra2013 Mercury 250 Pro XS Gen2 L/U
My Sabre FTD is powered by a Merc 150hp 4-stroke. It does an awesome job. I did a lot of research on engines used on the Sabre, 150 versus 175. By far most Sabre owners are running 150s how many Bass Cats have max power on them? I see plenty of models that do not. The price difference in the Merc 150 vs the 175 was over $2,000.00 I doubt you would get much of that back on resale, and is it really worth that extra 3 maybe 4mph? Purely personal choice IMO.On your trim stripe color of Malibu Silver (it will look black at any kind of distance) and be hard to distinguish from the black stripes that border your trim stripe. IMO a lighter color looks better such as Silver Mist and makes the black pins pop.Dan
Ive have 07 Sabre FTD with the 150 OptiMax. Plenty fast (low-mid 60s) and very economical. I have no complaints about performance with the 150 OptiMax.Yamaha is an outstanding OB. Never had a minute of trouble out of the 2 I owned. If I was buying a Sabre FTD with a Yamaha Id have to go with the 150 SHO as my first choice, 150 or 175 VMax second. I agree 100% with pops77s as far as maxing out the HP whenever possible.But, that SHO is a hoss with a lot of low end torque. And who know when, and/or if theyll drop a 175 SHO into the lineup.As far the tow vehicle, it should be fine with trailer brakes. And personally, I love a black boot on a BCB. Last edited by RazorCat on July 20th, 2014, 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You guys got me thinking again, and doing a bit more research on the motors and the color combinations. I really wanted to get away from a 2 stroke motor, just to avoid having to fool with the oil, though I know they are much more efficient and cleaner burning than they were back when I was running the 200 Merc on the Pantera. The 4 stroke Yamaha is a bit more in price, but I think long term, it would be worth it in almost every respect. I also understand about maxing out the HP on a boat, so appreciate those comments as well. Certainly, if the boat was rated for a 200, I would never consider putting a 150 on it, but in this case, especially if I go with the 4 stroke SHO, I dont think it being “only” a 150 would be a big issue down the road if I ever had to sell the boat for some reason. And the fuel economy seems to be a bit better at “cruising” RPM with the SHO…cruising in my case is running about 2/3 throttle, which I think in this boat would typically get me in the 50 mph range and is plenty fast for those times when Im not in a huge hurry to get from point A to point B, or fishing a Tournament. My Pantera would run 50-55 mph with ease, and that was a comfortable speed at about 2/3 to 3/4 throttle.I also reconfigured the colors and came up with something I like even better…I tend not to like really “disco” looking boats (no offense to those who like sparkly stuff), so did the black boot, Raspberry hull, Silver Mist bolt with Malibu Silver trim, Raspberry cap/consoles, and Silver Mist cap inserts. That configuration looks a bit more subdued to me, and matches my tow vehicle a little better, since it is more of a burgandy/maroon color.I would still like an opinion about the carpet…is the Storm more of a “Dove Gray” and the Ash more of a “Charcoal Gray”…the Ash looks almost black when you “design your boat” on their website, but I seem to recall it being a lighter color than is shown, when seen in person.2017 Sabre FTD AE DC2017 Yamaha 175 SHOMK Fortrex 80Helix 10 Mega SI in consoleHelix 7 GPS SI GN2 on bow
I went with Ash Carpet on mine. http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/280 … 8wT6M69KSM Lots of pictures in the thread.Dan
The storm looks like the carpet color in Razor Cats picture unless I am badly mistaken.
Thanks!! I thought that was the storm color on Razercats boat, but wanted to be sure. MeanV2…that is a great looking boat you have there!! And great photos showing the true tone of the Ash carpet…thats what Ill be going with on my boat, when I get it. This is going to be a little while off, but I like to plan ahead and do lots of research so I only have to do things once.2017 Sabre FTD AE DC2017 Yamaha 175 SHOMK Fortrex 80Helix 10 Mega SI in consoleHelix 7 GPS SI GN2 on bow
If I were ordering one it would definitely have the SHO 150 on it. But I too have had great performance out of the Merc optimax 150 thats on the back of mine.13 PIV w/ 200 MercIG: WarriorRiverCustomRods
I have the 2013 ftd with a 175 hpdi, but if I had it to do all over again I would get the sho. I got mine from Brech Marine in Selma and so far I have been very happy with them.
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