What’s the fastest a Sabre has been?

I hit 69.9 with a mercury XR-6 and a member on here named Flyswatter busted 70 with his HO 150 a few years back. I never tried running mine empty so the 69.9 was with a full tournament load or Sabre load as I can not fit what I have in my Eyra in a Sabre. I have heard of several Sabre with the 175’s running close to mid 70’s

I have seen 70.6 gps with a half tank fuel and a light load in my 17 Sabre FTD

I’m seeing 69.8 GPS in a 2017 Sabre FTD AE with dual consoles, fortrex, and 30 gallons of fuel. That’s with a worked 24″ Tempest Plus on a 175 SHO. I have NO doubt (after the prop work) that it will hit 72 once I learn to drive it better. I also have a 25″ Bravo I FS and it will run a good solid 68, even in warm/hot weather. Again, if I could drive better, I think it would run 70 solo. When you get above 65 mph in a Sabre that has the right prop and PTP height, it IS going to chine walk, and as you near 70, you’d better be on top of it because the boat is literally flying.

The Sabre model has changed over time. The 1988-‘89 models, then 1990 to 1998, those from 1999 through 2003 and finally 2004 up, and the Sabre FTD in 2007 came to the front. The model is due an update though the smaller 18’ market definitely has slowed progress as larger models take space for R&D. Since the 2010 era focus has to be where the market leads us, and that’s not 17’ to 19’ models.

I was in a late 90’s Sabre about 6 years ago that was lightly loaded that hit 72 – 73 GPS with a 2.5l 175.  Those things just flew out of the hole.  You can calculate top possible speed using max RPM value, gear ratio, and prop pitch — on many boats they will never actually see this speed because their hull is too inefficient, but Bass Cat hulls are so efficient in general that you can realistically look towards that number when doing setup.  My dad was very good at propping out his Cats while I was growing up, getting the motor height, load, and prop just right.  We had a ’96 Pantera II during the 150 hp limitation era (for Bassmaster) with a Johnson 150 Fast Strike that we hit 67 on the GPS with a light load and the two of us (big boys) fairly regularly.  Dad drove by water pressure (along with the rest) which was less common years ago and how I learned, and the driver makes a difference in speeds seen, too, of course.

Top ultimate speed is nice, but it’s hard to compare a Bass Cat to top speeds achieved on other brands – those others may hit them in ideal conditions, but they aren’t indicative of what you’d do in those boats in normal situations.  I remember fishing a Governor’s Cup tournament (old Florida team trail) on Okeechobee with Dad in ’98 when he had a Jaguar with a 150 on it (crazy, but Bass still had the 150 limit and he wanted the Jag) that we could routinely hit 60 – 62 in, where every dude in a Stratos or Javelin or Gambler (saw LOTS of those in FL during the 90’s) was goofing on us in the locks and at the marina because of the undersized motor.  But when the water was even a little rough, we ripped past them like we were riding on a cloud.  Even in the modern era, this is frequently true.  I was in a 20+ model of a major brand on Lake Fork a couple years ago where we were doing 70+ getting around the lake, but I’m pretty sure I lost a filling in one of my teeth and my back ached for days afterward.  Man did I miss being in a Bass Cat then and told me all I needed to know about the progress of other brands’ hulls & construction over the years.  Anyway, just some reminiscing there – not entirely relevant to the Sabre question.