This month, Sabre Yachts announced that it will splash their all new 51 Salon Express in late 2025 and debut the design at the 2026 Miami International Boat Show on February 11. The new Downeast-style design is a two-cabin, two-head couple’s cruiser that emphasizes warm private spaces in the cabins combined with large people-friendly social areas in the salon, aft cockpit and foredeck lounge.
The 51 has the galley down in the cabin, which makes the best possible use of the spacious salon while providing a large sea-going kitchen with plenty of storage for groceries, cook ware and cutlery.
The master cabin is amidships with an athwartships island double berth, large hanging lockers and ample drawers for clothing. The en-suite head has a large, separate shower stall with a seat.
The VIP guest cabin is in the fore peak and has a walk-around double berth and plenty of storage. A third cabin aft of the master cabin can be set up as a utility room or an office or as a third sleeping cabin for guests or a crew member.
With the galley down, the salon has been fitted out with a large U-shaped dinette to starboard that will seat up to six and across from it there is a bench settee that could double as another berth. The helm has pilot and copilot bucket seats and across the cabin there is a guest seat that will fit two adults.
The interior joinery is in matte-finished cherry that gives the 51 a classic, elegant look without making the overall ambience dark or overly traditional. The salon windows and four overhead hatches wil fill the space with natural light and excellent ventilation. It’s worth noting that 51’s inside headroom runs to six feet, six inches.
The cockpit is spacious even for a 51-footer and has a dinette aft with a table and two other seating areas. You could certainly entertain a gaggle of friends in the spaces of the salon and cockpit combined. Plus, there is the fore deck lounge with fold up seat backs.
When Sabre labels their models Salon Express, they mean it. The 51 will be powered by twin Volvo D8s rated at 600-horesepower each. These will power twin IPS drives that will give the boat top speeds in the mid 30s and efficient cruising speeds in the mid 20s. The set up comes with Volvo’s Dynamic Positioning and Docking system that is joystick operated and the Interceptor auto-trim controllers.
Sabre now builds seven models from 38 to 58 feet. The new 51 will fit between the 48 and 58 in the line and offers owners a cruising boat that is capable of long-haul adventuring and living aboard for weeks at a time.
When hull number one is launched, we’ll do our best to do an on-the-water test and review.
