This is my Columbia Sabre, Silent But Deadly. The Columbia Sabre is an interesting take on the 5.5 meter boat. The 5.5 meter class was a very highly refined international class derived from the International Rule (not to be mistaken for the IOR). Like the 12 meter, 8 meter and 6 meter the 5.5 meter was a development class rather than a one design class. At that time the 5.5 meter was an olympic class. The boats were all one off, wood, and very expensive. Because of the olympic status there was talk of trying to reduce the costs of the boats by either standardizing the design or allowing fiberglass boats.

Columbia wanted to have a boat ready when fiberglass was approved so they tooled up and showed the boat at the New York Boat Show. The problem is that the 5.5 meter class did not approve going to fiberglass leaving Columbia with an orphan. They tried to sell the boats as one designs and daysailers. It didn't work. Stuck with the cost of tooling they put a cruising boat deck on the boat and called it a Sabre.

This boat is really fun to sail. It is extremely tender, healing quickly to 30 degrees where it stiffens up, having added nearly ten feet in waterline length and really takes off.

SABRE
LOA 32'5"
LWL 22'7"

BEAM 6'3"
DRAFT 4'4"
DISPLACEMENT 5200
BALLAST 2800

SAIL AREA 347
WATER 17
PHRF 198