Saba 50: Saba 50 Interior Dimensions and Impressions

[Cuvee]

Here are some perspectives on the INTERIOR of our SABA 50

My first impression is the size and openness of the salon. Headroom is over 7 foot through most of the salon and the windows are very large.

We have never cooked onboard a sailboat as much as we did on our recent commissioning trip in the USVI/BVIs. The galley (call it a kitchen) can easily accommodate 5 persons prepping meals at one time, and there’s still plenty of room for another 4-5 persons to relax on the settee sipping wine and overseeing the meal prep.

It doesn’t seem like it at first, but there is a surprising amount of storage space. We had 8 persons on our 19-day commissioning trip and we provisioned all the non-perishables and beverages at once. There is a large pantry in the starboard hallway that held all the dry goods. I’m not admitting we necessarily provisioned this much, but we determined that the four storage compartments below the saloon floor plus the storage in the salon coffee table will hold 6 cases of wine and spirits, and the cockpit storage locker under the starboard settee can store 10 cases of bottled beer and 3 cases of canned beverages, plus the case of beer chilling in the cockpit fridge.

Owner's cabin is aft portside, and the starboard forward cabin is the next largest in terms of space and storage. Both forward and aft starboard cabins have identical size ensuite baths and shower stalls.

The forward port cabin and aft starboard cabin are about the same size. The bath area of the forward port cabin is a bit smaller than the starboard baths, but the stall shower area is larger. The port forward cabin has more storage than the aft starboard cabin.

All the cabins have an opening overhead hatch and opening portlight. Similar to the salon, the cabin windows are very large and set at bunk height so you look directly out in the morning.

The generator is located in the starboard engine room. The watermaker is located in the starboard forepeak. The starboard cabins get some noise if the adjacent equipment is running, but we just ran during the day as needed when the crew were out of their cabins.

I’ve not fully explored all the plumbing recesses, but they look to be reasonably accessible. Holding tank Y-valves are located behind a plastic panel in the shower stalls. The port and starboard automated shower sump pumps are below the hallway floor panels. Primary & backup freshwater pumps and filtration system are mounted in the port engine bay and easily accessed. Still need to familiarize myself with the AC plumbing.


Salon
Headroom: 7’4” through most of salon width. Drops to 6’5” near the sides of the salon (e.g. above the cooktop)

Lighting:
o 4-zone controllable LED Lighting - Overhead strip lights, Floorboard strip lights, 10 overhead floodlights (very good lighting at all the work zones in the galley and nav station)
o Port & Std LED lighting for hull steps and hallways
o White / Red LED flexi chart table lamp

Cabinetry material: ALPIlignum wood

Windows & Hatches:
o Port & Starboard windows are each 9’W x 2’H
o Forward window (3 sections) is 14’W x 2.4’H
o Forward window has two large inward opening hatches
o One opening hatch above cooktop
o Two skylights with built-in shades

L-shape settee: 91” x80” x 28”D (also serves as a seat for nav station/chart table) (no underneath storage)

Salon coffee table: 41” x 20” x 19”H (2 storage compartments inside including 6 bottle holders) (FP offers optional dining table)

Nav station: 12” MFD, VHF, Stereo CD Player, Tank Gauge, Link Pro Battery Monitor, Breaker panel, Remote panels for Genset and Watermaker, Inverter control, 110v/12v receptacles


Galley (larger than our first kitchen!)
Island: Corian-type countertop
o 42”x26”x35”H (7.6 ft2 surface area)

Refrigerator: Isotherm DRAWER 190, two drawer
o 6.7 ft3 / 190L total
o Inside drawer dimension – each approx 31”W x 15”D x 11”H
o Mounted in Island

Freezer: Isotherm CRUISE 90 – 3.2 ft3 / 90L, 3 shelf

Cooktop: Elba (Mfg by Fisher & Paykel)
o 4-burner cooktop, with pot restraints
o Large burner – 12,000 BTU
o Two medium burners – 6000 BTU each
o Small burner – 3400 BTU

Wall oven/broiler: Eno brand

Galley Countertop: Corian-type material, 35” counter height
o Total 10.5 feet of linear counter space (~23 ft2 surface area)
o 21” to left of sink, 40” between sink and wall oven
o 34” between wall oven and cooktop, 31” to right of cooktop
o FP’s signature round countertop cutout to garbage bin below

SS double sink – each bowl 14”x16”x7”D
H/C freshwater spigot
Pressurized saltwater spigot

Storage:
o Full height wall cabinet – 5 shelves, ~19”W
o Wall cabinet above oven (19”W x 12”H x 18”D)
o 3 adjacent Base cabinets (~60”W total x ~30”H)
o 4 undercounter drawers
o 1 Trash bin cabinet
o Salon table compartment (approx36” x 15” x 16”D total)
o 4 Floor compartments– each 17” x 21” x 7”D

Starboard Hallway
Cabinet: 36”W x 59”H x 29”D, 3 shelves (includes an outlet if mounting the optional washer)

Cabins (all)
Bunks: 78”L x 63”W. Near the foot of the bunk, it tapers to 48”W (42”W in port fwd cabin)
o Height of mattress is 31” from floor
o 4” foam mattresses
o Underbunk pullout storage bin – 30”W x 22”D x 13”H

Headroom:
o Cabins: 6’7”
o Bath: 6’4”
o Doorways: 6’1”

Automatic shower sump pumps
Two Caframo Bora fans per cabin
110v outlets at bunk and sink
2-zone LED lighting (floodlights, strip lights)
Two LED nightlights at bunk
Bedside AC thermostat control

Owner’s Cabin (Port Aft)
Fore/aft bunk: 46” headroom from bunk to ceiling
Approx 34 linear feet of enclosed shelf storage, including underbunk pullout
o Base cabinet - 60”W x 30”H, Two 9”D shelves
o Wall cabinet - 29”W x 26”H, Two 30”D shelves
o Wall cabinets – Four x 21”W x 12”H x 12”D
o Desk base – 25”W x 26”H, Two 9”D shelves
o Bath sink base – 35”W x 26”H, Two 12”D shelves
Cabinet countertop storage – 60”W x 20”D
Two Hanging Lockers – Each 28”W x 42”H x 30”D
Shelf storage below the bathroom mirror and in open wall cabinet in the head

Port Forward Cabin
Athwartship bunk: 43” headroom from bunk to ceiling
Approx 11 linear feet of enclosed shelf storage, including underbunk pullout
o Wall cabinet – 20”W x 40”H, Three 30”D shelves
o Wall cabinet – 40”W, 30”D shelf inside hanging locker
Hanging locker – 40”W x 38”H
Hull console cabinet – 46”x8” top opening x 21”D
Sink base cabinet – two 14” shelves
Shelf storage below bathroom mirror, and in open wall cabinet in the head

Starboard Forward Cabin
Athwartship bunk: 43” headroom from bunk to ceiling
Approx 10 linear feet of enclosed shelf storage, including underbunk pullout
o Wall cabinet – 17”W x 43”H, three 30” shelves
o Wall cabinet – 36”W x 11”H, 30”D shelf inside hanging locker
Hanging Locker – 36”W x 34”H
Hull console cabinet – 46”x8” top opening x 21”D
Open storage cabinet – 6”W x 72”H, Four 9”D shelves
Sink base cabinet – two 14” shelves
Shelf storage below bathroom mirror, and in open wall cabinet in the head

Starboard Aft Cabin
Fore/aft bunk: 46” headroom from bunk to ceiling
Underbunk pullout bin - 30”W x 22”D x 13”H
Hanging Locker – 18”W x 48”H
Sink base cabinet – two 14” shelves
Shelf storage below bathroom mirror, and in open wall cabinet in the head

[SM6WET]

Hello Cuvee,

First of all I thank you for the grand, precise and informative information. It is a great read…
I have some questions, perhaps some you can answer, perhaps some you can comment on.

I start with questions commenting on your text. Then I throw in some extra questions. I know it is very many questions.
I am happy for any answers.

Cheers,
Magnus

>There is a large pantry in the starboard hallway that held all the dry goods.
Is this the laundry machine compartment or another one?

>plus the case of beer chilling in the cockpit fridge.
How large is the cockpit fridge?

>L-shape settee: 91” x80” x 28”D (also serves as a seat for nav station/chart table) (no underneath storage)
There is no way to get under it?

>Nav station: 12” MFD, VHF, Stereo CD Player, Tank Gauge, Link Pro BatteryMonitor, Breaker panel, Remotepanels for Genset and Watermaker, Inverter control, 110v/12v receptacles
Do you know if it is possible to get a larger then 12” MFD?
What are the choices of brand/model of VHF?

>Refrigerator: Isotherm DRAWER 190, two drawer
>Freezer: Isotherm CRUISE 90 – 3.2 ft3 / 90L, 3 shelf
Do you know if one can have 1 freezer drawer/ 1 fridge drawer instead of 2 fridge drawers? I feel that it should be the other way around.

>FP’s signature round countertop cutout to garbage bin below
1 Bin or 2 together in order to sort compostable vs other trash?


>4” foam mattresses
Memory foam or just simple foam?


Additional questions.

Storage…
Is there any storage in the Salon floor? Cockpit floor? Starboard floor? Port Floor? On the roof by the bridge?
You mention the storage on starboard hallway for optional wash/dryer. Is there a similar storage on portside?
Any ware possible to install a smaller safe?
Any “secret” compartments for valuables?
Would one have floor space behind the starboard post on cockpit to fit a laundry/dryer or a small freezer box? Or somewhere else on cockpit?
How much storage is there really in the front lockers? What can you get in there? And what is the size of the hatch? Example can one get a smaller bicycle inside?

Outlets, cables, electric…
Is there any 110v/220v outlets in the cockpit?
Is there a possibility to get more outlets as an option when buying a new boat? Judging from the pictures outlets are few.
What cable thickness is the cables running to the outlets? I read somewhere that on the Helia they were of a thinner type and would not allow any larger watt usage. Would they do with 110v 30A fuse / 220v 16A fuse?
Would you say that the solar panels is enough to keep the boats electric using fridges, freezers, water maker and lights if one is restrictive not using things unnecessary when offshore or would one need to use the generator from time to time? If so, how often?
How many additional panels would be needed to be completely self-sufficient to only use generator on foggy days?
Solar panels don’t work as well during fog, rain etc as on a bright sunny day. At such time it is good to have a little electric generated by wind power. Is there anywhere you find to be a suitable spot to install such?
Any other renewable energy source you had thought about installing?
How do you find the ducting for adding additional wiring for ex more solar panels etc?

Radio, coax, aerials…
I guess a VHF antenna is mounted in mast top… Any chance you know what kind of antenna it is? There is a huge difference from antenna to antenna in radiation pattern as well as life span in severe salty conditions.
Do you know what kind of Coax is run between the VHF radio and the mast top VHF antenna?
Where the antenna coax enter the boat, is there any space for additional coax/cables to enter?
Did you install also shortwave/SSB? If so where did you put your antenna? Where would you put it?

Safety.
Is there any ware on the boat where you feel there is not rails / grab handles enough going blue-water in bad weather?
What places would you recommend installing line to connect harness to during bad weather?
Any places you feel get uncomfortably slippery on when wet?

Mast:
Any space for additional lines, cable, antenna coax?
Any possibility to climb or be pulled up the top for installations?

Other:
Do you know if there is option to have a hydraulic platform in the back instead of the arms holding the dinghy?
Do you know if one can optionally have bow thrusters?

[SM6WET]

Hmm, I see now there was another post for exteriors in which where I should have put some of the questions.

[Cuvee]

Here you go SM6WET -

- The starboard pantry includes an electrical outlet and it’s my understanding that’s where the washing machine would have been installed.

- I believe the cockpit fridge is the Indel Webasto CRUISE 65 model – 65 liters capacity.

- The settee cushion that serves as the nav station seat can be removed. Underneath it is one of the salon AC compressors.With the upgraded sound system package, the subwoofer is installed in there as well and there is a sound port that faces the nav station.Without the subwoofer you could use this as a small storage area.

- The 12” MFD is the largest display listed on the factory options list. I presume you could work with the dealer to substitute a larger display.

- The factory option electronics packages are listed as Raymarine or Garmin. My US dealer’s list of dealer options includes an ICOM M-506 or ICOM M-424 VHF. Again I think you could work with your dealer to get a different VHF model if desired.

- I believe you can substitute a freezer drawer for one of the fridge drawers.

- The FP garbage chute is designed so that you attach a garbage bag to the underside of it.The garbage bag sits inside a trash container.You could probably fit two smaller trash containers instead within his compartment.99% of our recycle trash is glass that we place into a container stored in a cockpit locker.

- Mattresses are simple foam.There is a factory option for slatted bases on the bunks.

- The only floor storage is in the four very large bins in the salon floor.

- There is no pantry storage on the Port side hallway. The equivalent of the starboard pantry is taken up by the owners cabin on the portside, though any of the many owners cabinets could be used as a pantry.

- There is a factory option for a combination safe. I would do this as an aftermarket purchase to save money. There are plenty of places to install this in the owner's cabin or starboard forward cabin.

- I’ve not found any built-in “secret” compartments for valuables, but there are many places to hide valuables.

- Our cockpit has the fridge and separate icemaker. These were both dealer options. I would think a freezer could be substituted for the fridge. There is a large compartment under the starboard cockpit settee – perhaps a washer would fit in there.

- The anchor locker is very large and would easily fit a folding bike.The hatch and locker is big enough that at least 2 persons can stand inside it.

- There are no AC outlets in the cockpit.We had the dealer add an extra AC outlet to each cabin (for a total of two per cabin) and two extra in the galley.You could certainly add more.

- I don’t know the cable size going to the outlets.They are on a 110v 30A / 220v 16A fuse.

- The factory option solar panels are insufficient to run all the equipment.I’ll be on the boat next week and will take some measurements of its output. I’m guesstimating I get about 160AH per day in the tropics.

- I put together a DC load chart. In offshore mode, I estimate about 380 AH demand per day (icemaker turned off, invertor on, all 3 fridges/freezers on, 2 chartplotters/2 VHF/data displays/nav lights/autopilot on, laptop charging, all 10 fans running on, stereo on for several hrs a day, crew of 4 flushing the electric heads, interior lights on for a few hours per day, etc). You could easily reduce this to 280AH by turning off the stereo and with less than all four cabins occupied by shutting down some fans and fewer electric flushes. The generator or engine will get recover about 100A per hour, so you’re still left with an hour or so of generator or engine run time per day after the solar contribution.

In full on charter mode, the daily draw is upwards of 670 AH, or about 4~5 hours of generator or engine run time a day after the solar contribution. We have a 220v AC watermaker so we make water (as needed) when we’re recharging the batteries.

- I did not look into adding wind power or extra solar panels.

- I don’t know the brand of VHF antenna or type of coax.I did not consider installing SSB.

- Regarding handrails, I did see some Helia 44’s that added a handrail along the coachroof.That’s probably a good idea and something I’ve considered.On the last delivery, they ran jacklines from the bow to stern cleats.The deck has good grip.There are two acrylic skylights on the salon roof that enable you to see the sail from the nav station. They are to either side of the boom and a potential slipping hazard when going to the mast – could probably be mitigated with some nonskid tape and still maintain reasonable visibility from the nav station.

- I’ve not yet explored adding more lines or cabling in the mast. You have an electric halyard winch to getting up is relatively straightforward with another person on board. The boat is equipped with 3 mast steps above the gooseneck.

- A hydraulic dinghy platform or bow thruster were not factory or dealer options when I purchased. There is good access to the bow from the forward v-berths so I would think a bow thruster could be installed.

- The bridge deck clearance is 3.0 feet.

- The holding tanks are for black water – there is a valve for overboard discharge and deck fitting for pumpout. There is no holding tank for grey water – it goes overboard. The showers have an automatic sump pump.

- The battery rack in the port engine bay is full with the optional 6th battery. I think you would have to glass in some shelving to add more batteries, but there looks to be physical space to do this.

[SM6WET]

Thank you Cuvee for your answer, it really makes a difference to have someone who is so interested and knowledgeable about ones boat.

Washing machine, well I seen the pantry and kind of felt that it could make better use as a pantry on long trips then a washing machine. Washing machine could in worst case go on the outside in my view in the cockpit.

About fridge, Never heard of Indel Webasto. Is this something which is exclusively built for marine use?

Awesome to use the settee as a boom box….

OK on the electronics package and radio. Personally I am not really a fan of Icom but I guess that is personal preference.

Sounds good about the freezer drawer, in my opinion having a lot of fridge and less freezer means charter boat. If one is going bluewater from Tasmania to Rodriquez island there is not much food to buy on the way in between as there is neither a store on Kerguelen or Heard Island….

I see what you mean about the carbage bin. It is one big instead of a pre-installed separations.

Floor storage…….. So there is no way of lifting on anything floor in the hulls?

Factory safe, well it seems there is many things to be done as aftermarket. I seen one company that would charge close to €3000 for a washer/dryer when one can buy the same washer/dryer for €400 in any store selling appliances. For €2600 I gladly carry it onboard myself.

OK on the AC outlets. Sounds good. And OK on the fusing. It means I can run a 1KW amplifier without problems.

It would be really great to see what your measurements you get on your panels and how much use you have on the batteries.

So how much fuel does the motor use in order for the generator to work per hour? Estimate?

About coax, many use the cheaper and much thinner RG-58 coax. Now if you have a 24m mast and a few meters run to the radio you will have a gigantic loss of signal in the coax on the Marine VHF bands. It is a mistake many do to use a cheap and lossy cable. Changing to RG-8 / RG213, Ecoflex or similar coax will on a 30m length improve signal strength multiplied by at least 5 times.
Since you did have an interest in SSB but others may have I just like to add that the Marine SSB frequencies work on the shortwave which has a lot less signal loss in the coax then VHF (30-200Mhz) hence much less loss.


Jacklines is a necessity at times but they can be portable…. Or removable is a better word. What would be great however is pre-installed connection points for jacklines instead of using the cleats which has another purpose.
Thank you for bringing up the slipping hazard. Did you notice any other hazards?

Bow-thruster is a good to have luxury but not crucial. It does help in narrow spaces or when dock sideways. I see that some competition has started to offer thrusters as a option. Also Leopard has started with a teak beach swim platform on their 58.


OK, is the bridge clearance 3 feet light or at full load?

Good info on the battery space. Thank you.

Cheers,

[Cuvee]

Index Webasto has a line of marine refrigeration products.

We have Raymarine VHF - ICOM VHF was a dealer option.

The garbage bin is in a cabinet that is 14" wide x 17" deep x 28" high. In the standard configuration you simply hang a garbage bag from the garbage chute above it.

The are 8 floorboards per hull to access the bilges - each opening is 14" x 17". You could potentially store some items in the bilges has the aft ones are fairly deep.

The 13.5 kW generator fuel burn is 0.7 gal/hr at 50% load, 0.95 gal/hr at 75% load, and 1.2 gal/hr at 100% load.

Just checked the battery rack - I can add one more battery to the existing battery shelf for a total of 7.