Tartan 3500 vs Sabre 362

[Seeking Sanity]

Desperately looking for a Tartan 3400 due to set up for single handed sailing but hard to find. The ones on the market all have significant issues. Exploring close seconds
I have a shot at a Tartan 3500 in great shape - draw back - full keel (I'll be sailing in the upper (Havre de Grace) or mid Chesapeake (maybe Rock Hall or below I'll be ok?)

I have a shot at a Sabre 362 in good shape as well would need an electric winch to spare my shoulders for a couple of more years.
I will probably add AC eventually will probably need 16000 btu

Any thoughts on sailing compatibility or known issues. Looking for some performance realizing they are not speed demons. I sailed a Tartan and though it handled great haven't been on the Sabre

[Zzmeyer]

For what it is worth both have P H R F ratings of about 117 which is quite fast for that size cruising boat.

[Sailing302]

Originally Posted by Seeking Sanity

Desperately looking for a Tartan 3400 due to set up for single handed sailing but hard to find. The ones on the market all have significant issues. Exploring close seconds
I have a shot at a Tartan 3500 in great shape - draw back - full keel (I'll be sailing in the upper (Havre de Grace) or mid Chesapeake (maybe Rock Hall or below I'll be ok?)

I have a shot at a Sabre 362 in good shape as well would need an electric winch to spare my shoulders for a couple of more years.
I will probably add AC eventually will probably need 16000 btu

Any thoughts on sailing compatibility or known issues. Looking for some performance realizing they are not speed demons. I sailed a Tartan and though it handled great haven't been on the Sabre

Hi neighbor! That Sabre looks like a pretty boat, but I don't know anything.

[ChrisJD]

Very similar boats in a lot of ways, but the Sabre is likely a few bucks more and will feel a lot bigger inside than the Tartan, thanks to the foldaway dining table; it also has a higher displacement and higher comfort ratio, so likely to feel like a bit more boat all around. I have a Sabre 402 and love it, but Tartans are great boats as well. Pretty similar build quality, maybe a bit more exterior teak to worry about on the Sabre.

One thing of note is that Sabre has a very active online community, which I've found to be helpful in learning my boat; if you have any questions about the 362 in particular, folks on that site (it's an io.com forum) will be more than happy to weigh in. Tartan has one (I think) but less so.

[ducham]

I was looking seriously at the 3500 until I realized how difficult it was to enter/exit the vberth and aft berth.

Prior, I noticed a newer brochure for the 3500 listed its displacement as about 1,000 lbs heavier than the original brochure. I submitted a question through Tartan's website and was pleasantly surprised to receive a response from Tim Jackett himself. He said the original brochures listed the designed displacement. But they realized over time that each finished boat was actually weighing in at about 13,200. Not a necessarily bad thing. But if you're comparing the two boats on figures like disp/lwl and motion comfort, use 13,200 for the 3500.

Also, Tartan switched to epoxy resign and corecell around 2002, an arguably better method and material. That said, I doubt older 3500s are going to fall apart anytime soon.

[harrymanko]

The Tartan 3400 is nice, but she is much slower than the 3500 compared to her rating. In my opinion, the 3500 is the most competitive Tartan ever made, and she is easy to single-hand.

[flee27]

As a Sabre owner I an biased. But both boats are good quality and would be great ones to own. As stated above I would recommend going over to the Sabre form and get some more info on the 362.

https://groups.io/g/SabreSailboat/topics

Good luck
Foster

[Dusty Mac]

I own and singlehand a Sabre 362. Great boat, sails balanced so don't need the Auto helm. When the wind gets up to the low to mid 20's will pace a Beneteau 36.7.
Mainsail mid boom sheeting could use a bigger winch to control the gybes easier.
Interior is nice and open, a fair amount of storage but could use more - shower becomes a pantry. lots of handholds down below. Feel free to ask any questions.