Sailing long distances can be strenuous and rough. To make these journeys easier and more comfortable, the Amel sailboat is one of the best sailboats for the job.
Amel is a very capable and solid sailboat. An Amel sailboat can take its passengers across the oceans and on long-distance cruises safely and comfortably. Chantiers Amel, a French shipyard, builds these boats. They are well-known for their ocean-going sailboats.
Amel sailboats are 100% made in France. All boats made by this company are fully designed and manufactured in La Rochelle, France. Once a boat is finished, it is delivered by a technician of the company. They give the new owner one week to try and get used to the newly constructed sailing yacht.
Read on to learn more about Amel sailboats, including the Amel 50, Amel 60, Amel Super Maramu, Amel Kirk 36, Maramu 46, and Amel 64.
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Amel Sailboats
An Amel Sailboat is a competent and solid boat. The company that manufactures this brand of sailboats is well-known for building boats that can cross the oceans and go on long-distance cruising safely and efficiently.
Chantiers Amel, the shipyard that manufactures these boats, is based in La Rochelle, France. They design and manufacture all the boats they produce in this shipyard. Henri Amel established this company in 1965.
The shipyard of Chantiers Amel manufactures fiberglass ketches that can cross the blue waters. These boats include the following:
- Super Maramu,
- Mango,
- Meltem, and
- Amel 54.
They also build smaller ketch and sloop series such as the following:
- Sharki,
- Euros,
- Maramu,
- Fango, and
- Kirk.
Chantiers Amel is also well-known for its practice of building a single boat model at a time. They follow the business attitude of not changing boat models every year. According to Henri Amel, their practice is to keep on perfecting the boats they make.
In 2010, the company started to produce its flagship models, the Amel 64 and the Amel 55. Olivier Racoupeau and Jean Berret designed both boats.
While the company makes several boat models, the best-known Amel boats are the Amel 50, the Amel 60, and the Super Maramu. Some of the other boat models of Chantiers Amel are the Kerk 36, the Maramu 46, and the Maramu 64.
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Amel 50
Price
Chantiers Amel claims that the Amel 50 exudes the Amel Spirit New Generation. The manufacturer says that this boat offers maximum pleasure and simplicity. It pushes the boundaries, but it remains loyal to the fundamentals of the brand. The price of a new Amel 50 starts at $1,100,000.
Uses
Amel designed the Amel 50 for a wider scope of use. It won’t compete at the races, but it promises to bring almost the same sensations of speed. Owners can choose to use it for cruises on the high seas, getaways along the coast, or family weekends away from the city.
Award Winning Boat
The Amel 50 is an award-winning boat from Chantiers Amel. Its awards include the following:
- European Yacht of the Year award in 2018: Beaten other boats in its class.
- Best in Family Cruiser,
- Best in Luxury Cruiser,
- Multihulls and Special Yachts, and
- Performance-Cruiser.
This boat was also a runner-up in the Boat of the Year competition in 2020 under the Full-Size Cruiser of the 45 to 55 feet class. Panelists of this competition have observed that this boat is really an ocean-going globe trotter.
Features
It has a centrally located ‘sea chest’ and manifold system, a watertight forward crash bulkhead, with a single through-hull. This boat also has an Onan generator, a desalinization system that can easily isolate a leak and close it down, and an air-conditioner.
The Amel 50 has a global shore-power system that can handle 50 or 60 hertz and 120 or 230 or 240 volts of electricity. So, you can take this boat wherever in the world that you want to go. The DC side of its electrical system can take 24 volts.
This boat has a deckhouse with a raised big floor panel and where you can see the fastened cockpit table. Moreover, the boat has wonderful access to the deep engine and technical room where the 5-cylinder, 110 horsepower Volvo engine is. This place houses the battery chargers, the inverter, the watermaker, and other boat equipment.
Speed
With ample space in this engine and technical room, inspection and maintenance of the equipment are easy. There is no lifting of stairs or rearranging of the stateroom to reach anything. Test sails were conducted at 5 to 6 knots of light wind at the Chesapeake Bay. The Amel 50 skimmed the water better than 3 knots.
Amel 60
Price
The Amel 60 is longer than the Amel 50 by 10 feet. But it is not just the extra 10 feet that makes it different from the Amel 50. More details, volume and fittings, and more modern tech enhance comfort at anchor or sea. The price of a brand new Amel 60 is around $2,658,800, duty/GST included.
Features
The ample space inside the Amel 60 gives the owner and their guests more enjoyment onboard while preserving their individual privacies. This boat offers a large living space, three cabins with its own bathroom, spacious and open sunbathing space, and a high-end ultra-equipped kitchen.
The key advantage of the Amel 60 is its increased volume, both for the deck lockers and the accommodation. This boat has two rudders that reduce drag when it heels and provides a more balanced, surefooted feel when it is underway.
These two rudders provide redundancy. Thus, you have a spare if you have a damaged one. They are also handy for those who want to spend more time in the Mediterranean, where shallower rudders must mooring stern-to.
Easy to Handle
In terms of handling, the boat is pretty easy to handle when it is under sail alone. The well-sorted sail control systems panel is the key reason for this facility. It is also possible to wind everything manually. But it will really be difficult if you need to break out a winch handle.
The layout of the Amel 60 is impressive. It provides security and comfort. However, this setup has somehow compromised the ability to drive electric sheet winches located behind you. Any accidental development of an override can give you some worries.
Easy Access to the Engine Room
A big advantage of this boat is the easy access to the engine room. This is what experienced boaters with thousands of sea miles experience are looking for. You can lift the cockpit floor easily with the permanently fitted gas struts. With this setup, it is easy to gain access to the engine room in seconds.
Speed
Light weather sea trials found the Amel 60 slipping along in light airs. In air at 6 to 7 knots and flat water, this boat sat at 5.4 knots. This is impressive considering that it weighs 26 tons. With its cutter configuration, this boat sails very well and is also easy to handle.
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Amel Super Maramu
Price
The Super Maramu is a 54-footer sailboat. It is the archetypal Amel boat and has enjoyed a remarkably long production run. Since its production in 1989, hundreds of Super Maramus exist. Chantiers Amel ended its production 17 years later when it was succeeded by the Amel 54. A used one at this time will cost about $241,259.
Throughout its 17 years production run, the Super Maramu has retained its overall design and style despite many changes. Moreover, the Super Maramu 2000, the line’s last revision, was introduced upon the entry of the new millennium.
Sailors who are into long-distance sailing bought a great number of Super Maramu. At its peak of popularity, you can spot Super Maramu in many distant harbors and ports worldwide.
Features
The Super Maramu is longer and wider than the original Maramu. Even then, it has very similar accommodations but only with more volume and space. This provided more space for members of the crew to move around. The boat also has more ample space for storage.
When the Amel 54 replaced the Super Maramu, it offered increased internal volume. This allowed for more enhancements in the owner’s suite. The new design also allowed a twin berth cabin, more storage space, and more galley worktop.
Amel Kirk 36
Price
The Kirk 36 is another sailing yacht manufactured by Chantiers Amel of France. The company has been building boats for 10 years when they launched the Kirk 36. This boat enjoyed a certain amount of success that other boats made by Amel before this time could not achieve. A 1975 year model of Kirk 36 costs about $25,000.
Features
The hull of the Kirk 36 is narrow if you will consider the current standard. It also has a shorter waterline length. This considerably limited the space for accommodation. One good thing about it is that it has a low center of gravity bulb keel.
This made this boat very stable. It is a great feature that was not very common at that time with cruising yachts. Other boat manufacturers were only able to catch up with this Amel design after more than 20 years.
This boat has a very traditional layout for accommodation. There are two fore cabin berths, and there are two big head compartments that separate the berths from the saloon. The saloon has two settees that are convertible to sea berths if needed.
The Kirk 36 has a galley and a big chart table located after the companionway. A small twin-berth cabin with limited headroom is also available at the aft section.
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Maramu 46
Price
In the early days of his boat company, Henri Amel tried to deliver the finished boat to its buyer personally. After delivering a sailboat to a customer in Tahiti, Henri spent nine months from 1975 to 1976. The price of a 1987 model of the Maramu 46 goes for $179,000.
At this time, he conceptualized the design for a new boat. Little did he know that this particular boat design will be his most successful creation to this date. This boat also set his company’s boat-building business for the future. This boat is the Maramu 46.
Features
Henri launched the Maramu 46 in 1978. It was a thorough go-anywhere sailboat because of the high level of equipment and a truly spacious accommodation by the standard in those days. The configuration of its stowage compartments also made it a serious ocean-going boat.
Its deck layout features en suite cabins located on both ends of the boat. With this arrangement, two couples will spend extended periods of time with some degree of privacy.
The aft cabin is relatively large with a small settee plus a dresser/desk. You can access this by way of a walk-through from the boat’s main saloon. The Maramu 46 has a spacious area with a big table that can sit the entire crew comfortably.
You can transform this table into two sea berths of decent size. The boat also has an appropriate navigation station located next to the companionway. There is also a well-appointed and well-configured galley that’s very easy to use when cruising.
Amel 64
Price
Chantiers Amel launched the Amel 64 in 2015 during the Dusseldorf boat show in Germany. Some of the earlier defining features of this boat reflect technological advances, style, and materials incorporated in its design. A new unit costs around $1,395,604.
Features
For instance, its interior now has a brighter design and the option of light wood veneers. Even so, the original concept behind its design is still present in certain aspects. Its sail plan remains divided into smaller areas by the ketch rig. The furling and electric winches control this sailboat.
The decks below can be three or four cabins, made of modern expensive materials or classic design, depending on the whims and wishes of the buyer.
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Conclusion: Solid and Capable Amel Sailboat
Amel is an excellent and capable sailboat. This sailboat can take its passengers on long-distance cruising across the oceans comfortably and safely. Chantiers Amel, a French shipyard, built this sailboat.
This boat builder is well-known for its creation of ocean-going sailboats. Some of these boats have earned awards from boat competitions proving their worth and their capabilities.
Related reading:
Amel Super Maramu Specs and Review
MacGregor 26 Sailboat Specs and Review
