Amel 50 - Build Thread

[windpipe]

@boom23

Sorry if you listed it... but what type of sails did you choose for your Amel 50? and what options were there? Do you have vertical battens on the main? I am wondering if/how that works with Amel's in-house furling mast.

I have a Selden mast and my main sail full height vertical battens. I am not able to furl with the sail powered, which means going downwind. The battens catch less when on a starboard tack.

I curious if Amel's mast has the same limitations...

[boom23]

Originally Posted by windpipe

@boom23

Sorry if you listed it... but what type of sails did you choose for your Amel 50? and what options were there? Do you have vertical battens on the main? I am wondering if/how that works with Amel's in-house furling mast.

I have a Selden mast and my main sail full height vertical battens. I am not able to furl with the sail powered, which means going downwind. The battens catch less when on a starboard tack.

I curious if Amel's mast has the same limitations...

There are no sail material options for that Amel 50. They only offer Hydranet sails. The mainsail does not have any battens. From what I know, Amel boats' mainsails never had battens. I'm not sure what are the furling restrictions. But, I'll find out in a month.

Other Amel owners told me that they can furl the mainsail at any point of sail. Amel has perfected their in-mast furling.

[boom23]

I know it has been a while for new pictures... The week-long handover is in less than a month and everything is on schedule! I have our tickets. I have already shipped many shipping boxes with our stuff to the factory. They are supposed to arrive before the handover.

I am very excited and apprehensive at the same time. I spent a lot of time thinking and customizing our boat. Amel has done an amazing job accommodating my many requests, and they are not known for customizing. To be fair, I can understand their position. They want to do things right, which takes planning. At the same time, they want to stay on schedule. They are proud of that.

As a customization example, I wanted to install dedicated folding padeyes for jacklines. Most factories would be happy to install them by drilling few holes and using bolts, washers, nuts and some sealant. Amel, on the other hand, embeds a stainless plate in the hull as a backing plate for everything that is through bolted. So, they need to know where things go during the molding phase. Little details like that made me appreciate what could be involved with every change I requested. It also made me understand why these boats are appreciated by cruisers. Amel does not cut corners.

Anyway, I hope I anticipated and planned well. I know Amel has thought a lot of things for me. No matter what, this will be a special boat and we feel extremely fortunate to have her, in a month.

Few months ago, I gave Amel a coin for the mast. I am not superstitious, but I figured it cannot hurt... Here is the coin at the bottom of the mast. I whited out my name.
You can also see that all the cables are in a different channel from the furling portion of the mast.

[Eleuthera 2014]

You'll also note the pre installed mousing lines. Every Amel has them ex factory. Another small plus.

The Amel masts are great, solid and well designed. Nirvana! masts.

For the mainsail furling: we have North Sails Nordam on our boat... new fit this year... for furling in, we get a better furl if we go to a stbd tack and release all forces to the boom. First, you release some of the "outhaul" then furl in a bit. Repeat until sail is fully furled. DO NOT TIGHTEN too much as this will form creases on your new sails. Enjoy your boat, she should be very nice.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

You'll also note the pre installed mousing lines. Every Amel has them ex factory. Another small plus.

The Amel masts are great, solid and well designed. Nirvana! masts.

For the mainsail furling: we have North Sails Nordam on our boat... new fit this year... for furling in, we get a better furl if we go to a stbd tack and release all forces to the boom. First, you release some of the "outhaul" then furl in a bit. Repeat until sail is fully furled. DO NOT TIGHTEN too much as this will form creases on your new sails. Enjoy your boat, she should be very nice.

Thank you for the furling tip! I will definitely try it. I plan to video the handover week, if they'll let me. I know there will be a lot to learn. The video will allow me to go over things I may have overlooked. Also, I will *try* to make YouTube videos on this week and our future travels. I have learned so much from other people's videos and I would like to contribute. I think it is a great resource. I really hope my videos will be viewable... This will be my first try and I am not artistic at all.

On a different note, I have been reading again the "Heavy Weather Sailing" book by Peter Bruce, and I am having troubled dreams. I am looking forward to calm days in the Med, but reading about survival situations.

[jmorrison146]

Sorry if I missed the information in previous posts. Did you spec the davits engineered by Amel? What dinghy setup do you intend to use?

Beautiful boat!!

[boom23]

Originally Posted by jmorrison146

Sorry if I missed the information in previous posts. Did you spec the davits engineered by Amel? What dinghy setup do you intend to use?

Beautiful boat!!

No problem and thank you.

Amel designed the A50 davits and I selected this option without seeing them. On my second visit, I saw a version of the davits installed on another A50 and I liked them, but I requested a manual override method in case the davit motors fail. Again, they listened to my comments/requests and said that they were working on that and will have a solution for me. I plan to test the davit manual override during the handover.

Regarding the dinghy, for my Lagoon 450 I chose the AB 11AL with center console, seat and 20hp Honda. It was a great dinghy but way to heavy to drag on the shore, or deal with shallow water during low tides. I replaced it for an AB 10AL (with no console) and a 15hp two stroke outboard. It had the same amount of room as the 11 AL and was much more usable.

For the 50, I was between the Highfield classic CL 310 and CL 340, both with an electric start (for my wife) 20hp Honda. Both models have pros and cons and I was leaning for the 340 for the better ride quality, space and double bow locker, but in the end I chose the lighter 310 for the lighter weight.

[jmorrison146]

Originally Posted by boom23

No problem and thank you.



Amel designed the A50 davits and I selected this option without seeing them. On my second visit, I saw a version of the davits installed on another A50 and I liked them, but I requested a manual override method in case the davit motors fail. Again, they listened to my comments/requests and said that they were working on that and will have a solution for me. I plan to test the davit manual override during the handover.



Regarding the dinghy, for my Lagoon 450 I chose the AB 11AL with center console, seat and 20hp Honda. It was a great dinghy but way to heavy to drag on the shore, or deal with shallow water during low tides. I replaced it for an AB 10AL (with no console) and a 15hp two stroke outboard. It had the same amount of room as the 11 AL and was much more usable.



For the 50, I was between the Highfield classic CL 310 and CL 340, both with an electric start (for my wife) 20hp Honda. Both models have pros and cons and I was leaning for the 340 for the better ride quality, space and double bow locker, but in the end I chose the lighter 310 for the lighter weight.

Good calls all around. Thanks for sharing the build and your thoughts as you put the Amel together.

[jmorrison146]

One last question, sir, and I'll leave you to prep your beautiful boat. Is the sail locker forward big enough to stow both a Code Zero and an Asymmetric Spinnaker? Which do you plan to carry? One or both?

Again, thanks for sharing your adventure.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by jmorrison146

One last question, sir, and I'll leave you to prep your beautiful boat. Is the sail locker forward big enough to stow both a Code Zero and an Asymmetric Spinnaker? Which do you plan to carry? One or both?

Again, thanks for sharing your adventure.

You are welcome!

I am not sure how big is the sail locker. It contains the anchor chain and bow thruster.

The Amel 50 has an in-mast furling masthead cutter rig.

Mainsail: 62 sqm (667 sqf)
Furling Genoa: 64 sqm (689 sqf)
Self tacking furling staysail: 24 sqm (258 sqf)
Free flying furling Gennaker: 180 sqm (1,937 sqf)

For simplicity reasons, I chose the Gennaker for downwind sailing. I also have a spinnaker pole with all the rigging.
For 50-130 AWA and 10+ knots AWS, I can use the Genoa and Staysail together.

In the future, I may get a 207 sqm (2,228 sqf) Parasailor, as quoted by the company.

I am for ease of use and comfort over speed.



Here is a video tour of the 50:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rFHJ4vhngo

Here is a Russian video tour, which shows the bow locker around 2:40:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yEjVEFy2pc

[jmorrison146]

Excellent, thanks!

[sailcindy]

Boom 23... Almost your time to pick up your new born boat. We are looking forward to your videos from Handover Week (assuming AMEL approves). And also maybe you will post once you leave La Rochelle and the ports you stop in on the way to the Med. We are a year behind you. Our AMEL 50 is hull #27 and delivery date is March 2020. Your Build Thread has been a wonderful help to us in figuring out what options to choose.
Thanks for all the information you have shared.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by sailcindy

Boom 23... Almost your time to pick up your new born boat. We are looking forward to your videos from Handover Week (assuming AMEL approves). And also maybe you will post once you leave La Rochelle and the ports you stop in on the way to the Med. We are a year behind you. Our AMEL 50 is hull #27 and delivery date is March 2020. Your Build Thread has been a wonderful help to us in figuring out what options to choose.
Thanks for all the information you have shared.

Glad you got something out of this thread and congratulations on your A50! We're very excited for our delivery. Time went by so fast! We're ready to do some serious cruising.

Just FYI, I've never done video editing and I'm not artistic... But, I understand computers and I'll do my best. I hope Amel allows me to film during handover.

[De.windhoos]

Originally Posted by boom23

Glad you got something out of this thread and congratulations on your A50! We're very excited for our delivery. Time went by so fast! We're ready to do some serious cruising.

Just FYI, I've never done video editing and I'm not artistic... But, I understand computers and I'll do my best. I hope Amel allows me to film during handover.

I would suggest, that if you got a friend in La Rochelle to let him video it, so you can concentrate on the avalanche of new info you'll get.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by De.windhoos

I would suggest, that if you got a friend in La Rochelle to let him video it, so you can concentrate on the avalanche of new info you'll get.

That is a great suggestion but, unfortunately, I don't have any acquaintances in La Rochelle. I will ask discuss it with Amel and see what they say.