So, we completed the week long (5 days) hand over. As luck would have it, the La Rochelle
weather before and after our handover was really nice. During our handover, we had 20-30kts COLD
wind and frequent rain. It made the sea trial exciting...
I was told that I could not post videos from the handover, so I will briefly describe what happened. Amel, and other people, would come each day to describe every boat feature and installed system. As you can guess, that is a LOT of information in a very short time. I am fairly familiar with boat systems, but I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know where everything was located and how it worked. All smell producing systems are located in the
engine room as Mr. Amel was sensitive to smells. Other electrical systems were distributed though out the boat but, to my delight, they were easy to reach and see. For example, the bow thruster is in the bow
storage area and can be serviced by just removing a cover. Most
navigation systems were behind covers at the chart table. Everything that needed to be easily accessible was easily accessible. This is not an easy task on a boat. The
engine room is full with
equipment, but it is a pleasure as you can see and access most everything in one open space.
This left a lot of room for
storage on the boat. There is a huge amount of clean storage under all beds and in the
bilge area under the floor. The
bilge area does not get wet. The only possible
water sources are the electronic and paddle
wheel sensors by the forward
cabin, but these can be controlled. The
grey water tank collects all bilge
water. If you have a leak in a waterproof section (bow area, fwd staterooms, engine room, aft stateroom, or lazarette), the water will go from that section to the
grey water tank though a pipe (which can be closed). The rest of the bilge does not get wet.
Another thing that surprised me about the boat was the absence of
pump noises. You cannot hear the fresh or grey water tank pumps. There are no drain pumps at the showers. The boat feels very refined. The negative of that is that you have to keep an eye on the fresh water gauge as you'll not hear the
pump running continuously. I learned this the hard way...
The Amel handover people did an amazing job explaining everything. They were very knowledgeable and I appreciated that. It really annoys me when I know more than the person who is supposed to teach me.
We found it extremely beneficial to stay on the boat during the handover. This way, we could use everything and come up with new questions or requests. We also really enjoyed the Webasto hydronic
diesel heater. It made the boat toasty during the cold nights. The
diesel heater (located in the engine room) heats up water, which is circulated through-out the boat. There is a temperature control,
heat exchanger and fan in each
cabin. I am glad I selected this option. It makes the boat usable during colder months.
We kept postponing the sea trial but the
weather was not getting better. So, on the 4th day we decided to go out. It was gusting 20-30 kts with frequent rain. The water was brown from the river and it was shallow. I would not have left the harbor during these conditions but, we had to go. On board was myself, my wife and the Amel handover person.
We were glad we had the enclosed
cockpit and a very strong bow thruster. We did not even wear a jacket in the
cockpit. We had to
motor out of the harbor,
head on to the waves and
wind. The boat felt very solid and controllable. There were no creaking or other noises inside. After we exited the entrance, we unfurled the main (one or two
reefs, I do not remember) and the stay sail for some close hauled sailing. It was too miserable out to play with the sail settings too much, or to try to test limits. In addition, my mind was on overload. This was not the ideal time to take a brand
new boat out and try to get a feel for it. I prefer baby steps…
All the Amel sail electrical controls have safeties built-in. If the sail has too much pressure (high
current situation), when you electrically furl/unfurl, it beeps. This way you know that something is wrong, or you need to change what you are doing. I think our boat liked me because it beeped a lot at me… It was difficult to tell the forces exerted on the
sails in bad weather on a
new boat, first time sailing. Also, I did not know how strong the motors were. Hence, the beeping. Very useful. With a little practice there should be much less of it. Basically, if the wind is strong, you have to furl/unfurl the
mainsail, and probably the headsail, while the wind is in the 20-50 degree range (red and green area of the wind indicator instrument).
The boat performed perfectly. She heeled about 10-20 degrees, depending on the gusts. Brown water was going over the
deck and cockpit. We were warm and dry. The visibility of the
sails was good from the cockpit. We tacked few times with the self-tacking stay sail. We even tacked using the
autopilot. No drama at all.
We later anchored for lunch (typical French celebratory lunch of bread, cheeses and Champagne) at a completely exposed anchorage. The 45 kg Ultra
anchor did not even care. Wind was howling outside but in the cockpit and below it was quiet and reasonably calm. In my opinion, the 45 kg Ultra
anchor is perfect for this boat.
We finally had to return to the
dock, at which point the Amel guy told me "It is your boat, you
dock it." I had to dock stern-to with beam wind, next to the last Amel 64 getting commissioned. I had no idea how the boat behaved going astern or how the bow thruster affected it. I also have to admit that most of my boats have had twin engines and I am not comfortable backing up a
single screw boat, especially a new one and in these conditions. The bow thruster takes about 20 seconds to lower and be operational and it is STRONG! It feels like a giant hand grabs the bow and turns it. There is no hesitation. The Amel person told me that he tried to make the bow thruster overheat and it took 4 continuous minutes before it shut down! Amel recommends 20 seconds max continuous run time. I was doing 2-3 second bursts. You need to have the generator running and both
battery chargers (100 amp and 60 amp) ON when using the bow thruster. It consumes some serious amps.
I knew that I needed higher than normal speed to maintain control going astern in these winds. So, I went hotter than usual and with the help of the bow thruster, I brought the boat to the dock, without hitting anything (to my relief) until I heard the Amel guy shouting “Slow Down!” But, with a little forward throttle, the 50 came to a complete stop (again to my relief). I had a hard time judging distances from the cockpit. But, this was my first time
docking and, considering, I was very happy with it. I was back at the dock and I did not hit anything! By the way, in all my years of
boating, I have not hit anything, yet. I am very conservative handling boats.
Overall, I would have preferred to sail our boat during calm weather on our first outing. But, the weather did not leave us much choice. On the plus side, my wife was perfectly fine!
On the last day of the handover, it was much calmer with 6-10 kts wind and calm seas. We used this opportunity to try all the sails. At about 155 degrees true, we had the
Gennaker, poled out
genoa and the
mainsail up. We were doing 6-8 kts, which is not bad for a 22 ton boat. I do not have a
spinnaker. Back at the harbor, we practiced backing up. The Amel guy took me at a narrow channel (with docked boats and 10 ft or less on each side) and asked me to back her all the way to the end. At much lower speeds this time, I did it (with relatively few oops moments of using the bow thruster in the wrong direction). If you have enough speed (not sure what yet) and little wind, you can maneuver backwards using the rudders. Otherwise, the bow thruster is essential. It is almost like backing up a car. The thruster is your
steering. You keep the rudders straight and use the thruster to
head in the direction you want to while you back up. It took me a couple of narrow channels to get comfortable with it. The 50 is extremely maneuverable going aft using the bow thruster. She can make circles in her boat length.
I know this a long post… Too many things are going on in my head. We just got back home and we are getting ready to start cruising end of May. As a conclusion, my wife and I are very happy with our boat “Paloma.” She feels right for us.
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