Amel Super Maramu

[OregonCoaster]

Hi All,

Im new to the forum. Hello! I have been on the lookout for an Amel for several years now (admittedly fantasizing most of that time). I saw this pop up and it is quite a bit cheaper than other similar vintage Amel. On the surface don't see anything glaring that would suggest a lower price. Thoughts?

1997 Amel Super Maramu Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[icedog11]

only thing that caught my eye was the listing has it as a sail drive. Amel's I thought were all shaft drive? After checking it seems they are sail drive, my bad.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by icedog11

only thing that caught my eye was the listing has it as a sail drive. Amel's I thought were all shaft drive? After checking it seems they are sail drive, my bad.

It's actually not a sail drive. It is however a "C" drive.

[Auspicious]

Amel calls it a C-drive. It's a sail drive. A good one, but a sail drive.

[rossny]

OC, Yes looks like a good buy, if you have the funds get a ticket and go look or hire a surveyor. Olivier Beaute at Atlanticyachtsurveyors worked for Amel for 20 years and could tell you more and he is a surveyor. Act quickly as this may not last long. Good luck.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Looks like a good one but expect to recover all soft furnishings and to change the electronics to a more modern set up. At least 25 year old kit there. The Eumania washing machine might also be on its last legs. Olivier Beauté is eminently recommendable. Pricey but he'll find all the wrinkles; he did so on my boat!!

[OregonCoaster]

Hey all, thanks for the responses! It looks im gonna miss this one as it's too long a trip to go take a look for me at this point (LA to Lefkas is a long way). Olivier had some great insight as well. Thanks rossny!

[DeepFrz]

That is a nice boat but it is ready for a complete refit. Insurance may be hard to come by with original standing rigging. You could spend a lot of money getting it ready to go.

[softdown]

Youtuber SVDelos uses a very similar boat built in 2000. He is very happy with it though one needs to remember that he does hope to sell and get a 70 footer expeditionary monohull in the future.

Bryan, of SVDelos, is a real smart guy as is his Swedish girlfriend. His brother is a good bit wilder and provides entertainment value.

I think Amel Supers are good blue water cruisers. Built in France, they use the metric system. Doesn't take much to adjust though.

FWIW....Bryan is staying with the monohull design and gave good reasons why in a 2 hour question and answer video.

We are entering a good season to consider boats in the Caribbean. The hurricane season is the slow season. Interesting that that is where SVDelos is currently headed.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

That is a nice boat but it is ready for a complete refit. Insurance may be hard to come by with original standing rigging. You could spend a lot of money getting it ready to go.

Yep indeed. I went through this process as my boat is hull #007... there were about 500 made!

Mine is a 2015 Amel SM now with new 'present day' systems etc. Cost was about equal to the most expensive Sm 2000 from 2005, the last year of production. But all is new!

BTW, boat is 28 YO now and not a hint of osmosis anywhere.

GL with your search.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Amel calls it a C-drive. It's a sail drive. A good one, but a sail drive.

Just out of idle curiosity -- how can that be called a "sail drive"?

I always thought a sail drive was gearbox and drive leg in a single self-contained unit, sticking through the bottom of the boat in a rubber gaiter.

The only thing in common with that on the Amel, is that, like a sail drive, there are two bevel gears. But everything else is different. The short shaft sticks out of the back of the keel. Amel (and the maker, Catep) call it an "S drive", and I believe it's patented. Surely it's a stretch to call that a "sail drive"?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, OregonCoaster.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Just out of idle curiosity -- how can that be called a "sail drive"?

I'll buy that there is a vocabulary issue here. It is a complex drive train with multiple changes in direction. There are additional, compared to a shaft drive, requirements for lubrication. There are extra maintenance requirements. There are additional failure modes.

In the case of the Amel, you have to haul the boat every 800 hours to replace the C-drive seals. That could be worse. I've seen Yanmar sail drives that have 100 hour service intervals AND have no way to lock the props. Think about that.

On the other hand I haven't yet figured out how to deep sample the C-drive gear oil for water. All that great structure and support makes getting a tube to the bottom of the oil sump impractical.

Mechanical systems that strike me as unnecessarily complicated make me uncomfortable. Sail drives (including the Amel C-drive) and I/Os fall into that category. YMMV.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

I'll buy that there is a vocabulary issue here. It is a complex drive train with multiple changes in direction. There are additional, compared to a shaft drive, requirements for lubrication. There are extra maintenance requirements. There are additional failure modes.

In the case of the Amel, you have to haul the boat every 800 hours to replace the C-drive seals. That could be worse. I've seen Yanmar sail drives that have 100 hour service intervals AND have no way to lock the props. Think about that.

On the other hand I haven't yet figured out how to deep sample the C-drive gear oil for water. All that great structure and support makes getting a tube to the bottom of the oil sump impractical.

Mechanical systems that strike me as unnecessarily complicated make me uncomfortable. Sail drives (including the Amel C-drive) and I/Os fall into that category. YMMV.

Easy to find out if you have a water entry; there is a large 90 gear oil reservoir mounted on the forward bulkhead above the S drive. If you have a water entry, the gear oil will change to the color of chocolate mousse. However, the 800 hour limit can be taken with a grain of salt; most owners will go to 1200 hours if there is no discolouration of the gear oil. BTW, 1200 hours is a lot of motoring so changing the WOB (wear out Bearing) can be done at a convenient haulout. I had to replace mine prematurely when I took a big floating net into the prop.. caused imbalance and ...w a t e r entry. It is more complex than a shaft drive but well engineered also. Not much to fear from it.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Easy to find out if you have a water entry; there is a large 90 gear oil reservoir mounted on the forward bulkhead above the S drive.

By the time the oil in the reservoir gets tan and foamy you really have a problem and you are backed into a corner. Not something you want to count on before a passage of several thousand miles.

The 800 hour guidance is solid conservative information. I wouldn't push that as a matter of course.

The bearing doesn't worry me nearly so much as the seals. There are lots of people out there (including my friend Bill Rouse who I have great regard for) who are not as cautious as I am. Be aware that safety margins are intended to protect you from many things including, in this case, manufacturing anomalies as well as corrosion and material disruptions on the shaft.

Accordingly you may want to take me with a grain of salt also. I'm careful and conservative.

I definitely agree that it is well engineered and indeed well manufactured. A shaft is simpler and more robust.