Difference between Amel models

[Eleuthera 2014]

We just bought a Super Maramu... after looking at Van Den Stadts, Trintella, HR, Oyster, Bristol, Ovni and North Winds..

Most storage by a long margin, easiest to maintain (step down into engine room, walk around main engine), very strong rig, retractable BT, roller furling everywhere, lots of electrics (good and bad). Well protected prop located in a machined housing integrated in the trailing edge of the fin.

We chose an older boat but opted to refit and renew all systems. We will have a new boat. :-) Setting off in July 15 for a RTW. Best compromise for the purpose. AFAIK, no Amel Super Maramu has ever been lost on the high seas. 11 boats lost on various other mishaps...out of 497 hulls built. Says lots about the quality.

Best point: not one single piece of teak.
Worst point: the dual 90 degree engine gearbox... requires a lot of care

[Scout 30]

Great boats but I don't think they meet your third requirement, low cost. This kind of quality is not cheap.

[SamFrederick]

Thank you everyone for all the input so far! I have yet to hear anyone with a negative view of them. They do seem like very good options. My biggest concern at this point is cost. It seems they are worth the cost and hold their value well, but I was hoping to keep the upfront price down. That being said, I have come across a few mangos in my price range. I haven't seen them, (or any Amels for that matter), yet so don't know what kind of shape they are really in, but as long as the bones and major components are there I have the time and experience to bring it up where it needs to be. I'm meeting with the local used Amel broker this weekend and will finally get to take a look at them in person and hopefully he can point me in the direction of a good deal! I'm guessing if I really want a good deal I'll have to find it on my own though. I never trust those brokers!
Thank you all again and keep those comments coming! If anyone has any advice on a particular area I should keep an eye on when looking at used mangos, please let me know.

I hope you are all having a great Thanksgiving where ever you are. And those of you not celebrating thanksgiving, you should! Eat good food and drink wine with family and/or friends until you can't move! What's not to love???


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[Steadman Uhlich]

Sam,
As you visit the boats and see things for yourself, you might see things that show wear and tear. I suggest and request you take some photos of those things, then post the photos here with your description of what you saw and learned. That will help others and can bring more comments from forum members, and that discussion may help you and others too.

Good hunting!

[Hermanns]

We have a 1982 Amel Maramu 46' -she's the smaller version of the Super Maramu, every bit as sturdy and very well thought out systems.

Story: We spent a many years sailing and chartering Beneteau's, Jeanneau's, and other designs...but we chartered a Amel in St Lucia and simply loved the layout (aft owners cabin with center cockpit ketch rig). Having sailed on a few trips aboard the Alaska Eagle, I knew what a sturdy vessel feels like - and Amel had that solid characteristic in their boats DNA.

Soooo - After a few false starts on some other boats previously (Tayana, Hinkley, Jeanneau etc) and bitter knowledge from owning our precious Islander 33 (mechanical nightmare); we decided to attend a John and Amanda Neal offshore seminar after much thought about our next major investment, which was a fantastic course (we learned a ton!!). John and Amanda even have a whole section on choosing the right cruising boat -which only solidified our good choice to look for a Amel.

Progress: Now that the Wife was finally on board with the manufacturer and models to look at from our recent seminar (Her involvement is crucial IMHO for marriage/boat ownership success), we looked for suitable vessels and found our dream Amel sailboat in Ventura CA.

We've enjoyed the last few years of rigging, new loncoin flooring/sole, heads, custom cabinetry, complete re-upholstery, new canvas, LED light conversions, and many many other refitting deeds - BUT (proud to say) we now mostly enjoy sailing to Catalina (we actually like both Avalon + Two Harbors) and around Santa Monica Bay vs initiating bigger projects.

Learned: We now try to enjoy 'being' on Cerulean vs 'working' on Cerulean! We always try to remember, one can always work on their boat, but they are here for us to untie the lines and sail/journey onboard - to experience life on the water...

Safe travels everyone

Note: www.SVCerulean.com is where we blog about our refit and trips...

Sunnary: Highly recommend the Amel - after a few years of refit were finally happy with how she handles with us onboard and couldn't be more pleased with the choice of Amel as our manufacturer of choice - She's a fantastic boat and our second home in the sea!!!


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[Eleuthera 2014]

Hello SamFredericks,

You have PM...

Cheers,

[Polux]

The Amels are doing well on the ARC. Have a look at the thread about it.

[olaf hart]

What is the story with the prop drive unit in later models?
Is it a one off design, or a commercial product?
It looks like a modified saildrive, are there reliability or service issues?

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by olaf hart

What is the story with the prop drive unit in later models?
Is it a one off design, or a commercial product?
It looks like a modified saildrive, are there reliability or service issues?

In the Super Maramu, the engine position is reversed from other "normal" setups. The gearbox is at the forward end and the gearbox is a dual 90 degree system with a WOB (wear out bearing surrounded by 3 seals). These seals typically need changing once in a while .. usually dictated by the quality of the installation. Most owners do the work themselves. Eventually, the seals wear a groove in the WOB and this needs changing as well. Not very expensive but a PITA. BUT, the system places the prop deep in the water in a very protected position. No cavitation in big seas with an Amel.

I will change the seals every 800 hours or so while cleaning the hull.

They require more care, thats all.

The Amel Owner's forum is an amazing site with huge information.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by Polux

The Amels are doing well on the ARC. Have a look at the thread about it.

I was also surprised when I first sailed Eleuthera. I had a Bavaria 46 Exclusive (1997... quite rare beast and very well built) previously with deep keel, tall mast and membrane sails. Eleuthera shows the same turn of speed although she cannot point as high as the Bav 46.

I will sail to the Caribbean in Nov/Dec 15. Not in ARC but about the same time, I would think that 15-17 days would be reasonable. I will choose my wind window carefully.

[chala]

Originally Posted by BentP

Not being the fastest boat, it is however not as dead as I had feared.

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Eleuthera shows the same turn of speed although she cannot point as high as the Bav 46.

Yes the sailing can be disappointing.

[SamFrederick]

Continued thanks for all the input!

I met with the local used Amel broker yesterday and finally got the chance to go on board an Amel and poke around. It was a 1995 Super Maramu. She was in beautiful shape inside and I was as happy as I thought I would be with the layout and construction. From what I could see everything was well laid out, solid and it all looked very good!

This one was definitely a bit more than we want to spend, and the broker knew that before I came, but wanted to get me on a boat in person so I could get a better idea of them.
He was a good resource for some of the detailed questions about the Amel boats as he's been selling them exclusively for 25 years.

Sounds like the differences between the Mango and Super Maramu are pretty minor. Hull Shape has changed slightly, galley fridge is larger in mango but I don't think they have the separate freezer under the settee, mangos do not normally come with dish washer and washing machine, Mango runs 12vdc systems while SM uses 24vdc... I hadn't heard about the cd voltage before, so that was interesting. He said as a result the SM bow thruster is much stronger. I would think that would make a difference in battery life as well...

We also talked about the Maramu. I wasn't sure the story with them before, if they were just a smaller Mango or if there were a lot of serious differences. He said they are really just a short Mango. I know from photos that most of the length is lost in the galley and the salon. He said the cabins are the same size. Engine room is also slightly smaller, but in width, not length, and they have an extra storage locker instead. He said they are also great boats to go to sea in. My problem with the. Is they do not have a generator or water maker, but apparently it is not too difficult to eliminate the extra storage locker and make the engine room full width to accommodate a gen and water maker. These boats are priced well enough we could purchase and modify one for less than the cost of a Mango or SM...
Problem is I've already seen the other two boats and love the galley and space they offer! Not sure I'd be happy with the smaller boat now! Lol.

One thing he did say, is to look for boats '86 or newer. In '85 they added the in mast furling to the mangos and had a lot of problems with it. If it hasn't already been modified, he said we would probably want to do it ourselves. In '86 they modified it and it works much better. I think there is also that mental thing of the boat being 30 years old vs 28 or 29...

I also got to see a SM tied up alongside an Amel 54 this weekend. It was pretty amazing to see the difference in the hull shape. And while they are way out of my price range, (accepting all applications for sugar Mommas to remedy that problem!), I did peek at the photos of a 54 and they are beautiful inside! It really is amazing to see the evolution of this series of boats.

So know I have a much better idea of what we want, and what price we should be expecting to pay for these boats. Hopefully soon I'll get to go on some that are more realistic options for us. I will definitely post photos as I check them out.

Does someone have the link to the Amel owners forum? Is that on here or somewhere else? I'd love to check it out.

Thanks again everyone. I love the response and info from everyone on here! Really a great community!

Sam


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[Eleuthera 2014]

Hello Sam,

Here is the link you need...

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...chtowners/info

Look at the lowest price SM... then perform a refit. All needed information is available in the above forum.

For instance, this is our refurbished galley



IMHO, ditch the dishwasher... more storage space. The boat apparently can swallow 300 bottles of wine...

[BentP]

Actually, the Mango do have the freezer under the sittee, runs on 12 V.

You are correct about the bow thruster, not much power in that. I hope to improve performance by adding a battery close to it, to boost it upa bit.

Good boat-hunting,

Bent, S/Y Karma

[Barney Post]

Sailboats built by Amel (Chantier) by year on Sailboatdata.com