Good alternative to Amel?

[JJ77]

Jongert 54,look at that salon..

Used Boats for Sale | Used Yachts for Sale, Luxury Yachts for Sale

[EST128]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

I'm thinking about buying a monohull in the 47-55 foot range which is designed with blue water voyaging in mind. I've looked at several Amels and there is a lot to recommend them, but I don't like the center cockpit arrangement with the wheel against the bulkhead. What would be a good alternative to Amel for this type of boat?
But I plan to cruise the South Pacific and maybe circumnavigate. I'm confident that the Beneteau is fully capable of doing that safely, but I would have to add $50-60,000 worth of equipment to it for long distance voyaging, such as a watermaker, wind vane steering, solar panels, wind generator, sat phone, AIS, radar?, SSB?, spinnaker, storm jib, storm trysail, sea drogue, cockpit enclosure, etc. Is it better to do that with a boat that is really not designed for long ocean passages, or is it better to sell the Beneteau and buy a "blue water" boat?

Best cocpit and helm ever, but way too big? PILOTHOUSE SCHOONER sailing yacht for sale | De Valk Yacht broker

Good cocpit for long distances, also Dutch design: RICOCHET 1750 EXPLORER sailing yacht for sale | De Valk Yacht broker

And "amel-like" hard dodger for autopiloting, nice cocpit are BUT important thing - wheel-helm for sailing, what i miss every Amel55 voyage! Jongert.... JONGERT 2000S sailing yacht for sale | De Valk Yacht broker
This Jongert is my absolute favorite, best in everything! Even bunk-beds, no stupid king-size beds etc.

And YES, sell mass-production Bene and BUY "the right thing".

[Dr. Sea]

I’d like to thank everyone who has been responding to my question "What is a Good Alternative to Amel?" Warrior 90 and eleuthera 2014 offered many good comments which have not only helped me to appreciate Amels more, but have also broadened my range of considerations for choosing any sailboat for any purpose. Dockhead and robertsailor both gave me good advice regarding the value issue I’m dealing with–whether to add $50-75,000 worth of equipment to my 2008 Beneteau 50 or sell it and buy a boat that is more of a "pedigreed blue water sailboat."

ChaseTheFun referred me to an excellent overview of selecting a sailboat for offshore cruising, http://www.mahina.com/cruise.html. This website is not only comprehensive, but the site’s writer even offers consultation regarding the purchase of a sailboat for cruising. Vtsailguy mentioned his website http://sailingwithkids.net/ and while it isn’t about choosing a sailboat, it has lots of good ideas including recommendations for cookbooks for cruising. I ordered two from Amazon for my wife’s birthday (or maybe they were for my benefit.)

The issue that I raised initially was about the Amel’s helm position, which I didn’t like. Steady Hand and jtsailjt carried out a very insightful debate comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the offcenter Amel helm vs. centered helms on other boats. They didn’t just assert their opinions but supported their positions with very relevant and realistic examples, even photos for comparison. I still prefer a centered wheel or twin wheels in an aft cockpit.

A recent poster, Hobie ind, insightfully articulated my problem with the Amel’s wheel position–I am "looking for a sportier boat." This thread has had a lot of input about protection from bad weather and the fact that in blue water voyaging you don’t spend a lot of time hand steering the boat. This is true, of course, but sometimes, even if I’m not in a race, I want to feel the boat under me and the forces of the wind on the sails. I want to be able to carefully inspect the shape of the sails and the telltales and make an adjustment that might gain half a knot of boat speed. Over an ocean, half a knot could add up.

So I don’t want to close this discussion at all. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has responded, including many whom I didn’t mention by name.

[JJ77]

Aft cockpit,twin wheels...It already got mentioned here,Outbound 52CC
They are working on a 52 aftcockpitversion.

http://outboundyachts.com/wordpress/...ACBrochure.pdf

[s/v Jedi]

IIRC the Beneteau 50 is a Bruce Farr design based on a whitbread racer and close relative to the First 54.4 (wild guess but the name is similar).

If so, I would consider keeping that boat and putting some funds in to outfit it according to the OP wishes.

[matauwhi]

G'day, Mate. Nice, well-kept, center cockpit Mason 53 located in paradise down here in New Zealand. Pics available in my album on my profile page. Let me know if you have any questions. Cheers

[paulanthony]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

I really like the Amels.

But here is another that is interesting for some similar style and length.

Outbound 52



See the photos on this linked page.

Outbound 52-gallery

I like this as well. I spoke to the yard. They can also make the rear cabin top lower so you have more deck given over to a sun bathing area if you want. They are are also making an aft cockpit of this version.

On this particular model they have made the cockpit well deeper than normal. I like it.

[paulanthony]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It doesn't matter where the steering position is because for cruising, the autopilot is steering all the time. The pilothouse is very important and a game changer; only owners with a pilot house understand this fully because you need to have experienced the difference.

The separate engine room is another important feature when the boat is your house. You also need to have it so that there is more than enough room to comfortably work on the systems there.

Ketch rig is like the pilot house: sloop/cutter owners will not fully understand this as being better for cruising until they have sailed it themselves.

For those who think a Sundeer 64 is way too big: the interior of that boat is only 38'. It is on the widest part of the boat so not small at all but this isn't a big boat. A Bene 50 has more room inside. What you get back is 3 compartments with watertight bulkheads and no, as in zero, through-hulls or any other openings/seals in the center compartment which is the only one that could sink the boat when flooded. Also, besides the engine room we also got a 14' sail locker forward which is like a storage shed.

There's very few Sundeers and they keep high value so I would suggest the OP goes for the Amel and move to paradise

Three water tight compartments and no through holes in the center one with the most buoyancy. - Yep, I like that and will remember that..

[Wolfganguntoten]

Not to be the devil here but why not have youre cake and eat it too? Check out the Sirius 40DS. Its only 40 ft but offers amazing space, completely protected steering from inside if need be, multiple keel options, sportier design and I love that the wheel in the aft cockpit travels from centerline to port or starboard as required.

[Kenatsea]

Ok my turn, what has not been mentioned yet was budget. An Amel less than $250K (USD) will require a significant budget for refit/upgrades.
I am assuming you read at least one of John Kretschmer's books, he has a Kaufman 47. Another option is my boat a Skye 51 (Alden Marine, Kaufman and Ladd design). These are harder to find due to limited production and are 80's, 90's boats so depending on owner's care may need extensive upgrades. There has been a Skye 51 ketch in the PNW for a while so you might get a good price on it.

BTW the Amel was my dream boat for most of my life, it's solid.

Good Luck.

[Muaddib1116]

This is a 6 year old thread guys, and judging by his info, it looks like the OP went for an Oyster 55.

[Kenatsea]

Duh, thanks. I didn't even look

Just saw it at the top of the feed and went to town.