Amel 50 - I want one...

tcm said:
Agreed. The nice big aft cabin on Amel is won at the expense of (quite hopelessly cramped but maybe safe-feeling) cockpit space, and v-v on (say) Jeanneau 57. But I had such a lurchy rotten time transat in the latter i got rid of it. Cats for full time liveaboarding I think, and to hell with the ugliness. Fairlie etc for lovely mono beauty and sailing fun, altho er probably easier if someone else buys the thing and does all the work, thanks.

But back to the Amel ... if anyone is seriously thinking of an Amel, well, they’re specially built to go rtw, right? Think again! You’ll have to be extremely hardy racer type with steel stomach to endure downwind sailing in mono - most people do just one monohull transat, and not many repeat the awful rolling/lurching experience.
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says the man who can't see past his own preference for a cat....
 
Sybarite said:
The first Discovery was originally intended to be a Westerly - which went belly up before it was completed. The mould was acquired to be relaunched as the Discovery 55.
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Hmmm
From the Dsicovery website:
Towards the end of the 1990s John and Caroline Charnley started looking for the perfect short-handed cruising yacht to indulge their passion for sailing, while allowing them to enjoy a level of comfort that few performance sailboats can deliver. Having failed to find a solution to meet their needs, they commissioned renowned designer Ron Holland and the Discovery 55 was born.
 
Barbican said:
Hmmm
From the Dsicovery website:
Towards the end of the 1990s John and Caroline Charnley started looking for the perfect short-handed cruising yacht to indulge their passion for sailing, while allowing them to enjoy a level of comfort that few performance sailboats can deliver. Having failed to find a solution to meet their needs, they commissioned renowned designer Ron Holland and the Discovery 55 was born.
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I was quoting from memory from the series of articles (YM or PBO ??) by I think Peter Poland who went in alphabetical order through all the well-known boat brands.
 
doug748 said:
I was speaking about the Amel 50, I thought we all were?

Maybe I missed something?

Oh, hang on, I see what you mean. I was referring to Island Packet launching the Blue Jacket brand, which failed to do well, I think.
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AFAIK Island Packet built Tim Jackets design for him. Bob Johnson did have some input as he was not prepared to compromise in a couple of areas but I dont think these related to the interior.
 
I like the new 50.
Friend of mine has a Super Maramu and I find his cockpit very claustrophobic. Perfect for long foul weather passage, but not so nice as a living area. Also going down below always feels like going into a cave.

In the new model the cockpit looks much more specious, even with the hard top, and the interior is much lighter. I haven't been on one yet, but if you look at the video you can see that there's enough handholds downstairs and the galley is still a safe working space underway.
The 3 things I don't like:
The top shelf drawers in the galley. I think that underway they can be too difficult to get stuff from, especially when you or your partner is short.
The cushion on the second fridge, looking at other boats, there are better ways to hinge it so it's easier to open with the cushion on top.
I might be mistaken but don't the other Amels come with a double windlass?

What I do like, but I sail the Med, is the dinghy garage., and the fact that they went for a 50 footer. With the wider beam placed more aft I think 50 foot is perfect for a couple sailing the world or being live-aboards.
 
Barbican said:
Hmmm
From the Dsicovery website:
Towards the end of the 1990s John and Caroline Charnley started looking for the perfect short-handed cruising yacht to indulge their passion for sailing, while allowing them to enjoy a level of comfort that few performance sailboats can deliver. Having failed to find a solution to meet their needs, they commissioned renowned designer Ron Holland and the Discovery 55 was born.
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Exactly the same criteria helped us choose our current boat.

As travellers by water not purist sailors, performance under sail was not a high priority.

Many, many vessels we viewed were like decending into a cave.

Our 12.5 metre motor sailer has only four berths, an island bed double and two singles but scores with a huge pilot house-9 can sit around our table-and great all round visibility.

It is, for us, the best compromise we could find.

We are perfectly aware that not all share our views - it would be a sad world if we all aspired to the same!
 
I just visited the Amel factory. I'm looking for a monohull around 50-55ft and the Amel philosophy is very appealing to me. So, I wanted to see the build quality and compare the new 50 to the 55. I also visited 3 more factories, which build boats in similar or higher price range, in France, which i will not name, to compare. I'm an engineer by training and I like to see how things are built.

From what I saw, nothing compares to the Amel quality and attention to detail. Their boats are built to perform and last. It is a slow building process but the results justify it. Everything that goes on an Amel, is scrutinized and has to be of very high quality.

The other factories I visited were either unorganized and sloppy or were focusing on lowering build time and cost. They either scared me or left me wanting a better quality boat for the money.

Back to Amel, I test sailed the 50. Absolutely beautiful boat. It's not perfect, no boat is, but the Amel people like criticism and they are actually acting on it, which is very refreshing to see in a company. Again, the boat was built like a tank. Not a single creak in the boat and this was hull number 1. Everything was as working as it should be or was getting improved. I was blown away. On top of that, my wife loved the boat too. Her reasons were different but I wanted her to see the boat with a different eye. I couldn't be happier!

I also liked the 55 but my wife did not. She found it smaller and more cramped than the 50. I think Amel should move the galley where the skippers bunk is on the starboard and make the salon more open. I know there's a reason the 55 is designed that way but it can be more open and still be good blue water boat. Also, because I want 3 staterooms, I was not crazy about the forward master stateroom. Frankly, i really wanted to like the 55 more than the 50 because I can find it used and save some money.

So, in my opinion, the 50 is an Amazing boat with the Amel spirit and build quality. I'm tentatively looking at March 2019 delivery. I can't wait...

Theo.
Blog: www.EtVoilaAdventures.blogspot.com
 
Boom23 said:
I just visited the Amel factory. I'm looking for a monohull around 50-55ft and the Amel philosophy is very appealing to me. So, I wanted to see the build quality and compare the new 50 to the 55. I also visited 3 more factories, which build boats in similar or higher price range, in France, which i will not name, to compare. I'm an engineer by training and I like to see how things are built.

From what I saw, nothing compares to the Amel quality and attention to detail. Their boats are built to perform and last. It is a slow building process but the results justify it. Everything that goes on an Amel, is scrutinized and has to be of very high quality.

The other factories I visited were either unorganized and sloppy or were focusing on lowering build time and cost. They either scared me or left me wanting a better quality boat for the money.

Back to Amel, I test sailed the 50. Absolutely beautiful boat. It's not perfect, no boat is, but the Amel people like criticism and they are actually acting on it, which is very refreshing to see in a company. Again, the boat was built like a tank. Not a single creak in the boat and this was hull number 1. Everything was as working as it should be or was getting improved. I was blown away. On top of that, my wife loved the boat too. Her reasons were different but I wanted her to see the boat with a different eye. I couldn't be happier!

I also liked the 55 but my wife did not. She found it smaller and more cramped than the 50. I think Amel should move the galley where the skippers bunk is on the starboard and make the salon more open. I know there's a reason the 55 is designed that way but it can be more open and still be good blue water boat. Also, because I want 3 staterooms, I was not crazy about the forward master stateroom. Frankly, i really wanted to like the 55 more than the 50 because I can find it used and save some money.

So, in my opinion, the 50 is an Amazing boat with the Amel spirit and build quality. I'm tentatively looking at March 2019 delivery. I can't wait...

Theo.
Blog: www.EtVoilaAdventures.blogspot.com
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Have you looked at other quality alternatives such as Oyster, HR or Moody? I liked the interior design of the 50 because of its similarity to our Moody 54. (Even half!) that money can get an amazing quality boat on the second hand market.
 
mariadz said:
Have you looked at other quality alternatives such as Oyster, HR or Moody? I liked the interior design of the 50 because of its similarity to our Moody 54. (Even half!) that money can get an amazing quality boat on the second hand market.
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Or even an XC50 with a similar high engineering /low volume, semi hand built construction ethos
 
I like modern aesthetics but to me the Amel 50 is just ugly. Way too much freeboard for the length. Perhaps designed to appeal to mobo owners?
 
I've considered most quality brands like Discovery, HR, Oyster, Najad, XC50, etc. They all have their pros and cons. For instance, I wanted an easy to maintain boat, which means no exterior wood. All of the above boats have full teak decks. I like the look of teak but I don't want to maintain it.

Also, I have been in bad weather in S. Pacific and New Zealand with my, just sold, Lagoon 450. I treasure weather protection at helm. Most times I used autopilot but when it got really bad, I had to take over control. I don't want ,myself or my wife, to be exposed to cold rain and waves. It is miserable. Only the Amel has protected helm area.

Other cons (for me):
Discovery - multiple levels inside, steps everywhere. Older hull design. They don't seem to hold their value well. Few used 55s available.
HR - Didn't like the most common forward stateroom arrangement. Few used 54s available.
Oyster - Too expensive, older hull design. Don't like the round settees on 56 or huge salon table on 54.
Najad - Expensive. Few used boats. Small hull windows.
XC50 - Doesn't have stern master in 3 stateroom version. I don't believe it comes with in-mast furling. I want to be able to single hand in bad weather.

The Amel tics way more boxes, for me, than the brands above. Again, everyone has different requirements. For me, the Amel 50 is closer to perfect than any other boat.
 
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I wanted to try monohull in the Med.
I also looked at Privilege catamarans. I wasn't impressed, for many reasons. Again, I wanted to like the Privilege Serie 5.

Anything bigger than 45-50ft catamaran is too much to single hand. And, I'm a cruiser, not a racer.
 
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The 45 cat has tons of space.

I liked our Lagoon 450. It was comfortable and safe. I'm ready for a higher quality boat in my price range. Also, I don't want saildrives.
 
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