Do any of you know what to look for in a 54 of approximately ten years vintage?  If we decide to go that route (which is still very much in the air -- 55 is still on the table, but I will miss the elegance of the 54 layout), what systems will need to be addressed right away?  

Also, I like the hardtop option on the 55.  I would consider having a similar hardtop put on a 54 -- has anyone done this or know ballpark price to have Amel do it?  

Finally, was wondering about energy -- what solar panels, wind or hyrdo generators seems to work best for voyaging.  I hate the sound of wind generation, and am not a huge fan of the look of panels, but am more interested in practicality than beauty -- hence the Amel.  lol.  

---

From: "'Bill & Judy Rouse' yahoogroups@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...>
To: "amelyachtowners@..." <amelyachtowners@...>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Amel 55 layout

 

Alex,

I agree completely. And, I will add that with the 55 Amel was attempting to compete outside the small circle of very loyal Amel clients. As most of you know, the majority of the 54's were sold to Amel owners...most cases SM owners. I suspect the Amel management realized that with the 54 they sold all of the SM owners that were going to buy a 54 and they were not attracting new buyers to Amel. To correct this, Amel made what appears to us as a radical turn. It probably does not appear as radical to outsiders.

Certainly when you compare a 55 to a Oyster, they compare very favorably with the 55 being a better Oyster, for almost half the price.

I believe the change at Amel was probably needed, but I believe the execution of this change in course was absolutely terrible. The management of Amel did not have their sales team on-board with the changes and did not do anything about that. Amel never answered the public question: "Why a 55 and all of its features and components?" Even their sales staff did not seem to know the answer. The CEO should take all of the blame for the extremely poor execution of a change in course at Amel. He left the CEO position in 2014 and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors. I do not know the current CEO, Emmanuel Poujeade, but wish him the best with Amel. 

The 55 is a beautiful boat and compares favorably with other brands. We crossed the Atlantic with a 55 in close proximity (less than 50 miles) and arrived in Martinique a few hours behind the 55 and side-by-side with a Super Maramu that happened to be a few hull numbers from BeBe 387. The 55 would have done much better on the crossing, but the inexperienced crew had difficulty rigging the downwind pole and had to jibe back and forth rather than run downwind as we did. They also had a serious rudder post leak that put a lot of water in the rear compartment and ruined one of the autopilot drives. I think Amel Caribe in Martinique took care of this.

Bill

BeBe 387

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 12:30 PM, Alexandre Uster von Baar uster@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

After Mr Amel passed away I think the company tried to accommodate too much buyer idea of what their boat “should” be, often these people making mistakes.

To me Amel have always been offshore cruisers. Elongating the water line will make them faster, but less comfortable in high sea.

I feel on the 54 they improved the bow thruster, add a second windlass, stay sail, etc.
Bu didn’t like the cockpit table which now needs to be moved up, to open the engine hatch.
Not fan of the layout as day guests need to go through cabin to access the heads.
I feel the 54 is a descendant of the SM, Mango and Meltem.
But issues wit: masts that had to be reinforced, furlers on earlier models, etc. make it short lived.

When I visited the 55, I was surprised how small (proportionally) the engine room is compare to the boat.
Unless I am making mistake, some pump, equipment, etc. were only accessible if other equipment were removed…
To me the 55 looks like the other Amel, but everything has been moved…
What were they thinking relocating the water tank and removing the water stick… to go faster?
Every person that visited my boat acknowledge how simply brillant it was, same for the diesel dip stick.
plate moved inside, cockpit table even worst than the 54, companionway 4th step, etc.
But if you haven’t experience these feature you won’t miss them.
I am sure they are still very strong boats and I hope they are successful for the company.

Sincerely, Alexandre
SM2K #289 NIKIMAT
Private Slip, Marina Puerto Bahia, Samana, Dominican Republic

--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 3/20/16, kennetholsen468@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Amel 55 layout
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2016, 10:06 AM


 









One thing I find counter-intuitive
about the new 55 is the stateroom layout.  I thought the 54
had the perfect layout, with aft owner's cabin and two
guest cabins forward.  The Amel 55 has the owners cabin
forward, which I have always found unusable in weather.
 Can any owner of the 55 advise me on the usability of the
owner's cabin in moderate to heavy seas?  I inspected
one in Newport and asked the Amel rep about this strange
change, and he could only shrug his shoulders implicitly
acknowledging the unique choice.  Anyhow, wondering if
others have opinions on this.  We are torn between an Amel
54 and 55.  









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