Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Help - 5-Year Plan
|
Bill Kinney <greatketch@...>
Rick,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Every Amel owner is going to have ideas about what modifications are “OK” and which ones go “too far”. We can get positively religious on the subject, with all of the arguments that come from minor differences in dogma. It is important to understand that an Amel—like all well designed boats--is designed as a set of interlocking systems, and changing one can have effects in other places where a neophyte can get unpleasantly surprised. Unless you REALLY know what you are doing, the standard advice, and it is good advice, is keep it the same. Here are my thoughts. Others will have different, and in some cases VERY different ideas. Listen to all, absorb, and learn! A solar power arch is a good idea and adds a lot to your boat’s independence. I have never heard an experienced cruiser say “I had too many solar panels.” It is a serious structure, and will put serious loads on the hull in ways it was not designed for. You have to be careful on the installation. Keep it as light as possible. All weight on the ends of a sailboat is bad. I am not a big fan of sailing with dinghies hanging from davits. The weight is in a very bad place for the performance of the boat, and the dinghy (and everything it is attached to!) is vulnerable to rough seas. Longer bowsprit… if you mean a extension on the pulpit railing, that’s a cosmetic thing. If you are talking changes in the rigging, that holds up the mast, that’s a very big deal,and one to be VERY careful with, and in general is not worth the risk. DIshwasher… in my opinion a waste of space. Other people love it. People will tell you that it washes dishes with less water than by hand… but they haven’t learned how to properly wash dishes on a water limited boat. On any boat, before you change the way it works, live with it for a while. It worked for the previous owner. It can work for you. Instead of tearing the boat apart, go sailing. Tear it apart--if you must--NEXT year. Bill Kinney SM #160, Harmonie Hilton Head Island, Headed south in a day or two. “Ships and men rot in port."
|
|
|