Jeff,

I would not be concerned if I were you. It seems to us that the Amel supplied parts are well engineered, readily available, priced right and much better than other versions of the same thing. For instance, the 24 volt furling and outhaul motors can be rebuilt almost anywhere in the world...anywhere that a car starting motor can be rebuilt...I think that is much better than hydraulic furling.

We are half-way around the world on our circumnavigation. On the few times we have needed to order a part, we have always found Amel to be responsive and spot-on accurate. The only criticism I could make is that they only ship FedEx and they only use the most expensive FedEx service requiring a signature. However, I am sure that even this decision by Amel is based on experience. Why would anyone want to save a few bucks if they need it delivered accurately and quickly?

When ever we place an order we go through the boat from stem to stern to see if there is any small part that would be improved by replacement...we order those non-essential parts when we place an order for something we need. For instance, on my last order I ordered 100 of the nylon plugs for the Genoa track. UV Rays had damaged some of these plugs, so for 8 Euros and probably zero incremental FedEx charges I got the replacements. I am not sure that the manufacturer of our previous boat would have had that kind of part available...come to think of it...there were no plugs in our previous boat's Genoa track!

When looking for an Amel try to find one that has been kept 100% Amel without modifications...and look for the kind of care the previous owner gave her...for instance, did he bother to replace those 94 nylon plugs in the Genoa track?

Hope this helps. You can email me privately at svbebe"at"gmail.com

Best,


Bill
s/v BeBe, SM2, #387
Currently Malaysia