The keel bolts are indeed Stainless steel/inox. They are located at the
bottom of the stub keel inside the large water tank. You can access them
easily in the Maramu by opening the tank-top inspection ports. Don't be
afraid of a little corrosion as the Stainless steel nuts are mounted on
steel flat plate and this area corrodes somewhat but not enough to worry
about it. Take comfort in the fact that Amel employs twice as many keel
bolts that are all 30% larger than what the regulations call for, either the
previous French Merchant Marine standards or the more recent CE
specifications. Also, in thirty years of selling new and used Amel boats,
not one of the more than 400+ used boats I have sold have ever had an issue
with the keel bolts when inspected by the two surveyors I generally employ
of behalf of the buyer and sometimes the seller.



The keel is iron, not steel like on Beneteau and similar boats. Captain Amel
specified iron and not lead because iron is much stronger and more resistant
to damage from groundings and also because an Amel keel is made to be wide
enough to let the boat stand on the keel unaided when drying out or on the
hard. DON'T ever let your Amel stand unsupported just because it can. Always
use appropriate structure and bracing when the boat goes on dry land.
ALWAYS.



If you search under replacing keel coatings in the previous posts, you will
find something I wrote about how to best replace the keel coatings, it was
on 3 July 2007. If you follow these instructions, you will be happy with the
results.



Good luck in the hunt for an Amel that suits you and be sure to have it
surveyed by someone who is extremely familiar with these particular boats.
In Europe I can highly recommend Olivier Beaute who used to run the Amel
service department before branching off on his own.
www.atlanticyachtsurvey.com is his website with contact information.



All the best,

Joel F. Potter





Joel F. Potter - Cruising Yacht Specialist, LLC

Amel's Sole Associate for the Americas

Mailing Address: 401 East Las Olas Boulevard #130-126

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Phone: (954) 462-5869 Cell: (954) 812-2485

Email: <mailto:jfpottercys@...> jfpottercys@...

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