Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: A Relay from Rob Brennan
Ron & Heather Brown <ronandheath@...>
Hi From Heather and Ron Brown - we have recently purchased SM171 -
Tradewinds III-in Perth and sailed her around "over the top" to our home port of Southport. We are very happy with her although as always there are a few things to add or fix - davits, sails and a leaking end on the watermaker. When these are done we expect to head off to the Louisiades this season and hopefully SE Asia next season. Not sure where you are based in OZ - maybe we can make contact sometime. Ron and Heather Brown ---------- From: koenvelleman <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> To: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: A Relay from Rob Brennan Date: SatMon 17 17Jan 0220042002 0212:33 PM Hi Rob, Here a few answers to Ur questions: The Med is a big place and there are huge differences in quality and prices of services, what will be Ur route ? I never used any fuel additive, not in Europe nor in the rest of the world. As for antifouling I always used Micron by International paints, its widely available and self polishing. Ofcourse all depend what has been used previously. The early SM had some problems: 1) The early Z-drive was changed to a much more stronger version. There have been a lot of problems with this early drive. (broken gears). As the unit is sealed it is not possible to repair. The new drive solved all the problems. Replacing the old drive for the new one is possible and best done at the Amel wharf. Be prepaired for a salty invoice. Try to have a look at a recent SM so that U can see the difference. I had personaly no problems with this drive, but I know of several boats who suffered damage. The people from Amel have warned me that it was riscky to leave Europe with the early drive. (I changed it) 2) The early headsail furling was CRAP. Most older SM have changed this unit to a new version (there a several versions), but some seldom used boats still have this old unit. Also the older profile has only 2 sail tracks and a different head, wich means that U can not roll the ballooner and genoa together in a downwind squall...a big disadvantage. There a a few ways around this problem but the best solution is to change the alu profile and head. (3 tracks) 3) The mainsail electric drive had also its problems. The early drive gearboxes are Italien industrial gearboxes with a mild steel shaft wich is exposed. This shaft rusts and the sealing starts leaking. Amel used normal grease and this grease doesn't like seawater and becomes stone-hard. It is important to strip these units before a big trip, replace the sealings and pack with a grease that supports seawater. (Locktite for ex has such grease, also Amel uses a similar grease now. The early angle reverser is of a very poor design, change it to the new design or U risk of being unable to roll the main in.. (also not manually!) Got this problem personaly. 4) The original ZEISSE genset created a lot of problems. Most SM changed to another brand. The main problem was cooling. The seawaterpump is driven by a tiny belt wich slips and breaks. I put this pump directly on the cranckshaft (as prepared by Farymann diesel) and changed the cooling to fresh water cooling. My unit is still working perfect under all sea conditions. 5) The electrical system of the early SM's is not fit for offshore cruising. The boat is all electric, the charging and batteries are completly unsufficient. As Amel tackled this problem quite late, somewhere in the mid 90, U will see most SM running their gensets for hours in offshore anchorages. Some SM's have an alternator on the prop and this works fantastic. We run radar, lights, fridge, freezer, laptop, SSB, C-Sat, weatherfax, autopilot, breadmachine etc without running the genset or engine when sailing. The problems start when anchoring. I dubbeled the batteries, replaced the 20amp charger with a 75amp one (Mastervolt), put an extra 50 amp alternator on the main engine. 40 min genset in the morning and evening will keeps my batteries happy (in the tropics). 6) The early Autohelm 7000 had some mechanical problems. A plastic gear in the drive breaks in heavy seas. They changed this gear to a copper one. Its easy to correct this problem. As I had doubts about the Autohelm pilots (from previous exper.), I changed the main pilot to B&G, with the added advantage that it can talk to the B&G instruments. I heard from early SM owners that they are quite happy with their Autohelm 7000 (after changing the plastic gear). 7) The electric Lewmar winches on the early SM's had also sealing problems. If this gets serious then water gets to the gearbox and moter unit. This can be solved if their is no damage to the gearbox. The positive side is that the after-sale service of Amel is very good and that none of the problems I had are structural. The 1989 SM and the 2004 SM are basicly the same, wich is a proof of the very well tought design. That Amel improves equipment and details is normal. By following their important changes You can improve Your boat to the new standards and that makes an Amel unique. Fair Winds ! Koen Flash IV SM17 --- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, "Ian Shepherd" <g4ljf@c...> wrote: To the Amel Network: Greetings!years. And am about to graduate as an owner member. I'm excited and a little daunted. The boat, Signore dei Mari is lying Antalya, and very soon to become Australian owned. She has been Swiss owned (and very loved since launch in 1989/90. please with: Europe/Turkey relevant to my finalising my purchase. In anticipation - thank you and best regards.
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