On 23 March 2018 at 16:28 "divanz620@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

We had 70m of 10mm when we bought Elyse, which wasn't enough.

We replaced it with 100m of 10mm ISO Maggi Aqua 4 chain in 2014.

Crusing in the Pacific that is only just enough.

When I replace it again, I will get 125m, there'a plenty of space in our anchor locker.

Cheers

Alan

Elyse SM437

 

On 23 March 2018 at 13:37 "greatketch@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

Miles,

If I was equipping Harmonie from scratch, I'd likely go with 100m of chain, although I'd stay with the 10mm chain we have.  But we bought her with 60m of chain spliced to 60m of line.  So far, in cruising the East coast of the USA and the windward islands of the Caribbean, we have yet to deploy all 60m of chain.

On my old boat I had a similar setup, and there were times anchoring in Hawaiian waters I deployed all the chain--and most of the line--anchoring in almost 15m of water.

I figure I can anchor in nearly 10m of depth (@ a scope of 7) without the splice touching bottom, so shifting to all chain hasn't really been a priority.  I might change my mind when our cruising ground includes deeper anchorages of the South Pacific, but on the other hand Harmonie has been around the world twice with her current setup, so it can't be too bad!

Something to consider, is that an extra 50m of 12mm chain will add almost 200kg to the bow.  That's a LOT.

So...  I haven't got an absolute recommendation for you, and likely haven't told you anything you haven't already thought of.  It would be easy to find someone to make an absolute statement that 100m of chain is "required" and also you'll be told that what you have is fine.

From an anchoring perspective, 100m of chain would be better, from a sailing performance perspective, the extra weight in the bow is a significant downside. I don't think either choice is obviously wrong, just a matter of priorities.

Bill Kinney

SM160, Harmonie

Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

(where we are always anchored in less than 3.5m of water!)

 

 

Hi Trevor. We are on our Sharki #15. We’ve been cruising West coast Thailand/Langkawi for some time. We are also considering the east rally and will be at Rebak next week. Are you guys in that area?

Cheers,

Warren and Zetta

Manon2

 

 

From: amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...]
Sent: Wednesday, 21 March 2018 4:24 PM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -

 

 

Hello Eric,

 

Congratulations on the little one! 

 

Our daughter was born in July (in the UK) last year and arrived on the boat 2 months later (in Phuket).  

 

We’ve been living full time and traveling coastal. We are about to do the Passage to the East Rally which heads down the Straight to Singapore and then over to Borneo.  

 

As you can imagine my wife has had some concerns with an infant on a boat. 

 

I’m sure you’ve thought of most of these items but here is a quick list that has affected us. 

 

- It is pretty much child proof already (no low sockets, locking doors and cabinets, rounded edges etc. 

- We are in a Santorin so the berthing might be different. Our aft cabin had a small cushioned section with a leeboard on the starboard side.  I relocated it a foot more inboard and now my kid has her own bed in our cabin with all sides protecting her from rolling out - she’s now a week shy of 8 months and pulling herself over them so we are getting two Lee cloths sown up.  One for her bed and the other for the bunk in the saloon.  You might opt for the pilot bunk though. 

- We bought a Salus Infant Vest for her once she was 6 months. She uses this to chill in the water with us.  A great vest for kids as no matter how they enter the water they end up face up.  I’ve tested it well and am positive it works. 

- In the tender we strap her in a chest harness to one of us. We are both competent swimmers and while she is attached our only role is to look after her. No other tender duties. Not that we couldn’t but even a simple task of tying up to the dock is not worth it. A slip of the foot in the wet dinghy, you’d fall forward and crush her. So we just play it safe and make sure there is always positive control. 

- We don’t have as much space as an SM so we opted for a small umbrella type stroller. We would prefer something larger that would recline back so she could sleep / nap when we are off the boat. 

- Welcome to single handling everything.  That kid is a non stop attention taker.  Not by choice, it’s just an infant that poops by itself.  That’s the only thing it does on its own. Everything else is on us. So one of us is off boat duty and on kid duty.  So night passages are almost a no go for us at the moment.  As neither one of us gets an ‘off watch’ time to sleep ourselves. So we plan our passages accordingly. 

- Car seat.  We have a quality seat that gets strapped down in the saloon and she gets strapped in it should the weather get bad or I absolutely need a hand with something. We do not strap her to us and try to multi task the boat duties. 

- A hammock in the shade of the cockpit for naps and such. So she isn’t always down below by herself. 

- A small portable chair that sets on a seat.  Like a high chair, minus the legs.  

- Food and nappies.  Plan well.  We are in Southeast Asia and trying to find things my wife is happy with is time consuming and costly when we do find some imported items.  I suppose this is dependent on your location though.  

- Shots. If you’re electing to get shots for the kid plan out the locations.  As the shots are given based on the age of the kid. 

- Passport right away for foreign travel

- Ro Sham Bo sunglasses for infants (when she leaves them on). 

- A large umbrella for tender travel. 

 

Good luck and enjoy. 

 

Trevor

Iris, SN 027

Phuket

 

 

On Mar 12, 2018, at 7:25 PM, Alexandre Uster von Baar uster@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

Good morning Eric,

First of all congratulations for little Nolan coming this June !!!

I love the Bahamas.
Just like you I work so internet is important to me.

One of my favorite place is Port Lucaya in Grand Bahama because of the reasonable monthly marina rate, access to groceries and other infrastructure, etc.
In 2014 I spent 4 months in Port Lucaya Marina / Yacht Club and paid $600/month.
In 2015 I spent 3 months in Taino Beach (also in Port Lucaya) which became my favorite and paid $540/month.
Because of their huge pool with a some shallow area, I am certain you, Viki and especially little Nolan will love this place!
I can look for pictures to send you.
The beach 3 minutes walk away from the marina, they are places to walk, lay down, etc.
They also loan you towels for a $10 deposit and you can exchange them as often as you want, which you will realize is a considerable saving on laundry/generator time especially with the little one!..
I used my bicycle to go grocery shopping, but they have a bus going twice a week. In the super market you will find groceries as well as baby supplies.
I can not imagine a better place for you and your family.
Regarding the draft, you will have to wait almost “mid tide” to enter/leave the Bell Channel.
Port Lucaya is only 90 NM from Miami/Fort Lauderdale, so less than a day trip should you need to go. They i also an international airport.

Later in I also suggest you spend 1 months in Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Island. It is an overnight trip from Grand Bahama.
I was there in low season so the price was $540/month, the prices are higher now, but I think you can negotiate and you get a discount with Active Captain.
Surprisingly the internet was the best I have seen in the Bahamas.
There was no issue to enter the channel even at low tide.
The beach was 20 minutes walk from the marina. They loan you bicycle if you don’t have any, the water is clearest I have seen.
There was no real grocery store some come prepared, therefore the fishermen come back every afternoon with 250 to 250 lobsters and sell you “tail only” for $10/lbs. Sailing along the coast is excellent for fishing!

As Nolan grows up (but wait him to be tall enough for all the ride), then a stop in Atlantis is a must. Not sure who will like the place the most Nolan or dad! But it is quite expensive per day. Nassau is an overnight trip from the Berry Island.
There is no worry for the draft. Atlantis is also very protected from Hurricane.

Hope that helps, please feel free to contact me directly if you want pictures of the places.

Enjoy your trip!
Sincerely, Alexandre

--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 3/11/18, ericmeury@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2018, 11:18 PM


 









Hello amel family.
Viki and I are expecting (this is
why the boat is on the hard right now) our first little crew
member    
Nolan
(insert middle name)  Meury will be arriving this
June.  
Our plan is
to spend November and December around Stuart Florida as
Nolan will be signed up for infant water survival classes
there.  Then we are thinking of heading the bahamas for a
month and then back to GA where we will keep the boat for
the next hurricane season.
I have two requirements for the
bahamas...
1.  Some place that has access
to mobile internet or awesome wifi as i still have to work m
start up (www.pascalworkflow.com) and my tax
practice.  
2.  Some place that we don't
have to worry about draft (marsh harbor or Georgetown? -
other ideas)

Also would love some Amel specific
or non amel specific for those that have had their baby on
board.
Thanks
again

 

Joel,

Thanks.On further investigation I may have answered my own question. It looks like the flexible coupling is accessable from inside the boat. I'd still be interested in any advice in how best to go about changing it.

Cheers,
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

 

This happened on our boat at inspection. It was fixed without a haulout in LE Marin. 

Just FYI

Porter

Ibis 

54-152 

Excuse the errors.  

Sent from my IPhone 

Www.fouribis.com

On Mar 22, 2018, at 12:58 PM, 'Joel Potter' jfpottercys@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Hi Paul. Previously a client and now a friend, Mark on CREAMPUFF might not have noticed that you have an Amel 54 and not a Super Maramu 53. The bow thrusters on these boats are entirely different from one another and I do not believe there is a tool for the 54 that allows one to remove the propeller leg while in the water. My SM 53 had this tool and I made use of it on more than one occasion. My 54 didn’t have a water service tool or mention of this in the manual as far as I can remember. Anyone out there with an Amel 54, please feel free to correct me if I am in error. Wouldn’t be the only time…

 

All The Best, Joel

Joel F. Potter/Cruising Yacht Specialist LLC

THE EXPERIENCED AMEL GUY

954 462 5869 office

954 812 2485 cell

 

 

 

From: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com [mailto:amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 12:15 PM
To: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning

 

 

Hi all,

My sidepower bowthruster has lost the linkage to the props and just spins.. According to the manual a probable cause could be rope getting sucked in which causes the "flexible coupling" to break. My question is: is it possible to check this, and even replace it, with the boat in the water?

Thabnks,
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

 

On 23 March 2018 at 07:20 "Sailing Island Pearl colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

 

Hi Danny

No point in claiming from Insurance for just a 3500 euro new bow thruster. Have only a couple bottom paint scratches on under side of cast iron keel, so it's only a new Bowthruster required which is nice to start off with a bran new one again anyway.

If I claimed on insurance for that, it is almost equal to the cost of the excess payable under the policy, and then I lose my 20% no claim bonus. Not worth it. Will rather save the insurance claiming for any real accidents or breakages if they occur down the track.

Best regards

Colin

On Fri, Mar 23, 2018 at 4:11 AM, Danny and Yvonne SIMMS simms@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

 

Hi Colin,

That.s a good outcome. The adventure continues. Are your insurers being helpful too?

Kind Regards

Danny

SM 299 Ocean Pearl

On 23 March 2018 at 00:38 "Sailing Island Pearl colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

 

Thank you everyone for helpful comments.

Just to close this post off, we can report that Amel have been extremely helpful to us. They did not have any SM53 bowthruster units in stock, but given our urgency, started manufacturing a new one for us immediately. We will have it in 2 weeks at a cost of 3500 euro excl freight to Maldives.

I must say, after 6 or so years of ownership, Amel continues to impress me with their quality, responsiveness and service! Incredible.

Colin

Amel 53 #332, Maldives now, and soon sailing on across the Sth Indian Ocean

svislandpearl..com

On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 1:12 AM, James Alton lokiyawl2@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Colin,

   With respect to just sealing the hole in a secure fashion with easily available materials.  I would probably remove the rest of the damaged shaft and use two pcs. of 3/4” plywood (1” if you can find it or laminate as needed),  one pc. inside and one outside with a good sized bolt passing through the center of both pcs.  If you have some large  washers it will help spread out the load needed to compress a gasket (neoprene wet suit type rubber should work) or you might be able to use caulking.  I would prefer the gasket since additional compression could be applied by tightening the bolt if needed.  I would put some caulking around the bolt shaft where it passes through the pc. of plywood on the outside of the hull but the wood will swell some and seal this part pretty well if the hole is a snug fit for the bolt.  This will of course leave the hull cutout exposed which will cause some drag but at least you could be sure that there would not be any leakage..  You should be able to install this temporary seal with the boat still in the water and it could be removed without any major cleanup to reinstall the bow thruster.

Best of luck,

James

SV Sueño

Maramu #220

On Mar 19, 2018, at 10:01 AM, Sailing Island Pearl colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...om> wrote:

Hi Eric

Thank you for your kind advice.

I have since been in touch with both Amel, and Alexandre.'

What a helpful forum this always is!

Best regards

Colin

On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 7:52 PM, 'sailormon' kimberlite@optonline.net [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

Colin,

I would somehow get the thruster area out of the water and glass it over.

I would then put some expanding foam in the thruster cavity.

Finally I would silicone and screw some sort of cover at the top of the 

thruster trunk.

 

I had to replace my bow thruster due to a lightning strike which blew the propeller off of the bow thruster assembly.

 

It was probably 8 years ago.

 

I received the thruster from Amel  in 2 pieces the entire thruster assembly and a v shaped piece of fiberglass that had to be trimmed and fiber glassed to the bow thruster assembly which created the hull portion of the bow thruster.

 

Were you able to recover the bow thruster? You might contact Alexandre in Sint Maarten and ask if he can salvage the bow thruster from Nikimat and ship it to you. You will probably have to replace the bearings an gears. Knowing Alexandre, he might even have a new set of bearings..

 

I believe you might have a long wait for a new bow thruster from Amel. That is why I suggest making a semi-permanent closure of the bow thruster area.

 

Fair Winds

Eric

Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376

 

 

From: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com [mailto:amelyachtowners@...] 
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 4:23 AM
To: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] New Bowthruster unit - cost and in-stock?

 

  

Hi sorry to hear of your troubles but as you rightly say it could have been much worse. 

 

I reckon that when pounding to windward there will be considerable pressure put on the seals with no plate there to take the impact. Going to windward in open ocean is not much fun at the best of times but with a niggling worry or a steady stream of water pouring in it could easily get out of hand. So you should do something. I made a similar passage in the 1990’s and Cap D’hombre on the north tip of Madagascar permanently blows at gale force. The southern Indian Ocean is a windy place, the trades tend to crank so even broad reaching the bow area will take a damn good hammering at times.

 

I would consider;

 

fitting a block of rubber/wood into the hole with silicon. The problem with wood is that it will swell and be difficult to extract.

filling the cavity with closed cell expanding foam.

How about, fitting plastic sheet to isolate the hole and then use expanding foam to fill the whole cavity, then cut it to shape and glass over the whole aperture area with epoxy and fibre glass. Then when you next haul out just grind it off  and pick out the foam and fit the new thruster, fill and prime and paint.. You would need to get the bow out of the water to do the work. Perhaps going aground alongside somewhere and letting the tide drop a couple of feet to expose the area. 

 

I am sure that with a bit of lateral thinking you could blank off the aperture such that you would not need to worry about water ingress. Just make sure that you can extract and clean up what ever you do when you are ready to replace the thruster.

 

The above solution would be more watertight than the original!

 

You could also look at doing something on the inside but ………

 

 

 

Nick 

Amelia #54

On 19 Mar 2018, at 06:17, colin.d.streeter@gmail.com [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...om> wrote:

 

 

This morning we accidentally nudged a reef here in Maldives. Fortunately we were only doiing 2.5kts so no hull damage, but in getting off we sheered the bowthruster unit completely off! By this I mean it snapped at the base of the shaft where the shaft gear meets the rotary gear.

 

I dived and we fortunately have absolutely no damage, other than needing a full new Bowthruster unit from the shaft top down - ie just the removable unit. Just some paint scratches at bottom of keel which are no problem.

 

All in all, we were fortunate to be going slowly, and to get off quickly as the tide was dropping, or we would be high and dry right now, with real potential for hull damage as the water dropped and the boat rested on the rocks.

 

I am waiting to get in touch with Maud at Amel when they open today, however have two quick questions for the group in the interim:

 

1) Anyone know what the bowthruster unit costs new and if Amel have them in stock?

 

2) We just have the shaft in the water, no cover plate as that is sheered off.. In current flat water at 3 - 7kts boat speed tested, we have no water coming in through the bowthruster unit at all. Has anyone had experience sailing without the cover plate in big seas? Did you take on water?

 

Having departed from Australia almost a year ago, and enjoyed cruising all of Indonesia and SE Asia with absolute trouble free cruising in this boat, we are now half way across the North Indian Ocean, and next about to cross the Southern Indian Ocean, so have every chance of big wild seas ahead. From here in the Maldives we head to Chagos next mid April till mid May, then head south to Rodriguez (June), Mauritius (July), then Reunion (July/Aug), and back up and around the top of Madagascar (NosyB - Aug/Sept) and down to Cape Town.

 

Our current intentions are to return to Male, the capital of Maldives, to h ave a new bowthruster shipped here from Amel. Depending on how long that may take Amel, and the levels of import duty in the various Indian Ocean countries,  we may need to attempt the balance of Indian Ocean crossing without it, but that worries me a lot.

This is the reason I seek the wisdom of this group, from those of you who know best, and possibly even some who may have even experienced the same issue of cruising on without the bowthruster foot and cover plate in place?

 

Many thanks

 

Colin Streeter

SV Island Pearl II, Amel 53 #332

svislandpearl.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- 

Colin Streeter

0411 016 445

 

 

 

--

Colin Streeter

0411 016 445

 

 

 

 

--

Colin Streeter

0411 016 445

 

 

Hi Paul. Previously a client and now a friend, Mark on CREAMPUFF might not have noticed that you have an Amel 54 and not a Super Maramu 53. The bow thrusters on these boats are entirely different from one another and I do not believe there is a tool for the 54 that allows one to remove the propeller leg while in the water. My SM 53 had this tool and I made use of it on more than one occasion. My 54 didn’t have a water service tool or mention of this in the manual as far as I can remember. Anyone out there with an Amel 54, please feel free to correct me if I am in error. Wouldn’t be the only time…

 

All The Best, Joel

Joel F. Potter/Cruising Yacht Specialist LLC

THE EXPERIENCED AMEL GUY

954 462 5869 office

954 812 2485 cell

 

 

 

From: amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 12:15 PM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning

 

 

Hi all,

My sidepower bowthruster has lost the linkage to the props and just spins. According to the manual a probable cause could be rope getting sucked in which causes the "flexible coupling" to break. My question is: is it possible to check this, and even replace it, with the boat in the water?

Thabnks,
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98