Re: How much anchor chain?
Bill,
I am writing this to clarify something in your recent post about anchor scope. I am sure you know this, but there wasn't enough detail in your post that newbies will certainly need.
10 meters indicated on the depth instrument is actually 10 meters of water, only if you have the depth Datum set to water depth rather than actual transducer depth, or keel depth. If you have the Datum set to keel depth (as many do), you need to add this to the scope computation. Unless the Datum is set to indicate actual water depth, you are probably closer to 12 meters. You can find information on the Datum offset in your depth instrument manual.
FYI, I was recently in an Amel that someone had attempted to set the Datum to indicate the depth of the keel. That person then relied on his depth instrument in shallow water, but because he set the Datum wrong, when his keel touched bottom, his instruments indicated 3 meters. When this boat was hauled out, there were more than 10 large chips on the cast iron ballast and a large chips in the rudder.
Additionally, your bow roller is about 2 meters above the water, so when computing scope you'll need to add this to the computation. The easiest way is to add it to the indicated depth.
Also, many of us like to have a lazy loop of chain between the snubber connection to the chain and the bow roller.
Chances are that with 10 meters depth indicated on your depth sounder, you need to use somewhere between 12 and 14 as depth in the scope computation. I doubt that you can get 7:1 in 10 meters of water with 60 meters of chain...I believe that the most that you could have is between 4 and 5:1.
Best,
CW Bill Rouse Admiral, Texas Navy Commander Emeritus Amel School www.amelschool.com 720 Winnie St Galveston Island, TX 77550 +1(832) 380-4970
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Hello Woody,
this was a special request from the new owner. He wanted to charge his batteries with voltage up to 32V, but did not want to feed his appliances with 32V (while charging), so, this DC/DC converter was supplying all the appliances, except the big motors (winches, windlass, furlers and bow-thruster) with a maximum of 26 V. In my opinion, this system is obsolete and potentially dangerous (because of the 32V charge settings). You may take down this device and come back to the usual wiring, BUT, make sure first that your means of charge (alternator on main engine and battery chargers) don't go above 28.8V.
If you're not familiar with DC electricity, you should hire a skilled company for that.
Good luck.
Olivier
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: How much anchor chain?
thanks very much for the swift responses to this question I agree 100m chain would be my preference..... I reread Beth Leonaids Blue Water Cruising last night - the section on anchoring Their 40ft suffered badly from too much chain in the bow so they stowed a 2nd section of chain in the mid bilges and used a chain connector (one of the ones you rivet together) in the Pacific I worry about the chain connector as a weak point but it would mean i could keep the existing chain i have ( good condition )
The main thing i want is to sleep easy and have minimum hassle when anchoring - rode is a pain tbh ! ;)
I suppose i could change the windlass gypsy and go 100m of smaller 10mm chain
instead of the current 50ish meters of 12mm plus rode
Food for thought and very helpful input
many thanks again
Miles
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Friday, March 23, 2018, 8:06:20 AM GMT, Danny and Yvonne SIMMS simms@... [amelyachtowners] wrote:
I agree Alan Danny On 23 March 2018 at 16:28 "divanz620@... [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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning

Mark Erdos
Oops! I’m bad. Too much time in the sun latey.
With best
regards,
Mark
Skipper
Sailing Vessel
- Cream Puff
www.creampuff.us
From:
amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 12:59 PM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: RE: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning
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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: How much anchor chain?
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: How much anchor chain?
H Miles, We have 100m of 10mm chain and 100 meters of rode attached.. Thinking of priorities when you are anchored on a sudden lee shore after a 180 degree wind shift in a gale its pretty easy to decide where the priority lies. I have had to reluctantly anchor in over 20 meters in the Pacific.Thank goodness for a good anchor winch. I regard 10 meters as shallow anchoring. Ocean Pearl floats nearer her water line than most SM but not deeper overall. The stern rides up quite well and she sails very well. Regards Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
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!)
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -

Warren Traill
Thanks Trevor. It would be very interesting to meet you. We will be on the hardstand at Rebak from March 31st to April 10th.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
From: amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...] Sent: Friday, 23 March 2018 3:21 PM To: amelyachtowners@... Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas - Just checked out today and plan on departing tomorrow for Langkawi. We should be down there in a couple days. I’ll keep an eye out for you and look forward to meeting up. Email is: sviris1990 at gmail 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 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 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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -
Hello Warren,
Just checked out today and plan on departing tomorrow for Langkawi. We should be down there in a couple days. I’ll keep an eye out for you and look forward to meeting up.
Email is: sviris1990 at gmail
Trevor SV Iris, SN027 Ao Chalong Bay, Phuket
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Mar 23, 2018, at 1:18 PM, 'Warren Traill' trailz@... [amelyachtowners] < amelyachtowners@...> wrote:
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 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 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
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|
Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -

Warren Traill
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
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
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 - 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 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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning

Bob Grey
Hi Paul, you need to put the thruster in the down position, unbolt the motor and lift it up to replace the flex coupling, two bolts come out with a standard Allen key but the bolt behind the motor needs Ann extra long key or in my case I cut an Allen key section 5cm and used an extension socket to remove the last bolt, warning the motor is heavy.
Bob Grey Amel 55.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Friday, March 23, 2018, 04:10, sharongbrown@... [amelyachtowners] wrote:
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
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Re: How much anchor chain?

Alan Leslie
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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] 'Cristec Devolteur'
Hi Woody, "Devolteur" means "step down" or "buck", so I'm going to guess it's a DC-DC converter of some kind. It seems to be made by this company. I don't see anything exactly like it on their website, but perhaps you could contact them and ask if they can identify it from the photo. I do not believe it to be original, but I'm pretty new to this stuff, so take that with a grain of salt.
I think it's unlikely that the voltages at the bottom represent the input and output, unless for some reason you have some 32V circuitry on your boat. I suspect that is the input voltage range. Maybe it makes 12V, like the converters at the nav station? It could even be a DC-DC charger for the 12V starting battery.
Ryan SM 233 Iteration Boston, MA, USA
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On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 5:53 PM, alanwood123@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:
I can't seem to find any reference to this transformer - see picture - on the forums. Is it an add-on by a previous owner or an Amel original? If so.. erm, what exactly is it for as I can't seem to trace the wires to anywhere?
Thanks in advance
Woody SV Haddock SM#189
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Re: How much anchor chain?
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!)
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Hi there My older (not super) Maramu came to me with 50m 12mm chain
I plan to cruise the North Atlantic with a slim chance of also going further across the Pacific.
Ideally I’d like 100m chain but the expense and hassle of change and finding the right chain for my gypsy abroad in the canaries has got me thinking about splicing octiplat instead
I’d be interested to hear others chain /rode strategies
Many thanks in advance
Miles
Maramu 162
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I can't seem to find any reference to this transformer - see picture - on the forums. Is it an add-on by a previous owner or an Amel original? If so.. erm, what exactly is it for as I can't seem to trace the wires to anywhere?
Thanks in advance
Woody SV Haddock SM#189
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Hello Amelians, you may receive some recent but outdated emails from me. My smart phone email was playing up and was not sending. Now it is corrected there is a burst of old emails going out. Sorry for any inconvenience. Kind Regards Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl Hi again Colin.if you didn't retrieve the thruster it would not be difficult to securely plug the hole it goes through. Regards Danny SM 299 Ocean pearl Sent from my Vodafone Smart On 19 Mar 2018 19:17, "colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...> wrote: On 19 March 2018 at 21:26 simms@... 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 have 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
Hi again Colin.if you didn't retrieve the thruster it would not be difficult to securely plug the hole it goes through. Regards Danny SM 299 Ocean pearl Sent from my Vodafone Smart On 19 Mar 2018 19:17, "colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners]"
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning

Mark Erdos
Oops! I’m bad. Too much time in the sun latey.
With best
regards,
Mark
Skipper
Sailing Vessel
- Cream Puff
www.creampuff.us
From:
amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 12:59 PM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: RE: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning
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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning
You have to change the security pin of the propeller you can do it in the sea by a diver
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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
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 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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] New Bowthruster unit - cost and in-stock?
Sounds good, great there was virtually no other damage. Kind Regards Danny
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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
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Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Bowthruster spinning
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
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Mar 22, 2018, at 12:58 PM, 'Joel Potter' jfpottercys@... [amelyachtowners] < amelyachtowners@...> 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 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
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