As a prospective buyer of an Amel I am so appreciative of the information on this forum, reading the forum messages provides a superb education unavailable elsewhere. I have recently been reading "Heavy Weather Sailing" and my obsession with the Amel approach to boat design and build has been further reinforced!

I do have a couple of questions I cant find answers to though:

I am unable to find anything on the internet regarding downwind sailing on the 54s, I gather unlike the Super Maramou it is not possible to fly true twin headsails, but the 54 is Spinnaker ready and has an inner forestay with furling staysail. Does this setup work as well downwind as the Super Maramou? Does the 54 rock more than the Super Maramou on prolonged downwind passages? Has anyone done a video on 54 sail utilization?

Do any of you carry storm jibs?
Any problems with jibs unfurling in heavy weather on either a 54 or super Maramou?

Thank you

--
Paul Harries
Prospective Amel Buyer

I am away from Nefeli right now and cannot take the measure myself.

Can anybody check the diameter of the hole that hosts the shower water mixer on the SuperMaramu?

Any help wiil be appreciated.

Fernando
s/y Nefeli
SM 38

I looked at a GOST system last year for my old boat but at 14k installed, I stopped looking. I just self installed a Ring security alarm on my Amel 55. A spotlight battery wifi camera in the cockpit looking AFT, a contact sensor on the rear lazerrete and cockpit door and then PIR motion sensors in fwd cabin, main cabin and captain berth (easier than hatch contact switches). It's a pretty clean install, all wireless, sirens are inside on the base unit and the spotlight camera. I mean, it works and works offline but for video snapshots you'd need an LTE hotspot type thing which is what I do. For 500 bucks, not bad.

Hi Darren & Karen (how alliterative ;-) and any others interested in replacement rubber rub rail inserts. 
You're right - these are not Stainless rub rails. These are replacements for the original brown rubber inserts that go the full length of the FRP Rub Rails and which over the years take on a nasty chalky brown that cannot be restored effectively. 
Pat McEnery on Shenanigans found a Miami, FL manufacturer of extruded rubber products (like dinghy rub rails and dock bumpers) and sent them a section of his old insert from which they made an extrusion die and several of us ordered our replacements, sharing the cost of the die. 
The product was excellent and was an off-white instead of the original brown. So far it seems not to be prone to UV deterioration and looks great.
See my previous posts for the direct contact with the company - they do ship internationally, although I do not know the cost. Mine were $890US (no shipping charge as I picked them up at the factory) and I only needed 88 feet, being a SN not a SM. Your cost would be somewhat more, of course.
This is a small family business which I found very creditable after visiting the factory.  The contact person, Paula Murador (the owners daughter)  is most helpful and can certainly walk you through a purchase. I think she would like to get several orders together and then offer a group discount, but you need to contact her directly. Here's her contact info:

Paula Murador

Director, Account Manager
 
9401 NW 106th ST # 111 | Medley, FL 33178
Office: (305)888-6324

Fax:(305)888-6325
www.technorubberindustries.com  

Here's a picture of a sample section installed on my boat.

--
Cheers, Craig - SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL

For those Amel Owners who would like to procure new Rub Rails within the next 6 months:

Add your name to the list.  If we can get about 15 boats, we will move forward with the purchase.

1.  Aquarius, Ken Powers
2.
3.
4.
5.
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8.
9.
10.
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12.
13.
14.
15.

Sailing Aquarius
SM2K#262
Currently in Thailand

Hi Craig,

I am new to the SM and are wondering what these rub rail inserts are? and what costs are involved

I looked in the photo's section under rub rail and found some Stainless rub rails, but I don't think that is what you are talking about

--
Darren & Karen
SM171
Tradewinds III
Tasmania, Australia

Greetings all,

Yes, the maritime border to NZ is closed. But it is possible to apply for and be granted an exception to arrive in NZ via sea. We have done so.

You can make the application the relevant authorities yourself, at no cost to lodge, but increased uncertainty as to the outcome. Or you can engage an agent who has processed applications into the system before = greater certainty. We used an agent. Cost was a one-off agent’s fee of USD650- to do so.

The time was 4 weeks to complete the paperwork in coordination with the Agent. Then, once the (32-page) application was submitted, it took three weeks to be granted the exemption. The exemption does not have an expiry date on it; but your application paperwork does have time-and-cost elements as a component of the committed work schedule/s, so the timing is inherent in the approval.

Apart from humanitarian / compassionate grounds, the only grounds for approval with be on the basis of delivering Economic Benefit to NZ. There are only two main reasons that will be considered in support of an application for exemption.

1. Delivering your boat to a business (e.g. for sale); or
2. Major refit, repairs, &/or refurbishment.

We used the term “significant programme of repairs & refurbishment” to support our application.

There is no exact defined figure for economic benefit, but (based on seeing who got approved, and who not) the baseline amount before your application will be considered is NZD50k.

Marina fees, yards fees, part & paid labour, and project management fees may be included. Costs incurred by crew (such as food, accommodation, lodging, land-travel, or consuming copious quantities of great Kiwi wine) are not.

To start with, we baulked at that amount. But, upon reflection, we realised that, by the time we get to NZ, we will have been sailing more-or-less constantly for almost 5 years. And so it will be high time to take some time-out, pause and find a base from where to attend to those many items of repairs and maintenance (“The List”) that cannot be so easily done in remote areas, or while there is an imperative to keep the boat in one piece and in a seaworthy condition (meaning, available to move to avoid adverse seasonal weather – i.e. the cyclone season in the South Pacific).

So, I totalled up all of those items of repairs & maintenance (including planned upgrades), and were able to easily exceed the NZ$50k threshold amount. It is also made easier to swallow, considering that we plan to be in NZ for 18 months, and additional items of repairs & maintenance will naturally arise within that timeframe.

When you consider the difficulty in getting *quality* work done in many other places, especially whilst on-the-move, the lure of NZ is undeniable. And if we are going to do the work in any case, then the cost is really not so much of an issue. Compare this to the rule-of-thumb, 5 to 10% of the value of the boat on R&M in any one year, spread over two years, with guaranteed quality, then it becomes a much easier decision.

All that said, we plan to travel from French Polynesia to Fiji, before heading southwards to NZ. Things are very changeable out here at the moment, with Fiji closing up a little more this past week, so another season in FP may become a necessity. The list of R&M won’t get any shorter …

Hope this information helps inform the debate.

And thanks to those providing recommendations for vendors and suppliers in NZ – very much appreciated.

David
Perigee, SM#396
On the dock attending to turbo issues
Papeete Marina, Tahiti


From: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> on behalf of Robert Thomson <yachtmemo@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Date: Monday, 24 May 2021 at 11:27 am
To: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] New Zealand

We are thinking of trying to get into New Zealand later this year on the basis Memo will need a refit. Can any one recommend New Zealand yards that would have experience of Amel yachts.

Kent,

Stefan, my Climma is a bit older, but got a new relay, not the same but close enough so now all three are working again
Paul

Does anyone know what the thread size is on this for a late model SM2K (Circled Red) ?  




Chris
Amarok, SM385

I use an iPhone app called Anchor Alarm.  It shows the boat on Google or Satellite map and permits me to draw a zone within which the boat can move without the alarm sounding.  It works great.  I believe it costs a few bucks.  Check it out!   

Joerg Esdorn
A55 Kincsem # 53
Vigo, Spain

All,
Here's an email from the manufacturer. Anyone interested can contact them directly.
Craig

"Hi Craig,

Great to hear from you! We can definitely manufacture more rub rail inserts – we still have the die (#30117)

 The cost does have to change a little bit due to inflation on raw materials this past year. Do you happen to have quantities on how many orders? Remember, it would be best to run all orders together so we do not have major loss on material.  

 I can provide you a new quote with this information. 😊

Thanks!

Paula Murador

Director, Account Manager
 
9401 NW 106th ST # 111 | Medley, FL 33178
Office: (305)888-6324

Fax:(305)888-6325
www.technorubberindustries.com    

--
SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL

Hi Paul,

I have uploaded 2 Climma manuals in English to https://amelyachtowners.groups.io/g/main/files/Airconditioning

Hope this is helpfull,

Stefan Jeukendrup
sv Malaka Queen
SM2k#348 @ Old Iasos Turkey