Dear Members,

The following comments are meant to reflect the thoughts of Joel Potter the
Super Maramu owner. They do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and
policies of my friends and colleagues at Amel.

Dear Mr. Tyers.

The rudder on ALL Amels, from 1967 on, is designed to be hollow with a
hole to let water in. Whereas most builders try to build a rudder that
keeps water out only to eventually fail at great inconvenience and expense,
Captain Amel decided to use sea water as weight to dampen the rudders
movements. I have sold Amels over 30 years of age with original rudders
that were in excellent condition. Make sure the drain hole is open when
diving on the boat or at haul out. If the hole gets plugged or marine
growth covers it, the water trapped inside will become oxygen depleted and
will cause the stainless steel rudder shaft to fail from crevice corrosion.

Most yards attitude towards the "peeing rudder" is best described as an
embracing of the NOT INVENTED HERE SYNDROME. If something is different it
can't possibly be any good or work properly. Another example is the Amel
drive system on the Super Maramu. I get at least one irate phone call a
month from a marine mechanic who informs me that this system will never work
and it voids the engine warranty, neither of which carries any truth
whatsoever.

English speakers are always invited to email me with any Amel related
service difficulties. As Amel's sole associate for the Americas for more
than 20 years, I have confronted most service situations at least once. We
don't carry Amel parts here in Florida, but we are happy to pass along the
benefit of over 20 years experience with Amels.

As a general rule, be wary of boat yards and individuals who take a
negative attitude toward your Amel or any of it's systems, such as the Amel
electrical system. ALL Amels have a "floating" direct current grounding
system. All D.C. electricity comes from the battery, to the equipment, and
then back to the battery NOT to a "ground" on the engine or hull. If
someone doesn't know this and installs electrical items improperly, at the
least you will probably introduce "noise" into your radios and electronics
and at worse, you will promote electrolysis.

Good luck with your Sharki. It's a fine ocean cruiser.

Joel F. Potter
SM#400 "MARY BROWN"

Dear Members,

The following comments are meant to reflect the thoughts of Joel Potter the Super Maramu
owner. They do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and policies of my friends and
colleagues at Amel.

Dear Fellow Amel Owners,

For Amel owners on this side of the Atlantic, we highly recommend you discuss your sail
service and replacement needs with Peter Grimm, Jr. of Super Sailmakers here in Fort
Lauderdale. This loft has their own top quality/nice price Super Sailmakers label as well
as representing the prestige/bigger bucks lofts of DOYLE and HOOD sails. Peter is
extremely knowledgeable, listens carefully to a clients wants and needs, and is nearly
devoid of salesman ego. You will get the right sail at a great price. I make nothing,
not one penny, on my referral. Rather, if you tell Peter that we sent you, you will
receive my discount, usually 10-20% depending on the item, as a professional courtesy.
Labor is the only thing not discountable.

Peter knows Amel boats and has made countless Amel clients happy over the years. He will
make you happy to. You can contact Peter by any of the following means:

Phone: 1 (954) 462-3695 1 (800) 541-7601
Fax: 1 (954) 767-0076
Email: peter@supersailmakers.com
Web: www.sail-depot.com

Sincerely,
Joel F. Potter
Cruising Yacht Specialist
Amel's Sole Associate for the Americas

In my Mango, the rudder is also this way.
Amel responded me very kindly that the helm is foreseen this way by them.
You can be calm, although it seems difficult to believe it.
I trust the good approach of the navy absolutely.

Best regards

Juan
Mango_trtola

As a new owner of Sharki #127 please confirm that the rudder is
designed to have a 1/2" drain hole in the base of the rudder. I have
just hauled my boat to paint the bottom and several gallons drained
out If no drain is designed what needs to be done to fill the
hollow rudder and prevent corrosion of the steel frame in the
rudder . As the boat is out of the water there is a window of
oppertunity to fix the problem if I have one.

When the boat was hauled for the prepurchase survey the same
condition existed and the Surveyor made no obervation as if it was a
normal condition, however that was not the position of the yard
where the paintjob is being done. They think I will have to rebuild
the rudder
Your comments are most welcome

My Apologies to all and to Assurance Maritime. When I sent the following, I made a mistake with the maths. The insurance premium is not 1.27% but 0.783%, which is very competitive these days. It is an excellent deal. They have extended my Northerly latitude to include Prins Christianssund Sound in Greenland, without charge.

I did query the rather low southerly latitude limit, and they said that this was to exclude the passage down the east side of South Africa around Capes Agulas and Hope. However, they did say that an extension is possible. I hope so as New Zealand is very much on my list!

Previously Sent:

"Assurance Maritime in La Rochelle came up with world wide cover from 60N to 30S at 1.27% with a 0.4% deductible. This is a special deal for Amel owners only and is known as the "Prestige Amel" contract. Contact is Monsieur Alain de Lassee at assmardelassee@wanadoo.fr "

Ian Shepherd SM #414 "Crusader"

Stephan,

I had a new genoa made by a friend of Joel Potter's in Fort Lauderdale. It has a foam luff and in general it was a well made sail and at a good price. The sail maker's name is Peter Grimm and his email is peter@sail-depot.com It cost $217 to DHL it to St Lucia.

Unfortunately due to a change in circumstances, I never got to sail with the new genoa, but I did ensure that it fitted OK. It is now a spare on my new SM which I take delivery of on July 15th.

Joel tells me that Peter is very familiar with Amel sails and that he has made a good number of them for US owners.

As a matter of interest, how old are your sails and how many miles have they done? I changed my genoa after 17,000 nms of hard sailing, much of which was in the tropics. I did have the leech tape repaired a couple of times, but eventually due to UV and wear, the rear panels became too weak and the lower cross tree fitting proved to be too much for the material when the genoa accidentally backed one day. I have noticed that the latest SM's now have a different end fitting which looks kinder to the genoa. I would like to see then covered in leather too.

Good luck with the new sails.

Ian Shepherd

SM 414 "Crusader"

Hi Eric

I recently purchased a product from Island Girl called non skid
sealent. I tried it on the lazerette cover it seems to bring back the
color and helps the water bead nicely. It did not adversly effect the
non skid quality when wet. I will wait a few more weeks if it holds
up I will do the rest of the deck. They also make other products that
work really well on plastic and fiberglass.

Vito
--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, kimberlite1212
<no_reply@y...> wrote:

what does one use to protect the faux teak from fading?
thnaks
eric

Has anyone bought new sails lately for a SM 2000? We need main and
genoa. Recommendations for Gib or Carribean?

Stephan (Delos)

what does one use to protect the faux teak from fading?
thnaks
eric

Has anyone had a problem with autoprop and their recall of the amel
propellers ?
they don't respond to my e-mails.
eric

I recently took out the table in Amedee and replaced it with a
smaller table and added a washer/dyer (much like the sm). Does
anybody need a table?

Gooday, Sometime this year I need to replace a cutlass bearing. I
have not done this job before and would appreciate advice on how it
all comes appart etc.

Thanks,
Mike Gough

Hi Rob & Glen,

I kept very accurate accounts of my 2 year and 25,000 nm voyage in a new SM 2000. During that time I made some additions such as a wind generator, solar panels, deck wash, extra shelves and a hot water changeover system to get hot water from the generator. Most of the work I did myself. I also bought a new genoa and had to haul out twice to change the prop shaft seals and also to renew the antifouling. I lived on board the entire time and used marina's as little as possible.

Overall costs worked out at $2400 per month or $28,800 per year. This include some $1000 to run the company that owns the yacht. A quick breakdown is as follows:

Insurance 18%
Provisions 17%
Repairs 9.5%
Improvements 9.4%
Eating ashore 6.1%
Marina charges 5.8%
Diesel 3.8%
New Genoa 6.3%

I hope that this is of some help. By the way, I could not get insurance from Pantaenius for a circum navigation on my new Amel, but Assurance Maritime in La Rochelle came up with world wide cover from 60N to 30S at 1.27% with a 0.4% deductible. This is a special deal for Amel owners only and is known as the "Prestige Amel" contract. Contact is Monsieur Alain de Lassee at assmardelassee@wanadoo.fr

Ian Shepherd SM #414 "Crusader"

what does one use to prevent the "teak Decks" from fading?
thanks
eric kimberlite sm 376

Dear Claud,
where are you located?
eric Freedman sm 376 kimberlite huntington ny



--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, Claude Roessiger
<nearlynothing@y...> wrote:

I think that depending on how much sailing you do, it
will be reasonable to budget USD 25,000. to maintain
an SM in excellent condition. If you do a geat deal of
the work yourself, you can likely reduce this by USD
10,000. Our SM is 3 years old, and aside from routine
small items the work is done by a good yard; we do
have the added cold-climate consideration of
decommissioning for the winter lay-up. However, during
years in which we kept the boat in the water
year-around, the winter in the Caribbean, we found
that the extra wear and tear of the extra sea months
came to about the same as decommissioning. This annual
maintenance cost compares with about USD 15,000. which
we had over a 15-year period with a Maramu, a less
complex boat in many respects.
Claude Roessiger, Nanuq SM #308

__________________________________
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SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
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I think that depending on how much sailing you do, it
will be reasonable to budget USD 25,000. to maintain
an SM in excellent condition. If you do a geat deal of
the work yourself, you can likely reduce this by USD
10,000. Our SM is 3 years old, and aside from routine
small items the work is done by a good yard; we do
have the added cold-climate consideration of
decommissioning for the winter lay-up. However, during
years in which we kept the boat in the water
year-around, the winter in the Caribbean, we found
that the extra wear and tear of the extra sea months
came to about the same as decommissioning. This annual
maintenance cost compares with about USD 15,000. which
we had over a 15-year period with a Maramu, a less
complex boat in many respects.
Claude Roessiger, Nanuq SM #308

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com

Hello Amelites

As we get very close to taking the plunge and buying a Super Maramu,
we would appreciate your guidance on annual costs of running a 6-7
year old boat. Advice on major refit items (rigging and sails), and
general costs would be great!
We hope you can help
Rob and Glen Brennan, Australie

Message text written by INTERNET:amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com

<

Olivier Beaute at Amel told me that the easy solution is to make a kevlar
strop to put round the mast just above the spreaders and then rig an inner
forestay down to the anchor winch with a suitable tensioning device. I
cannot remember where a storm jib should be sheeted to.
I fitted an inner forestay on my last boat,(a very leaky lousy Oyster 435)
with the head of the stay fixed to the mast about three feet down from the
top and with a special through deck fitting to secure the tensioner. The
stay was tied back by the mast and only rigged (with a bagged Storm jib)
for long passages in the South Pacific. It was never used in anger in the
five years we were there and i have not bothered with Bali Hai No 319.

Regards, John Hollamby

--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, kimberlite1212
<no_reply@y...> wrote:

--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, "Alejandro Paquin"
<simpatico_amel_maramu@y...> wrote:

Does anyone know somebody who could help me diagnose a

malfunction

in

my NECO Autopilot?
A.Paquin

what model neco do you have? where are you located?
eric
kimberlite

I'm located near La Guaira, Venezuela in Club Puerto Azul and my NECO
Autopilot , built in July 1980 was installed on my Maramu one year
later. I have a 12VDC system equipped with a reverse rotation motor
(Model G7R) a contro unit model 692CU and transmitting compass model
nm3.
The unit began failing by not making corrections to port and then
ceased to respond completely. The wiring and the units are impecable,
never in contact with water, and the electric motor works when
operated vía the contactors in the motor itself (in both directions).
The units have never been serviced and are in their original state.
No metal objects are near the compass.

I'd apreciate any help I can get with my problem.

Thanks for asking,

Alex