Thank you Alexandre, I definitely plan on taking all the ASA courses I can. As I think I mentioned in another post, I am obsessive/compulsive when it comes to learning, so I enjoy the process. Can

Bill, Thanks for the reference. I've had gas solenoids go bad on charter boats, always makes for a bad day. We plan to at least get the 1/4 Union. Thanks, Duane Wanderer, SM477

Hi Rick There is a tax, and it is 15% - but for some reason all boats seem to be more expensive down here, most likely reflects the distance and also supply and demand. I am hoping to have my business

Thank you Bob. Definitely on my to-do list, at least for me. I don't think I can get the wife interested in doing a long passage yet. Hopefully that would change - but I have time. Thank you for the

Hola from Panama, Bill. I'm glad to hear that your new sounder works without a new thru-hull. You say it works like a fish-finder...does it give a 3-dimensional picture of the bottom? Where did you

As part of the instrument upgrades on my boat I installed an in-hull depth transducer. It works great, giving me a real fish-finder display on the chartplotter without a hole in the hull. That means

Rick, You have a good plan, but there is an important bit of training that you should include. Before you put down big bucks on a boat, be sure that you and your wife, if she plans to go, do a long

Jean, you are perfectly right: the "latin sail" is more ancient and more complicate to handle. The "gaff sail" (voile aurique) is an evolution. Best Regards, Daniela & Fernando s/y Nefeli SM

Good morning Rick, Going over your post. I definitely recommend you and your wife take all ASA classes you can, so that you speak the same language and sometime don’t even need to communicate while

Rick, I believe that over all your assessment of Amels and their owners are spot on. While there are some exceptions , as there are in most things , most Amels are well maintained. I know many owners

You are getting to know owners now. Bill Rouse BeBe Amel 53 #387 Sent from my tablet +1832-380-4970 USA Voice Mail

Hi Jim, Glad to find another like-minded dreamer on here! ;) I see that the few Amels down there are quite expensive. I can't remember but I think the import taxes for Australia are pretty insane.

Rick, Just to prep you a bit… expecting brokers to introduce you to the owners before you buy the boat is most likely an unrealistic expectation. There are always exceptions, but… for the most

Rick - a great post and really mirrors my thinking and you did a great job of putting it into words I am going to be in the market next year for a Santorin or possibly a Super Maramu and watching the

Thank you Bill. Very wise of you to mention paying attention to the sellers. I will be keenly aware and will only buy a boat if I'm able to meet the owners (not just the broker). I'm still reading

Thank you for the kind welcome Jean-Pierre, Love your pride in owning the most expensive Amel in the world! lol Thank you for sharing your expensive experience with me. I will definitely be taking

Thank you Pat. Yes, one of the many reasons that I know that an Amel is the way to go is because you can clearly see that most, if not all available on the market are in very good condition. In fact,

Daniela & Fernando, Many thanks for your very informative comments. I learned something today. So far I had never seen any two masted lateen rigged boat with a “maroccain” and I thought that

I believe that you are on the right track. Some of your items are low and some are high. You left out running rigging that is almost always in need of replacement in 15+ year old boats. You did not

Hello Rick, You’ve spent time with the grey matter in gear obviously. But first: WELCOME HERE. As a group, we are not particularly biased but we analyzed our needs in much the same way as you