The way my running backstays are rigged seems fairly handy to me. The backstay is made from aramide/kevlar sheet with extreme little stretch. When not in use the sheet comes down from the mast to a

Seeing yesterday's post by Bill Rouse of the Amel article about runners reminded me that some of you might not know about the Amel Club website which contains that article as well as many other

Joerg Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll try it, but knowing those knots will never come out I want to make sure I’ve got them in the right place. How far up the back stay from the snatch block

Hi David; I personally would not give up on the battens. I believe that they do add shape and performance. We have not had any issues in the past 5 years, and we have sailed, furled and unfurled

Thanks Bill, The two blocks, great suggestion, I like it. -- David Crisp SV Wilna Grace Amel 54 #58

Thanks everyone. The advice is consistent and fully absorbed! My sails are only 4 years old and in good shape. Suspect I simply didn't have adequate outhaul tension / good boom angle. The day I

Porter, on my boat the back stays stretched so much the first time I sailed upwind in more than 35 kn of TWS that I had to put a figure 8 knot into them to shorten them. I’ve never had a problem

David, I had a similar problem. Since then I have always made sure to be on a starboard tack when furling in the main and have had no problem. I also recall getting this advice from Michel at Amel

Thanks Mohammad and Aty You are right. Two weeks ago in a marina in a Sicily, folk on a neighbouring yacht asked “is Balthazar brand new?”. Surely that makes the Amel 54 a true timeless classic?!

Thanks James, Craig and Courtney, Makes perfect sense and certainly accounts for the variability in furler/outhaul ratio/speed. Sort of a joystick pas de deux. Now the hard part if is getting to

I agree Kent. Elyse has vertical battens on both main and mizzen. 30-40 degrees to the wind, preferably stbd tack, boom 90 degrees to the mast. We have marks on both sheets to enable positioning of

David, Definitely NOT a dumb question and maybe not as simple as it would first appear. The relationship between the in mast furling system and the drive that controls the foot of the sail is non

Tony; The Amel 54 is truly a gem that we continue to appreciate more and more every day, even after almost 6 years. Whoever ends up with Balthazar will be very fortunate. Wishing you and your

Tony, Please mail me personally at: ppsforbes’at’gmail.com Peter Peter Forbes The Old Rectory Farnham Blandford DT11 8 DE 00447836 209730 07836 209730

Hi Dave, Furler and outhaul do turn at the same (no load) rpm's with their identical 70:1 Bonfiglioli reduction gears and constant speed motors (on our SN's), but as the main furls out the diameter of

Porter, that is great news! Bill CW Bill Rouse

Thanks Peter, much appreciated. With the fantastic spec / condition and brand new (last month!) B&G total refresh (including second auto helm, radar and 16 inch plotter in fabulous custom-made casing

I have found that there is a tendency for the top batten to jam when unfurling. That is setting the sail. I have also noted that having the kicker on hard, ie tension on the leech really helps. To

Tony, So sorry you are leaving us - that is a superb deal at €400k. That will sell in a day if anyone has any sense. Peter Peter Forbes The Old Rectory Farnham Blandford DT11 8 DE 00447836

Hi David and all others experienced Amel furlers… your description seems too familiar. We've been having problems with our main and mizzen for the past 3 years, just like you described. We had a