Thank you for the offer. look forward to receiving it.


Rob

Hi to all SM2000 owners later then spring 2003

I have a problem with my sails. On 4 places , I had to repair the
joints allready. My SM#407 SAMANTHA is only 17 month old an has done
9000 mails in 11 month. As I heard, Amel has changed supplier of
sails early 2003, now using DEME. On my mail to Amel in this respect
I have not got an answer yet. Is anyone else having such experience
too. Is this normal that joints getting wrotten so quick ?
Thanks for yout input.

Rudy
of SAMANTHA

Ps. my homepage on the this year-trip( in german language ) is on
www.sam-yacht.ch

I have schedule from the factory and it is very useful and quite
comprehensive. I'll try to scan it and post it here over the next few
days. (if I can figure out how to do it!)

Regards to all.

MDL

Hi Rob,

I'm interrested in too

Patrick (SM2000#329)

Is there a Maintenance Schedule in the latest documentation when a new SM is delivered?
If not, would one be useful to assist us in the exercise of looking after our Amels?

If there is someone with a SM who i interested in creating a Maintenance Schedule, with
me, please contact me. We could then create it, put it out for discussion and then have it
available for all in the future.

What do you think? Perhaps someone has already done it and could make it available!

Rob Kyle

Santorin 54

Reading the reports of hurricane damage reminds me of my experiences
in 1991/2 following Hurricane Bob which severely damaged my Oyster
435 in Newport,R.I.I was advised to be on a mooring not at anchor
but did not realise that I would need a long line to the buoy. There
was a 12 foot tidal surge driven by the wind and on top of that
waves which lifted the bow of the boat along with the 800lb mushroom
mooring so the boat ended up crashing on a pontoon.
My insurers in the UK appointed a Boston loss adjuster who appointed
a local surveyor to prepare a specification and get estimates from
various boatyards in New England. He gave me the opportunity of
commenting on the spec and I had another local surveyor check it out
which he did very poorly.
The estimates came in to the surveyor and varied between US$55,000
to $213,000 to "we will not quote unless you pay us for our
time". The surveyor took the two lowest estimates and took the
higher price for each item and offered me that total in full and
final settlement.
I should perhaps have mentioned that two or three hundred boats had
suffered damage up and down the coast and so surveyors were earning
a lot from insurers. I said that I was not happy and insurers told
me to get a surveyor to argue my case with their man. I was not able
to get anyone to do this.
I was not happy with the U.S. system as I was not familiar with it
and insurers agreed that I could ship the wreck back to the UK at my
expense and get it repaired there. I did this which had one great
advantage in that VAT had not been paid on it originally and so VAT
was paid on the wrecked value and insurers had to pay VAT on the
repairs.
A highly regarded Cowes surveyor produced a new spec. and got prices
from three good yards at £75,000 up to £78,000 which seemed to
indicate that the new spec. was better than the American one We had
a meeting in the brokers office when my surveyor told me that
certain items would not be acceptable to insurers and he deleted
them before announcing that he could not negotiate on my behalf with
insurers as they were his more important clients.This shook me and
made me realise why I had had problems getting professional help.
Thus the works proceeded without supervision and other items were
uncovered in the process, notably I had to pay for a new engine as I
had allowed insurers to make me sign "in full and final settlement"
before they would OK the settlement.
The whole miserable process took many many months and whilst at that
time I blamed insurers the fact of the matter is that I came to
believe that many yacht surveyors are whores in bed with insurers.
I sincerely hope that the unlucky owners who suffered from Ivan fare
much better than I did.
Incidentally I doubt whether anywhere in the Caribbean is safe from
the occasional hurricane.They say they never go as far south as
Trinidad but when we were in "safe" Curacao the authorities taped up
all the glass in their office windows and in the event the storm
passed over Caracas and mudslides killed hundreds in the slums built
in the valleys.

Best wishes for now, Anne and John, Bali Hai SM319

Dear Amel Owners Group,

I thought Id write about a few things Ive learned after 2 years as a proud SM owner.

I have installed burglar bars in all my deck hatches. I used 3/8 stainless rods (aluminum would work also) and had them welded to small rectangular mounting plates on each end. I installed two on the inside rim of each deck hatch, except for the forward head hatch which only needed one. I had mine powder-coat painted white and they really look nice. (Powder coating, often used for outdoor furniture and antique car restoration, is a very durable, hard and attractive paint finish.) If you are worried about evacuation during a fire, make sure there is the appropriate screwdriver in each cabin. If you are worried about the burglars unscrewing them to get in, you can get screws with special screw-heads requiring a special tool to undo.

I also made a burglar proof companionway screen out of flat 3/8 thick 1 wide aluminum stock. It slides into the same slot that the heavy wooden vertical hatch door uses. It has to be in two sections or it is too tall to slide vertically up and out of the slot (itll hit the hard dodger). I added vertical cross bars about 8 apart to make it person proof. Mine needed a wooden trim piece at the bottom to level it all up. With the burglar screen in place in the vertical hatch opening, slide the top horizontal hatch shut. Install a barrel bolt or other type of lock on the forward end inside the hatch top. Now you are securely safe in your boat and yet air can flow through the companionway. You can glue insect screen to the burglar bar units, or you can get fancy and can have a machine shop cut a groove around the perimeter or it and have a storm window shop install a screen in the slot.

Many yachts in the Caribbean have their dinghies and/or outboard motors stolen. It is no wonder as everyone is so proud of their equipment and keeps them in such pristine condition. The thieves just ride through the anchorage during the day picking out the best looking gear, and come back at night to steal them. I have always personalized my dinghy and outboard so that no one in their right mind would want them. As soon as I get a new engine, I remove the brand name sticker with a heat gun. I then sand down the engine cowl, prime and paint it a custom color and put some personalized decals on it. Now the thieves dont know the brand name or HP of the engine. I also paint a dinghy name and some artwork on my dinghies. I dont think my dinghy or outboard will ever be stolen !

For those who have the deck shower in the cockpit locker (where it gets tangled up in everything else in that locker): I bought a piece of large PVC pipe, about 6 diameter and about 18 tall. I placed it in the corner over the hose valve. The hose can then be curled up in the pipe. I then bought a 25 self-curling hose and did away with the straight hose. It makes a real nice arrangement. You do have to change the fitting in the cutoff valve as it is and you need one that goes from to pipe to fit the hose.

The following good idea came from Ralph and Ann on Harmonie. If your chain wash-down system doesnt quite do the job in real muddy areas, replace the hose in the port bow locker with an 8 piece of garden hose with a straight brass spray nozzle. You can really clean the chain with this rig ! Remember that the chain wash down pump doesnt have a pressure release on it, so keep the nozzle open when you turn on the pump or it will pop the circuit breaker in the engine room.

I used Peter Grimm, Super Sails in Fort Lauderdale, 954-522-4663, recommended by Joel Potter, to build a 110% genoa for the Caribbean. It was the perfect sail for the tradewinds and Christmas winds down there. I really loved it. Full genny, full mizzen, no main, 25 kts on the beam, and no problem !

Changing oil in the Volvo engine is easier if you buy a cheap throwaway aluminum turkey pan. Lay a couple sheets of the oil-dry cloths in the bottom of the pan, and place the pan under the filter before changing the oil. I keep the pan under the engine all the time with a clean white oil-dry cloth in it, this makes it very easy to spot water or oil leaks.

For the chronic smoke streak from the engine exhaust, I found a product called Roll Off at the Annapolis Boat Show. Im impressed, it is the best Ive found to remove the smudge. HDB Marine Distributor, 7026 Boston Ave, North Beach, MD 20714. 301-855-3851. They had very small spray bottles you could buy to try it out. This shows their confidence in their product.

If Im in a marina for any length of time, I cut off my salt-water intake, clean the sea chest, and leave it off, as marina water is usually filthy. I use my shower nozzle to provide fresh water to flush the toilets. You can also put a fresh water hose into the sea chest and start your engine and generator to flush them both out with clean fresh water.

I bought thick rubber doormats and cut them to fit the bottoms of all my deck lockers, especially the life raft locker. This keeps the gear off the locker bottom in case of any leak or condensation. Also, be aware that the handle for your life raft can be put on either end of the raft. Be sure the end with the gas canister is on top where it is more likely to stay dry.

A rain cover over the stern hatch can easily be installed. Screw a 3 long piece of aluminum canvas slide on top of the hatch. Attach a piece of canvas in the grove with grommets to tie back to the rail and sides. Now you can go ashore without worrying about the rain and a hot boat when you get back, and you dont have to jump up in the middle of the night when it starts to rain.

A forward hatch rain cover can be made of a large triangular piece of canvas tied to the railings and lifeline. The forward end needs to be lower than the aft, to prevent the wind from driving the rain into the hatch.

Keep an eye on the health of your pole topping lift. It is cheap to replace, but when it breaks youll have quite a fire-drill and the potential to do a lot of damage to your boat and the pole.

If you dont use your freezer routinely for frozen goods, you can store drinks in it and only turn it on when youre using your generator or motoring. This gives you cool drinks without any battery drain.

A dinghy roller can be installed in the hole where the center stern railing post fits. Buy a rubber roller from a boat trailer equipment shop, about 10 long. Weld it to a stainless bracket with a stainless pipe on the bottom the same size as the railing pipe, only 3 or 4 inches long. Stick this in the hole and pull your dinghy up over the transom onto the top of the aft cabin.

The original Amel carpets seem to stubbornly hold on to hair, even the most powerful vacuum cant seem to pull the hair off the carpet nap. We found a product called Gonzo, a pet hair lifter, that works great to get hair up. It looks like a sponge and can be found at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Anyone who is handy with woodwork can easily build some nice shelves in the back of the forward and aft hanging lockers. There is plenty of room as there is ample depth. There are two stringers in the back that the shelves can rest on. All you need is the side pieces to rest the shelf on and youll have yet more storage space !

All the best,

John Martin
Moon Dog SM 248

Homeport: Chesapeake Bay area for now
Email: symoondog@...
Home phone: 410-230-0504

_________________________________________________________________
Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

Hi everyone,



As a potential owner of a SM I monitor this site to learn and understand
everything about Amel, the good and the not so good. I have learnt an awful
lot about the boat and the company that produces them, none of what I have
seen or heard has deflected me from the opinion that an SM is for us.



A sanitised forum that only showed good is of little use to anyone who is
serious about understanding the SMs capabilities and limitations.



My vote is to keep the photo's.



Mike



_____

From: closereach [mailto:closereach@...]
Sent: 23 October 2004 06:52
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Photos of damaged Amels - remove or not?




What do you--the members that make up this Forum--want? So far four
owners have spoken up: two to remove the photos; two to keep the
photos. This is your forum; if you have an opinion about this please
speak up!

I know why I started this Forum 3 years ago: to share knowledge about
these boats with other owners out there. The good. The bad. Seeing
photos of hurricane damaged Amels hasn't changed my opinion about
these great yachts. In fact, by posting the photos we--again--learned
something very interesting about our manufacturer. One of our members
reports that Amel arranged for a barge to pull 'their' boats out of
the water and to transport the damaged boats back to La Rochelle.
Hmmm. Has Swan or HR or Oyster gone that far?

I too am troubled by removing these photos. Where could this lead? To
censoring anything negative that comes up? We all have spent
considerable sums purchasing these yachts--could it be that we are so
concerned on resale value that we don't want any flaws or negative
findings to get 'out there'?

Some could say there was nothing to learn from these photos--but
morbid fascination. But is that true? Perhaps the owner the sunk
Mango/Maramu/Sharki will tell us if he/she had the watertight doors
shut tight or not. I learned that even putting the boats on the hard
didn't remove the boats from danger.

That's where I sit? What about you?

Richard Tate
SM #5 "Spice"








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Hello Patrick,

Thank you for your input which is of great help to me.
Rainer
Gigue (SM143)




--- In amelyachtowners@..., "Patrick Naegels"
<naegels@t...> wrote:

Hello Rainer,

small rubber gasket is for bowthruster shaft, just behind composite
propeller
Put new gaskets same side as old

Patrick
Caramel (SM 329)


-----Message d'origine-----
De : rainer_bichlbauer [mailto:rainerbichlbauer@a...]
Envoyé : samedi 23 octobre 2004 12:45
À : amelyachtowners@...
Objet : [Amel Yacht Owners] Bow thruster through hull seals (SM

Nr.143)

I got from Amel 5 parts to replace the seals on the bow thruster.
Since I have never done this before myself I am not sure how to
position those parts. My assumption is:
1. Two of the foam rubber rings be placed outside the hull on the
shaft of the bow thruster.
2. One of the foam rubber rings to be placed inside the hull on the
shaft.
3. The large rubber gasket (ring) to be placed where the shaft
penetrates the hull - but wich side upside???
4. And there is a small rubber gasket (ring)and I have no clue were
to put it?
If there is anyone who knows how to do it I would be very thankful
for the relevant information.
Rainer Bichlbauer





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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Our SM Excalibur was in Maine in September. We had good friends
aboard, a french couple who own a Maramu. They arrived on Sept. 7,
the day Ivan hit Grenada, where their Maramu "Fleur de Passion" was
stored at Spice Island Marina. For the next three weeks, as we
cruised New England, we tried to get information from Grenada. As
the news of the devastation slowly came out, the most reassuring
input was from Amel in France, sending people from Guadeloupe, and
making plans to bring damaged boats back to France.
The major lessons learned so far from Ivan: If a big hurricane
hits, what happens to your boat depends more on luck than anything
else...where it is stored, what hits it, what it hits if it falls
over, etc. St. David's did a lot better than Spice Island or
Martin's Marina, but probably because of how the storm behaved more
than anything else. At Spice Island, some Amels fared much better
than others -- mostly luck, it seems.
The other big lesson: Insurance matters. Some Amels had no
insurance for hurricanes, only for "tropical storms" (less wind).
These owners figured that hurricanes don't hit Grenada. Other owners
found that whether you are insured for "agreed value" or "value
determined by assessors" matters a lot. The latter group may be in
dispute with their insurers, an unpleasant prospect.
We will all learn a lot from the repair processes of the damaged
boats. Please keep us posted.
Best wishes to all who suffered losses from Ivan and other storms.
Regards, Roy

I was able to obtain some additional pics of the damage done to an
Amel. The Amel appears to have been knocked over while on jack stands
when a 20' wall of water came through. It seems to have the hull
stove in when it fell on a 20"-24" concrete piling. The amount of
damage seems rather minor considering the amount of concentrated force
applied to the boat. While there are so many random events in a
disaster like this, there are also a few examples that substantiate
the claims of the manufacture.

If the pics showed floating bodies or personal injury, that is an
entirely different matter. The forum shows pics of broken, damaged
and corroded parts with ideas on how to fix it. If you have to store
your entire boat in that part of the world during hurricane season, it
seems prudent to get as much info as possible.

I would also like to see pics on how the the damage was repaired.

If the pics offend delicate sensibilities...dont look.



--- In amelyachtowners@..., "Alejandro Paquin"
<alex.paquin@u...> wrote:

I see no point is removing the pictures. I totally agree with other
members reasoning for keeping the pictures and the forum open to wide
discussion on Amel and issues that can help Amel Owners.

I do think that, posting unrelated pictures of damage in Grenada (or
any other unrelated subject for that matter) is non conducive,

Hello Rainer,

small rubber gasket is for bowthruster shaft, just behind composite
propeller
Put new gaskets same side as old

Patrick
Caramel (SM 329)

Vito,

If your main boom was damaged, I have a 'spare' that you can have
for free. I rerigged my SM and have the original (my boat is a 1989
model) main boom stored in my backyard here in Florida. You can have
it for the price of shipping!

Richard Tate
SM#5 "Spice"

--- In amelyachtowners@..., asm283 <no_reply@y...> wrote:

Hello

My Super Maramu Wanderer was in Grenada during Hurricane Ivan. She
was on the hard in Spice Island marina. She sustained moderate
damage. Lost the Main Mast, rudder damage, bent chainplates and

water

got inside the boat. I did well as compared to other Super

Maramus. I

also did well as compared to other Oysters, Morris,halbergs and
Swans. I have pictures of stanctions going trough 1.3mm Oysters

and

sunk 72' swan, Halbergs with no rigs, benetaus without keels.

One of the reasons that you may be hearing so much about Amels is
that there were so many in Grenada. There were 15 in Spice Island
alone.

To Amels Credit they sent someone from Guadaloupe to acess the
damage. And Amel has also arranged for a barge to pick up the

striken

vessels and return them to France for repair. To my knowledge no
other company has done this. I spent quite a bit of time in

Grenada

after the hurricane. I think the damage you received was just the
luck of the draw. My boat could have easely been a write off if

she

had fallen a slightly different way or if the boat next to her had
fallen slightly different. Dont be lulled into a false sense of
security. Just because a hurricane has not hit a certain area in

49

years does not mean it cant be hit you next week. If you leave

your

boat in the tropics insist on extra stands, remove your masts,

tape

up the companionway. I am currently in Trinidad, another place

that

has not been hit in 50 years but is a death trap if a storm ever
comes here. Dont be complacent.

If anyone would like photos of Grenada you can e-mail me at

Wanderer@u...

I see no point is removing the pictures. I totally agree with other
members reasoning for keeping the pictures and the forum open to wide
discussion on Amel and issues that can help Amel Owners.

I do think that, posting unrelated pictures of damage in Grenada (or
any other unrelated subject for that matter) is non conducive,
because it distracts us from the main discussion and uses up valuable
space allotted to our Group. Besides there are tons of websites where
this pictures have already been published.

The rationale employed by those wanting the pictures removed sounded
more like censorship, which I can't agree with.

I think we can all learn from this and many other experiences
relating to this and other incidents.
We definitely need more participation. Too bad that it takes
something like this to get people interested.

Fair Winds and good weekend to all,
Alex Paquin

Richard, I support the proposition that this website is is to provide information of all sorts, without fear or favour, to do with Amel. For adverts, click onto amel.fr or read Joel Potter's endlessly informative adverts in Cruising World.
We have had Amels for nearly 16 years, a Sharki then a Maramu and now an SM .We are in Chile, about to sail to Argentina via the Horn and then cruise over the next two years up the Brazilian coast. We wouldn't have any other boat. We had plans to leave our boat ashore in Grenada in May 2006!Will now go to Trinidad, but as someone has already commented on this site, if an Ivan comes overhead you are in the lap of the Gods and it probably wouldnt matter if you were in a Sherman tank. Ian and Judy Jenkins, Pen Azen, Chile

From: "closereach" <closereach@...>
Reply-To: amelyachtowners@...
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Photos of damaged Amels - remove or not?
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2004 05:51:59 -0000



What do you--the members that make up this Forum--want? So far four
owners have spoken up: two to remove the photos; two to keep the
photos. This is your forum; if you have an opinion about this please
speak up!

I know why I started this Forum 3 years ago: to share knowledge about
these boats with other owners out there. The good. The bad. Seeing
photos of hurricane damaged Amels hasn't changed my opinion about
these great yachts. In fact, by posting the photos we--again--learned
something very interesting about our manufacturer. One of our members
reports that Amel arranged for a barge to pull 'their' boats out of
the water and to transport the damaged boats back to La Rochelle.
Hmmm. Has Swan or HR or Oyster gone that far?

I too am troubled by removing these photos. Where could this lead? To
censoring anything negative that comes up? We all have spent
considerable sums purchasing these yachts--could it be that we are so
concerned on resale value that we don't want any flaws or negative
findings to get 'out there'?

Some could say there was nothing to learn from these photos--but
morbid fascination. But is that true? Perhaps the owner the sunk
Mango/Maramu/Sharki will tell us if he/she had the watertight doors
shut tight or not. I learned that even putting the boats on the hard
didn't remove the boats from danger.

That's where I sit? What about you?

Richard Tate
SM #5 "Spice"







Yahoo! Groups Links

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself with cool new emoticons http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo

Just to give the controversy about above subject a positive twist:
My SM 143 "GIGUE" (as well as a SM of my friend) survived Ivan in
Grenada on the hard (St. Davids Harbor) without a scratch - at least
this is what I was told by the yard, my electrician and my insurance
agency. Next week I will convince myself that the miracle actually
happened.
Still, it would be wrong to attribute this to the fact that
it concerns an Amel yacht and in my opinion the same holds true for
the sunken SM pictured. I believe the survival of my boat has to do
with the location of the yard, the size and weight of the boat, it's
souroundings (big boats) and the way it was stored.
Frankly I was irritated and astonished when I read the request to
remove the pictures and I have problems to understand the reasoning.
What I would be most interested however to learn is why exactly the
boat went aground - maybe we all could benefit and then we might be
thankful that this picture was posted.
Rainer Bichlbauer

I agree with Richard, the purpose of the site must be to share experiences and seek advice, good or bad. To censor items that show up shortcomings and design errors would be totally unacceptable and would in my opinion render the site useless. Being a proud owner of a Santorin for several years and having visited the factory I am totally convinced of the outstanding design and build quality of Amel. We do not need a sanitised view of our boats, in my opinion good open debate can only in the long term lead to an even better product.

Happy Sails

Dennis Woods

Khamsin B

I got from Amel 5 parts to replace the seals on the bow thruster.
Since I have never done this before myself I am not sure how to
position those parts. My assumption is:
1. Two of the foam rubber rings be placed outside the hull on the
shaft of the bow thruster.
2. One of the foam rubber rings to be placed inside the hull on the
shaft.
3. The large rubber gasket (ring) to be placed where the shaft
penetrates the hull - but wich side upside???
4. And there is a small rubber gasket (ring)and I have no clue were
to put it?
If there is anyone who knows how to do it I would be very thankful
for the relevant information.
Rainer Bichlbauer

I am glad you call for opinion. Like others I have been surprised by the
quick removal of the pictures.
In my humble view I do not see anything morbid here, but rather informative.
Not only for those who had a boat there, but for all of us looking for a safe
place at this time of the year. This was an eye opener and definitely had its
place in this forum. And in no way I believe it was counterproductive for Amel
or Amel owners.
This year my boat was safely kept in Greece, another sailing paradise, but it
could have been there. I will think twice next time.
Fair wind to all, and keep this forum alive.
G P, Greenlight, Santorin 132

What do you--the members that make up this Forum--want? So far four
owners have spoken up: two to remove the photos; two to keep the
photos. This is your forum; if you have an opinion about this please
speak up!

I know why I started this Forum 3 years ago: to share knowledge about
these boats with other owners out there. The good. The bad. Seeing
photos of hurricane damaged Amels hasn't changed my opinion about
these great yachts. In fact, by posting the photos we--again--learned
something very interesting about our manufacturer. One of our members
reports that Amel arranged for a barge to pull 'their' boats out of
the water and to transport the damaged boats back to La Rochelle.
Hmmm. Has Swan or HR or Oyster gone that far?

I too am troubled by removing these photos. Where could this lead? To
censoring anything negative that comes up? We all have spent
considerable sums purchasing these yachts--could it be that we are so
concerned on resale value that we don't want any flaws or negative
findings to get 'out there'?

Some could say there was nothing to learn from these photos--but
morbid fascination. But is that true? Perhaps the owner the sunk
Mango/Maramu/Sharki will tell us if he/she had the watertight doors
shut tight or not. I learned that even putting the boats on the hard
didn't remove the boats from danger.

That's where I sit? What about you?

Richard Tate
SM #5 "Spice"