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New to group

jason.ellis@...
 

Hello all,


First, let me say I'm a bit nervous posting this message.  I don't want to appear to be an outsider barging in on a tight knit group.  The conversation here is so much better than over at Cruising Forums.  Too many armchair sailors....

OK, here's my story:

We are looking to take off and do some long distance cruising in around 6 years.  Essentially, we want our son to skip Junior High and travel at that time.  I have a good amount of blue water/coastal miles and tons of racing as experience. 99% of the time will be wife, myself and our son.  I expect to have additional family or friends along for super long ocean crossings.

I'm currently crewing on a Tayana 52 for regular coastal races.  I've been sailing wtih this same guy for the last 20 years on his J-37, J-105 and now Tayana.  While I really like the Tayana, it just isn't very friendly for shorthanded sailing.

 My first encounter with the Amel boats was watching the SV Delos videos on YouTube.  I started noticing little design features that I really liked.  

We also looked at a SM 2000 Redline that's here in Houston.  I hope that the owner doesn't get offended if he sees this.  But the boat looked like it just wasn't maintained very well.  Played hard, put up wet.  Anyway, it was way out of our current price range.  The good news is that I was able to spend some time in it pulling up all of the cushions and hatches and really explore the boat.  Some really cool design features.

So, I have done a ton of searching on YachtWorld and have a few questions for you all.  We are only looking at boats over 45 ft. which leads us to the Mango, Santorin, Maramu and Super Maramu.

Are there any model years that you should be wary of?  Glass or blister problems?
It appears that each successive model got a bit bigger and utilized lessons learnt from the previous model.  Anything that we should avoid?  

I want to purchase within 3-4 years.  So, we are planning on regular European trips to go boat hunting across the pond.

In general, any advice would be much appreciated.  My ears are open and I have no real opinions yet.

Thanks for letting me join the group!

Jason
seafeverofcuan@...
 

Hi Jason,

             The European equivalent  to Joel Potter is Michel Charpentier sadly he does not tend to make regular contributions to this group in the manner Joel does.

Charpentier is held in very high regard across Europe especially for Amel. I bought my own boat through him and found him to be a man of the highest integrity . 

Either way you have two first class representatives to help source your Amel.

I would recommend that you make both of these people aware of your plans and they will eventually guide you to the right vessel.

I have sailed a Super Maramu half way around the world either with one crew member or single handed if there is a better boat for the cruising that you aspire to I don't know what it is.



Fair winds.

Trevor Lusty

Sea Fever of Cuan

SM425

Mexico

 
Ian Park
 

From my very limited experience of Amel I think an early decision might be around a 12v or 24 v system. We bought a Santorin with the 12v system and an additional prop shaft alternator ( which works very well when sailing). But we don't have a genset. But we don't have a freezer, air con, washing machine either. We love the SM 2000 which has all of these, but our way of cruising is fine without them and we anted a 14m boat.
So check out with the family what equipment you want to cruise with or without - I am guessing then that any that you listed will be more than adequate for the job. The build and engineering is pretty bulletproof.

Ian and Linda SN 96 Ocean Hobo
jason.ellis@...
 

Hey everyone!  Thanks for the warm welcome.  The good news is that I'm more or less on the same page as everyone else around here.  As usual, look like "must haves" and budget will determine much of what we buy.


Are there any younger folks on here?  I'd be interested in any specifics for living aboard an Amel with a kid in tow.


Much thanks!


Jason
Dave_Benjamin
 

Any well cared for Amel will be a great choice. But why wait until your son is older? By the time they are junior high school age, they can be more resistant to change and are more influenced by what their friends think. 

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