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Amel, the innovator in the cruising world

Let’s look at the Meltem and its very original layout at the time (remember, it was born in the early 70s and most probably conceived in the late 60s). Henry Amel and his Meltem had a profound effect on generations of cruisers. Let me explain why.

Boats in the 70s were racers/cruisers. In other word the IOR of the time was tweaked to produce winning boat, sometimes with bizarre shape. Beneteau and other yards would then take a winning design (but a bare bone racing machine), load it with berths, table, a galley and would create a racer/cruiser. The result was often a poor racer (unless everything inside was stripped out and a new rig and sail plan was added) and a poor uncomfortable cruiser.

Henry Amel finally built a super smart CRUISER packed with practical solutions. No more stupid racer/cruiser!

Let me explain you why:

  • The wheel is placed port in the cockpit. That totally makes sense for anybody cruising: you are sheltered from bad weather, all instruments are also in front of you, and sheltered as well from the elements. You are on auto pilot most of the time anyway.
  • Large fixed ports on each side bring lots of light
  • Massive (1,500 liters i.e. 400 gallons) fresh water tank centered and in the keel.
  • There is superb air circulation through the boat. Not only from the three entrances but also from four large sliding windows.
  • Massive (270 liters i.e 100 gallons on port and 470 liters i.e. 125 gallons on starboard, under the navigator’s berth) diesel tanks with enough to ver 1,000 miles.
  • Very large and deep bilge going deep into the keel
  • Numerous very deep lockers under the floorboards.
  • Standing engine room. With an engine you can service and remove with your boom if you need a new one. Can you believe it? No more servicing after the removing  the sole steps leading outside. No need to cut the deck open to add a generator or replace the engine. And you can STAND in it, change your oil without cutting your finger!
  • Batteries placed low near the center of gravity (but unfortunately too hot, next to the engine)
  • Very large Cockpit with HUGE lockers
  • Hard cockpit dodger, with two wide and clear opening hatches
  • Four large watertight bow lockers
  • Little need for lines cutters on the shaft as the propellor is very protected.
  • No bow thruster (a Vetus 6KW thruster was added in our Meltem later and placed under the forward steps)
  • Three totally separate entrances: the main one leads to the salon / galley / chart table, a second leads to the aft owner’s cabin, a third leads to the forward cabin.
  • The navigator is treated with a full cabin with two doors.
  • Powerful 125 HP turbo Yanmar with a traditional shaft. A stuffing box is easy to maintain, has been around for more than 60 years. Packing material is braided twine easily found anywhere in the world.
  • Exceptionally strong emergency tiller system.
  • The salon cushions convert into a great double bed.
  • There is a great starboard berth in the salon.
  • The bench and table extension are a marvel of mahogany carpentry, a highlight of the Amel yard.
  • Both the aft and the main entrance are outfitted with double boards: one sliding up from the interior, and an additional three piece board systems you connect outside.
  • Both the bilge and the fresh water tanks are equipped with a rugged tube and a floater so you know exactly what level you are at.

But the Meltem was not perfect

The Meltem was outfitted with a short lived complex diesel Perkins stove/boiler. It served multiple purposes:

  • Hot cast iron plates to cook (but to get them hot enough would take a lot of time). Same with the oven.
  • The boiler was used as central heating throughout the boat, with three radiators, two towel heaters in the heads, and hot water.

Mr. Carteau (the person running the yard behind the visionary Henri Amel) admitted the boiler was not running well and leaks developed in the brazed connections of the radiators.

Cooking meals in the summer was a complex operation as it required turning off the central heating, with potential additional leaks. 

The Meltem was maybe built for guys in the 70’s. Very few women were sailing at the time and that explains few items missing:

  • No washing machine (we added one). Cleaning your clothes was a rare event.
  • No space for a dishwasher. At the time you were dragging heavily soiled pans behind you.
  • One or two large freezers. Nowadays there is less reliance on canned food and fishing is out of question with the Ciguatera more common with fish, unless you catch them offshore.
  • There were no grey water and black holding tanks. There were very few boats cruising back then. At the time you never had to reserve a spot in the Riviera in the middle of the summer, you just showed up. We had to add one later (it is easy given the amount of space in various lockers).
  • That was also the time when we never used sunscreen and clothes were optional, even with old dudes…

Then came the famous Super Maramu

The Super Maramu, with nearly 500 units built until 2004, brought tremendous success for the Amel yard. And for a reason: even today and anywhere in the world you go cruising you will find one (if not many) Super Maramus at anchor.

The Super Maramu built upon the success of the Meltem (and also the Maramu and Santorin) with few changes:

  • There is a retractable, Amel specific, bow thruster.
  • A cloth washer and a dish washer will be later added.
  • The sink is unfortunately facing aft.
  • More watertight bulkheads were built at the bow and at the stern.
  • The engine room was widened (but the very large and deep cockpit locker was now gone)
  • The additional storm boards for the main entrance are gone.
  • The standard straight shaft was gone and a custom Amel C drive with a 90 degree angle was added. The gear box is filled with oil and requires proprietary Amel seals.

Unfortunately several items were omitted:

  • The separate entrance aft of the owner’s cabin is gone and now requires you to through the navigator’s passageway, with little privacy. Several owners added a ladder going from the bed to the aft hatch, but it requires young and skinny bodies…
  • The starboard berth is gone, along the movable bench.
  • The door leading to the engine room is now gone because the diesel tank is placed between the engine room and the navigator’s passageway. 
  • The starboard diesel tank is replaced by the batteries locker under the navigator’s berth.

The Amel 55 is an evolution of the Super Maramu based on the years of learning.

  • The hard cockpit dodger, Meltem style, is back. The soft canvas on the Super Maramu needed to be replaced regularly and did not provide enough protection, so over the years Super Maramu owners started building hard dodgers over their cockpit.
  • New owners want a center large aft bed. That was made possible with the trend toward very large transoms.
  • Storage is reduced in the forward lockers, compensated by a very large lazarette.
  • The C drive is maintained.

A tsunami of changes has hit Amel

The Amel 50 is both a return to Amel’s roots and in line with modern sexy sailboat designs such as twin rudders (the large aft transom requires that), single carbon fiber mast (no more ketch), twin stays for genoa and staysail.

Of course some of the hard core Super Maramu owners complain that Amel gave away its soul to the devil.

  • The return to the Meltem design is evidenced by:
    • A traditional straight shaft, easier to maintain than the custom Amel C-drive. Discussing leaks, dismantling and maintaining that C-drive is a common subject among Super Maramu, 54 and 55 owners. That requires specific Amel parts and very few yards have that experience.
    • Very large hard dodger with wide acrylic windows and hatches
    • The large fixed ports are back to bring a lot of light.
  • The new design :
    • The stern is getting bigger and flatter. It requires now two rudders that are no longer protected by a skeg. Expect very fast downwind runs in the breeze, assuming you have the skills to surf the waves. Upwind in a storm may become a challenge, but Amel found from its owners that they prefer trade winds cruising.
    • The navigator’s cabin is gone and replaced by the galley. A navigator’s berth around the centerline is the best spot in heavy seas, especially upwind, but that may not be the focus of the Amel 50.
    • Amel gave up on the electric custom Amels and switched to more reliable units found on single handed racing boats.
    • No more cozy mahogany furniture. Here comes light wood and airy space. Be ready to fly on the other side of the massive salon.
    • A  stern thruster is required by the higher freeboard and a wide stern.
    • More instruments, more electric machinery, A/C, fridge and freezer drawers, Miele washing machine, microwave, induction stovetop and oven…All of that requires now more power, bigger generator, solar, Lithium batteries. If you are not an electrical engineer be ready for the steep learning curve.

The Amel 50 and her big sister Amel 60 are simply magnificent sailing yachts. The design is superb and sexy. Again Amel went against the tide to produce dreams for generations of would-be Amel owners.