Amel Maramu for Survey and Seatrial in Leros, Greece

I am back in sunny Leros for a week! 

Todays Survey assignment was for Pre-Purchase which also includes a Valuation and a full Sea trial. 

Renowned as one of the most perfect cruising yachts ever created, the Amel Maramu and her big sister the Supermaramu (which I have also Surveyed) have all the features that one could possibly wish for to explore the most remote corners of the world in safety and comfort. 

The centre cockpit provides a well-protected area with a large amount of space to relax, dine and to keep the skipper company underway. It is fitted with removable clears and sunshades to cater for all sort of weather.

With a short draft for a boat of this size at only 6'5", she is ideal for tidal areas or for sailing amongst reefs, while her keel is still substantial enough to give her very good tracking ability and pointing remarkably high when sailing upwind. 

This jobs all about Island Hopping!

Inside, the Amel’s magnificent skills and attention to detail are visible everywhere. The timberwork and joinery is exquisite. The wide-open salon centres around a versatile table with wings on either side that can be lifted to accommodate more guests, each side seating 4-5 people comfortably. 

Storage is exceptional throughout and will easily rival a 60’ cruising yacht. The 2-cabins / 2-bathroom layout is perfect to give the owners plenty of privacy and for their guests to also have a little ‘apartment’ of their own forward, with a door separating their cabin, wardrobe and head area from the rest of the boat.  

A very large quarter berth in the salon has a swing-out backrest that is hinged in a way to become a comfortable lee-sheet, making this berth an ideal spot to rest between watches at sea. 

The galley is very large and designed in a way to be safe to use in all conditions. As with the rest of the boat, storage is abundant and well-thought of , so to have room for everything you need on a long voyage without cluttering the boat.

The aft cabin is exceptionally large for a boat of this size, with a proper queen size berth, huge amount of storage, very good headroom and it’s own access to the ensuite head / shower area.

Survey conclusion and review: 

All Amels, since 1967, have been built with Amel designed biaxial fiberglass cloth. This is a flat woven fiberglass cloth that is much stronger in sheer and tension than conventional mat and woven roving laminates.

The hull is moulded in one piece incorporating one piece/non-spliced lengths of biaxial cloth running from bulwark, down through the keel/centreline, and up to the opposite bulwark. In the same fashion the next series of laminates run from the bow lengthwise to the stern, again, employing one piece/non-spliced length of biaxial cloth.

The deck assembly is built in a similar fashion. While the hull is a sold fiberglass laminate with no core, the deck assembly employs a core of vertical end grain balsa in strategic horizontal areas to enhance stiffness and is insulation from heat and noise. There are also substrates of "Iron Wood" in the deck assembly where cleats and the windlass are installed to easily accommodate the increased compression and shearing loads in the foredeck.

After all the structural assemblies are completely installed, the separately completed deck assembly is joined to the hull, (again, while it is still in the mould) with six layers of the same biaxial cloth used in the primary lamination, around the entire hull to deck interface. 

What is accomplished, effectively, is the elimination of a conventional hull to deck joint. The hull and deck are married with a homogeneous fiberglass matrix, which insures a strong and lee free hull and deck join for the entire life of the vessel.

Found an Amel Yacht in Greece and need help? 

Drop me a message at steventruss1@aol.com