The yards of sailing boats are more and more adapted to the needs expressed by the new owners who are not necessarily experienced sailors and ask for safe and simple boats to manage in navigation and more comfortable when they are standing still. The sail aspect is important but not decisive because they also look for other items before buying a boat.
Starting from the deck that must always be more livable in navigation but especially when standing still either in the harbor or in a port. With wells that are lowered more and more because below deck space is required to be dedicated to the cabins and always wider to make room for new elements of comfort. The hull must have a very stable and performing hull with a draft that allows you to enter every tourist port of the world. It must be a boat, where it is a pleasure to sail in any condition, safe to manage by a limited crew either for short two-day or longer cruises, around the world.
Precisely to meet these needs the famous French shipyard Amel Yachts founded by Henri Amel in 1965 based in La Rochelle is known for the production of ocean-going ketch sailboats (with two trees) has built a new sailboat that represents a real and it is an innovation for the shipyard because unlike all the other boats built in the past, it is a sloop no ketch. It is a boat with a single shaft 50 feet long (15 meters) called Amel 50 designed by the Barret-Racoupeau studio created to navigate around the world in complete safety but with a simplified boat management.
As the designer Olivier Racoupeau points out: “the development of technical equipment such as motorized winders makes it possible to maneuver a 50-foot sloop more easily and today ketching is no longer necessary on a boat of this size”. A sloop is certainly easier to manage than a ketch so open the roads for family crews or groups of friends who do not necessarily have to be experienced ocean navigators to manage navigation.Regarding the moment of launch, a person put at the disposal of the shipyard remains a week on board with the owner and his family to explain all the characteristics of the boat.
With this boat the French shipyard has set itself the goal of enlarging its market by attracting a new clientele different from the past also coming from motor boats.
The hull of Amel 50 keeps unchanged all the structural peculiarities of its older brothers the two ketch Amel 55 and Amel 64 but thanks to a length and the lower draft can enter and stop in bays and marinas with even lower depths. In addition, the hull has its maximum beam a little ‘more backward and fades aft to a lesser extent than previous vessels to increase stability and comfort at sea.
The central cockpit is protected, due to the presence of a hard top ed mouse under which there is the wheelhouse with two rudders to increase maneuverability and to allow the boat to always run dry in any weather conditions and to keep everything underneath control. In fact all the maneuvers are sent back to the cockpit apart from some adjustments of the bow sail that are made from the mast with dedicated winches. Small joysticks allow you to adjust the sails and everything happens with the utmost simplicity. While the free surfaces of the cockpit are dedicated to relaxation and to the boat’s management hardware.
Automation prevails over manual skills, this certainly will not appeal to everyone but Amen 50 is born for this, to simplify the technical management to always enjoy the pleasure of navigation.
The Amen 50 blanket is a little rounded to recover height below deck. The interior layout consists of two large and elegant cabins with double beds and a third with two bunk beds and can comfortably accommodate up to six guests, with ample space for storage and lots of natural light coming from the portholes and window hard top. The layout is completed by the presence of a large kitchen equipped to navigate long independently.
The propulsion of the boat is always guaranteed for the presence in the engine room of a 110 hp diesel engine.
Amel 50 has been awarded at the European Yacht of the Year 2018 in the Luxury Cruiser category.
