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The Boat



Buying an Amel is akin to joining a clan of like-minded sailors, of which there are thousands around the world cruising happily.  Amel owners are almost a cult.  New owners are brought to the Amel facilities in France and given a week of introduction to their new boat and its systems. Then the new boat normally is sailed on its own bottom, either by the new owner or by Amel’s delivery crew, to her new home.  S/V BeBe left the Amel factory on 23 January 2003 and sailed across the Atlantic to Guadeloupe in the French West Indies of the Caribbean.  As we were not the first owners of this yacht, we missed out on the week-long factory orientation.  It took 2 full years of living aboard and cruising for us to become fully acquainted with the unique Amel features.


 
LOA 52’6” (16 m.)
LWL 41’4” (12.6 m.)
Draft 6’3”–6’8” (1.9–2.05 m.)
Beam 15’3” (4.6 m.)
Displ. 35,840 lbs. (16,257 kg.)
Ballast 12,320 lbs. (5,588 kg.)
Sail Area (100%) 945.4 sq. ft. (125 sq. m.)
Auxiliary 100 hp. Yanmar turbo-diesel
Fuel 158 gals. (600 l.)
Water 264 gals. (1,000 l.)
Sail Area/Displ. 14.12
Displ./Length 223
Ballast/Displ. 34.37%
Beam/LOA 32%


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ACCOMMODATIONS
The interior accommodation is finished in burl cut plantation grown African mahogany with a semi-gloss polyurethane varnish. The overheads are cream colored vinyl. The sole in the saloon and galley are blue GRP with mahogany trim (and wonderfully large deep dry storage lockers beneath) with blue wool carpet in the staterooms and hallways.

Beginning in the forepeak and working aft there is a large chain locker that is isolated from the accommodation by a genuine full height watertight collision bulkhead with a watertight door allowing access into the chain locker.

The guest stateroom is just aft and has a very large V-berth with 2 single berths.  A filler panel and cushion are provided that can convert this V-berth into a large double berth to port with a single berth to starboard. There is a writing desk hung on the bulkhead that easily folds down or up as required.

Just aft to starboard is a very generously sized hanging locker with the guest head opposite to port.  The guest head has a vanity with extra deep wash basin, electric Jabsco marine toilet with holding tank, and an integral shower with a well designed spray curtain that effectively provides a stall shower. 
The head includes 6 large deep storage cubicles.   A laundry drying rack folds up flat against the wall.  Mirrors were replaced in August 2015.
Original upholstery

Just aft of the head area is the saloon. The saloon is separated from the forward accommodation by a genuine full height watertight collision bulkhead with a submarine type watertight door. The saloon contains a very spacious U-shaped dinette with table to port with a couch/love-seat opposite to starboard. Outboard of the couch is a pull-out pilot/sea berth with a detachable privacy curtain. Outboard of the sea berth are very deep storage lockers. A virtually identical locker arrangement is opposite all the way outboard to port less the television compartment. The storage space in the saloon is extremely impressive.



Reupholstered in ivory Ultraleather with new cushions



NOTE:  While in Barcelona, Spain, during August 2015, the main saloon was re-upholstered.  The channeled back and seats were changed to flat smooth, with a small thicker curved back support all around.  The seats and backs were reupholstered in ivory shade of Ultraleather; HR foam (high resiliency foam) with 25mm (1-inch) visco-elastic foam (memory foam) overall.  It has double needle stitching on all visible seams.  We feel like this brightens the room and is an updated style and the ivory color blends well with the remaining original Amel fabric in forward cabin and passage berth.  The seat at the nav station also was changed to the Ultraleather and thicker foam was used than original. 


The full sized navigation station is aft of the saloon to starboard with the U-shaped galley directly opposite to port. The navigation station faces outboard with a large chart table and a pylon seat. There is storage inside the chart table for navigation supplies as well as two drawers and two lockers just beneath. Just next to the navigation station is a large hanging locker, suitable for jackets and foul weather gear.

The passageway to the aft cabin contains a single berth with the battery containment compartment just beneath. This is a superb seaberth that will guarantee a restful sleep in even the worst of conditions as it is located quite low inside the vessel and very close to the forward-aft pitch axis.

The owner’s stateroom is all the way aft and has a genuine full height watertight collision bulkhead at its entry with a submarine style watertight door. There is another genuine full-height watertight bulkhead at the extreme aft end of the owner’s stateroom, partitioning this cabin from the huge “garage” lazarette accessed from on deck. The owners stateroom has an en suite head to port that contains a vanity with an extra deep wash basin, an electric Jabsco Marine toilet with holding tank, and an integral shower with a well designed spray curtain that effectively replicates a stall shower. The owners' stateroom includes a small settee and queen berth, as well as a nice sized vanity table with swing-out seat.  A locker door above the vanity table is equipped with a mirror mounted on the interior side of the door.   Mounted on the exterior side of the head door is a full-length mirror.





GALLEY
The U-shaped galley is located in the port side after quarter of the saloon. This galley is, truly, an ergonomic “tour de force” that will be very much appreciated by a seagoing gourmet both when offshore or in harbor. There is plenty of counter space for meal preparation and an abundance of storage both in and about the galley so that the sailing chef can have all the conveniences found in a shore side kitchen without the usual clutter present in most fully equipped sailboat galleys. 






  • Double very deep Sinks with dish drainer insert section that mounts into either sink
  • Stainless Steel 4 Burner Gas Stove
  • Gas Oven beneath Stove
  • Microwave/Convection/Grill Oven
  • Dishwasher          
  • Front Access Fridge/Freezer 24Volt
  • Two Top Access Deep Freezers 24 Volt
  • Galley Ventilator Exhaust Fan/24 Volt
  • Clothes Washer NOTE:  Replaced August 2015 with new Bosch Series 4 clothes washer.



CONFIGURATION and CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
CONFIGURATION:
Probably best described as a center cockpit, the cockpit area in the AMEL SUPER MARAMU is situated deep within the vessel for enhanced security and to minimize undesirable motion. The steering station is in the forward port side quarter of the cockpit where it can be completely protected from sun, spray, rain and other undesirable environmental conditions. The cockpit is exceptionally comfortable as the seat backs and the seats themselves are ergonomically designed to conform to the human anatomy with subtle curves in just the right places. As we tend to live in the cockpit, Amel went to great lengths to make this area the most comfortable room in the house. The hard dodger protects the cockpit from the sea and spray while the extendable/pull out bimini keeps the sun and rain away. If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing the uncommon comfort of the SUPER MARAMU cockpit, be sure to spend a few minutes investigating this for yourself when you get aboard.

The forward deckhouse is a wedge configuration. Both the forward and aft deckhouses are bordered by sidedecks that are unencumbered by rigging or equipment. It is quite easy and safe to make your way about the decks on board the SUPER MARAMU.
Each and every element of the deck design was drawn, reconsidered, and then ultimately configured to provide the optimum in functionality, comfort, and security. Amel’s 30 plus years of experience with offshore sailing boat design really shows everywhere aboard the SUPER MARAMU 2000.

The hull is an evolution of Henri Amel’s cruising keel and skeg hung rudder philosophy that he helped popularize for cruising boats in the early 1950's. The raked bow with semi-rounded forefoot provides a fast yet sea-kindly face to the waves. The wide low aspect ratio keel gives up maybe a couple of degrees in pointing ability in providing an exceptionally strong and secure mount for the external ballast. All 1000 liters/264 gallons of fresh water are carried in the stub keel, not only providing a double bottom but keeping the weight of the water quite low in the boat (and not in tanks under settees where they would rob storage). The keel has long wings, which not only aid stiffness and weatherlyness, but also act as pitch stabilizers when going 5 knots or better. The keel has a flat bottom and is wide enough to allow the boat to stand, unsupported, on the keel. However, we strongly urge you to use support stands when on the hard.

The propeller is mounted on the trailing edge of the keel where it is well immersed and very well protected from sea junk. It is also not under the bed in the owner’s cabin, as in most center cockpit designs, allowing you to sleep when powering. Propeller noise is effectively marginalized.

The rudder is hung from a massive full-length skeg assembly that can support the entire laden weight of the vessel in case of a grounding.

The hull’s run aft is wide enough to support powerful reaching performance yet shaped with a gradual buoyancy increase so when immersed in waves to impart a steady ride in a sea way. In conjunction with the same gradual buoyancy increase in the bow, there is a very predictable and linier motion at sea.

 As in all elements of the entire vessel’s design, the hull and deck were conceived to do their job properly and efficiently, not to have a certain look or to make a fashion statement. In cruising yacht design, as in nature, the most satisfactory results are achieved when form follows function.

CONSTRUCTION:
The Amel Super Maramu has a construction technique that is absolutely unique in the industry. The yield is an extremely strong and solid one piece hull and deck assembly; a true monocoque.

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. It is lighter, stronger, and better. The hull is molded in one piece incorporating one piece/non-spliced lengths of biaxial cloth running from bulwark, down through the keel/centerline, 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 lengths of biaxial cloth. The deck assembly is built in a similar fashion. While the hull is a solid fiberglass laminate with no core, the deck assembly employs a core of Baltek 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.

While the completed one-piece hull is still in the mold, ALL the furniture and structural bulkheads, less non-structural drawers and cabinet faces, are installed. 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 mold) with six layers of the same biaxial cloth used in the primary laminations, around the entire hull to deck interface. What this accomplishes, 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 leak free hull and deck join for the entire life of the vessel.


ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
12-Volt D.C. Ships Engine Start System
12-Volt D.C. Regulated 30 Amp supply for computers and other 12V items
24-Volt D.C. Ships House Supply System
220-Volt A.C. Ships Generator System
220-Volt A.C. Ships Shore Power System
220-Volt A.C. Ships Inverter System

The 12-Volt D.C. ships engine start system draws from one 160AH Lead cell battery to provide starting current to both the main engine and the generator. This battery is charged by a 50 amp 12-volt engine driven alternator and/or by an 18 amp 12-volt alternator on the diesel generator. When connected to shore power this battery is charged by a 6 amp 230V battery charger. This battery is totally isolated and cannot be co-mingled with the house supply batteries. It can, however, be jumped from the house supply batteries with the provided jumper cables if it ever needs to be.

The 24-volt D.C. ships house supply battery banks consists of twelve 12-volt/110 amp hour Freedom  marine batteries, in series connection by pairs, providing 630 ampere hours of capacity at 24-volts. These batteries are charged by the following; a 175 amp 24-volt engine driven alternator as well as the following: 220-volt chargers; Dolphin 100 amp automatic charger and a Dolphin 30 amp automatic charger.

All the ship’s batteries are secured within and locked down inside of a fiberglass containment system that is both waterproof and vapor proof. The house batteries and the starting battery are deep cycle Varta Freedom (A25) batteries.

The house batteries are monitored by a Link10 digital monitoring unit, which shows voltage, amps out, and amps into the house batteries. The battery compartment temperature is digitally monitored with an alarm set to sound at 40c.

Arch supports solar panels, passarelle when docked, and dinghy at anchor
The ship’s 24-volt D.C. house supply system is controlled by an all circuit breaker master panel.

The house batteries are charged by any/all of the following:



  • 175 Amp 24 volt main engine driven alternator
  • 100 Amp 24 volt 230VAC charger energized by the Onan generator
  • 30 Amp 24 volt 230VAC charger energized by the Onan generator
  • 405 Watt Solar System consisting of 3 each Kyocera KD 135GX-LFPS 135-watt multi-crystalline solar panels mounted on a stainless steel stern arch/davit and regulated by a Victron Energy Blue Solar 75/50 MPPT


The ship’s 12-Volt D.C. Regulated 30 Amp supply for computers and other 12V items is controlled by an all circuit breaker master panel.

The 220-volt A.C. 7.5 KW ship’s diesel generator is an ONAN unit with a fresh water-cooled three-cylinder diesel power plant. The generator has 3000 hours of use as of July 2015. It is mounted in the engine room on hydro-feet and is nearly noiseless in operation.

The 220 Volt A.C. ships inverter is a Prosine unit that provides 1500 watts from 24 volt house batteries. Both the 220-volt A.C. ship’s diesel generator and the 220-volt A.C. ships shore power system are controlled by an all circuit breaker master control panel. There are 220-volt outlets located conveniently throughout the accommodation. There is a ground fault interrupter in the primary 220 supply line.

If only 110-volt A.C. is available dockside, there is a provided doubler power cord that converts two 110- volt dockside outlets into one 220-volt supply outlet.


NAVIGATION ELECTRONICS and ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS
 
Brooks and Gatehouse (B&G) Hydra 2000 Classic Package 
B&G Analog Apparent Wind Director At the Helm
B&G Analog Apparent Wind Speed At the Helm
B&G Analog Knotmeter At the Helm
B&G Analog Fathometer At the Helm
B&G Digital FFD/Full Function Display 
B&G  Sonic Speed Knotmeter Transducer 
Thrane and Thrane 6216 Sailor VHF with DSC
Furuno 1832 Radar with ARP10 auto-acquisition 
Furuno Electro-Magnetic Heading Sensor
Furuno 1503 S.S.B. at the Nav Station - Tuner In the aft lazarette
Furuno GP80 GPS Receiver At the Navigation Station 
Furuno GP30 GPS In the Aft Stateroom
AMEC CAMINO-101 Class B AIS transponder with on/off and SRM transmit switch
Garmin 72 GPS Receiver Handheld/portable 
ICOM handheld VHF (2)
Raymarine Autohelm S3G Course Computer & 7001+ Autopilot At the Helm 

Raymarine Electro-Magnetic Heading Sensor
Raymarine Autohelm Linear Drive Motor to Quadrant
Raymarine Second Autohelm drive motor to main steering rack 
PC computer with 15" monitor at the Nav Station and 15" daylight viewable monitor at the helm
PC is Integrated with all ships navigation and running Maxsea for navigation.
PC computer identical to the above as a backup...preloaded and ready to hot-swap 
Remote waterproof 15-inch monitor for PC Navigation at the helm
HP Color Printer/Scanner
Plastimo Steering Compass At the Helm 
Silva inclinometer At the Helm 
Chronometer, Barometer, Hygrometer At the Navigation Station
JVC AM-FM-CD-DVD-iPOD Stereo At the Navigation Station
2, Interior Stereo Speakers Forward facing on galley bulkhead
2, External Stereo Speakers Aft facing in dodger coaming.
19" LCD T.V. and DVD in the saloon
 
Long Range amplified IslandTime.com WI-FI antenna (1 mile range) 
WD TV Live Hub with 3tb of video entertainment
TEAC 19" Color TV and Monitor for the WD TV Live Hub
Bose Stereo sound system for the WD TV Live Hub
BeBe's Electronic Interconnections and Redundancy 


SAILS and RIGGING
Mastheaded ketch rig with AMEL designed and constructed furling on the jib, main, and mizzen. The main and jib furlers can be operated electrically or manually. The mizzen is manual operation only. Additionally, the main sheet traveler and the jib sheet cars can be positioned from the cockpit area. Like all SUPER MARAMUS, this boat has the exclusive AMEL double headsail balooner system. For those who have not experienced this, you are in for a treat. It allows one person to control 1431 square feet of off-the-wind headsail from the cockpit without effort.

The standing rigging is 1x 19 stainless steel wire with Stalock fittings and open barrel chromed bronze turnbuckles. The aluminum alloy spars and booms are zinc chromated, primed and then painted in cream colored polyurethane. Both masts are deck stepped to massive compression assemblies that carry the compression loads into the hull.

Winches are all by Lewmar and all are self-tailing. The primary cockpit winches are powered yet can also be operated manually, as is the mainsheet winch. 
The Super Maramu 2000 is equipped with 2 electric winches (type LEWMAR 58 CEST) for the jib sheet. Under the mizzen mast is the electric winch (LEWMAR 40 CEST) for the mainsheet.

SAILS:
  • Hydra Net Triradial Mainsail (New 2014)
  • Hydra Net Triradial Genoa (New 2014)
  • Hydra Net Triradial Mizzen (New 2014) 
  • Asymmetrical (In Sock)
  • Ballooner (twin Genoa)
  • Mizzen Asymmetrical (In Sock)
There are appropriate sheets, lines, winch handles, blocks and vangs for proper operation of all sails.


ENGINE
100 H.P. YANMAR Marine Diesel, 4 cylinder. 4 cycle. Turbo-charged (turbo only comes into play on the last 15% of the power curve). Fresh water-cooled. 2.7:1 Hurth mechanical reduction gear. 1:1 AMEL designed and constructed C-DRIVE system. Three bladed AUTOPROP automatic feathering propeller with a SPURS line cutter (also new 3-blade non-feathering propeller stored on-board). Dual Racor water separator. Engine mounted fuel filter.
The engine, and most all of the vessel’s machinery, is mounted in a very spacious engine room that allows easy and unencumbered access to all the machinery for inspection, service and repair. This is a true step in/stand up engine room that contains all the noise, heat, and mess of the machinery thereby keeping it all out of the accommodations. The engine has 3700 hours as of July 2015.
STEERING
Pull-pull rack and pinion system employing sheathed stainless steel cables/rods. The cables run in greased tubes and have no wear points as in systems that use wire and pulleys. There is a finely engineered and fitted emergency tiller system provided that would allow one to steer from atop the aft trunk cabin.
THROUGH HULLS
There is a single ballcock type valved through-hull below the waterline and, three ballcock type through hulls above the waterline, and a removable transducer for the depth meter. The rudder shaft has a conventional stuffing box.
GROUND TACKLE
As with all genuine cruising boats, the ground tackle aboard the SUPER MARAMU is sturdy, well engineered, and easy to deploy and retrieve. The primary anchor can be set and retrieved from the cockpit without effort with the windlass remote control. Specific ground tackle includes:
•           Double Bow Rollers
•           Remote Control for Windlass-at Helm
•           100 meter Anchor Chain new in 2014
•           30kg Stainless Wasi Bugel 
•           30kg Delta anchor,25 meter Chain/100m nylon rode  
•           Lofrans 1200 Watt Windlass
•           Digital Chain Counter in Cockpit
•           Automatic Chain Wash Down
•           15kg Delta stern anchor 10 meter chain and 100m nylon rode

SAFETY GEAR
The SUPER MARAMU has C.E. A/Unlimited Offshore rating as well as a French Merchant Marine class A rating. Specific safety items include:
•           4 Watertight Bulkheads 
•           Double Bottom around the Keel 
•           EPIRB 406 ACR 2744 Global Fix
•           EPIRB RescueMe 406 EPIRB1 with GPS
•           SOSDan Buoy 33
•           USCG Approved Yellow Horseshoe 
•           LifeSling
•           Flares, Rockets and Smokes
•           Katadyn Survivor 35 water maker for the liferaft
•           Zodiac 6-man Liferaft
•           Watertight Battery Compartment
•           Watertight Engine Room
•           Stainless Tube Life Rails
•           Masthead Tri Color Light
•           Deck-level Running Lights
•           Masthead Anchor Light 
•           24vDC bilge pump 35L/minute capacity
•           Henderson Mark V Manual bilge pump 35L/minute capacity


Dinghy & Outboard:
In 2016 we purchased a new aluminum-bottom dinghy from 3D Tender. It has a lockable bow storage locker that accommodates the gasoline can. We bought the ultra-reliable and expensive Honda 10hp engine that is super easy to start.





























STORAGE DETAILS:
    40
    Doors Hinged w/locking latches
    average 12x18” and 18’ deep and lined with 100% Dralon® plush
    26
    Cubby Storage Compartments
    average 19 x 10” and 15” deep and lined with 100% Dralon® plush
    20
    Drawers
    2 are extra deep and 30” long and 3 more are 30” long and lined with 100% Dralon® plush
    10 lineal feet
    Closet - hanging
    1 fwd, 1 aft, 1 nav station, and 1 passage berth
    60 cubic feet
    Closet - storage
    1 fwd, 1 aft, 1 nav station, and 1 passage berth
    75 lineal feet
    Shelf - storage
    averages 4 “ deep lined with vinyl or Dralon®
    75 cubic feet
    Under berth - storage
    2 fwd and 1 aft lined with 100% Dralon® plush
    60 cubic feet
    Under floor - storage
    1 fwd and 6 saloon
    75 cubic feet
    Lazarette - storage
    cockpit
    225 cubic feet
    Lazarette - storage
    aft
    100 cubic feet
    Sail locker - storage
    2 forward at the bow
    40 cubic feet
    Beam – storage below deck to below waterline
    1 locker usually used for emergency equip. & life raft...BeBe uses for fuel...life raft elsewhere