Amel Maramu ketch Boats Review and Specs

Year: 1979  
Manufacturer: McGrath Yachts, Inc
Price: US$179,000  

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New listing! More photos later. Listing agent’s personal boat. Amels are rare on the west coast and it is almost unheard of to find one that has undergone such a major refit on the market. All systems and equipment have been renewed. This is a proven turnkey cruising yacht with multiple trans-Atlantic crossings and far ranging explorations throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and as far north as Newfoundland. This particular Maramu was Henri Amel’s personal yacht from 1979-85. Famed bluewater cruiser and instructor John Neal has this to say about the Maramu: “Strong, well designed. Excellent passagemaker, great value. Low maintenance. Earlier models are good value.” In his evaluation of cruising rigs Neal states: “I don’t have any hard and fast rules that apply to my choice of rig. I used to think that I would not like a ketch rig, but after seven years and 70,000 miles on my previous boat that was ketch-rigged, I changed my mind. I appreciated the flexibility of the rig and the ability to drop half the total sail area (the mainsail) in less than a minute without having to resort to a furling mainsail. Amel of France is one of the few yards presently building ketches.” Famed author Daniel Spurr describes Amels as “perhaps the most innovative, well conceived, and well executed production cruising sailboats built anywhere….” Yes Amel is still building ketches and for over three decades their boats have remained basically unchanged in basic design and execution. If you are purchasing a cruising sailboat, doesn’t this sound like the kind of boat you should consider? You really have to see an Amel to understand how much careful thought and planning went into these designs. All of the Amels have been built and designed for extended passagemaking by a couple. Maintenance requirements are minimal compared to many other boats. The boat was designed to be easy to maintain so many tasks take a fraction of the time that they do on other boats. Some jobs that take days or weeks on other boats literally can be done in hours on an Amel. Components and systems are intelligently placed rather than having the boat built around them. Unlike the newer Maramu’s, our Amel has Isomat spars and a reliable conventional full batten mainsail rather than the in-mast furling found on later models. Maramu’s with in-mast furling have masts, booms, and furling systems built by Nirvana, a long defunct Swiss aerospace manufacturer that once supplied Amel with spars and furling systems. Parts for these systems are no longer available and we’ve never met a rigger who has even heard of Nirvana so they are tough systems to support. For those desiring an all furling rig, we can assist you in finding a later model Amel with Amel manufactured spars and furling systems.  This listing is not just a boat for sale. It’s truly an opportunity to own a nicely refit passagemaker for far less money and frustration than would be spent on buying an older boat and refitting it yourself. So why are we selling? We have two businesses, one of which is poised for tremendous growth. This will benefit us financially, but keep us tied to the dock for 2-3 years. The boat should be sailed. While she is a comfy liveaboard, we’d rather see the boat being cruised. It boils down to delayed gratification. We’ll spend a few years working so next time we untie the docklines we’re actually retired. Will consider trade-in of trailerable boat or small RV/van camper.   Note: The boat was delivered up from San Diego to San Rafael in late June/earlyJuly. Conditions coming up the California coast were the typical adverse seas and strong NW wind. Delivery crew had 20-30 plus knots of wind. The turbo Yanmar did an amazing job pushing them up the coast. Without exceeding 3050 rpm, they averaged over 7 knots for the passage. This trip would have likely been postponed if the boat still had the

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Fuel  Hull Material  Engine Make  Engine Model  Length Overall  Engine Hours  Number of Engines

Diesel Fiberglass Yanmar 3JH3-TE 46 ft 582 1

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Contact Information

Phone: Fax

(503) 819-9262 866-941-4858

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