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Amel super maramu 53 review: cult boat, deservedly so.

Amels have all these unique differences that make you think, “That’s interesting – I haven’t seen that before.” Even in their marketing, they have a unique flair with words. They use “gently” and the interrogative instead of declarative. This cultured voice blends perfectly with what Amel yachts represent. But is Amel just trying to be different for different sake or are these touches really superior? At first they clearly have a French flair that lures you in. Do the features hold under scrutiny?

In 1965, Henri Amel opened Amel Shipyards in La Rochelle, France. He was known as le Cap’tain and had a unique style which is the continuing foundation of Amel’s excellence. His real name was not Amel, but after fighting in WWII in Africa, he declared that the person he once was did not exist anymore and so took the name Amel. He was a forerunner of fiberglass, bluewater sailboats producing 36 Kirk, 41 Euros, 52 Meltem designs. This moved onto the 41 Sharki and 46 Maramu in the late 1970’s and 53 Mango in the 80’s. In the late 1980’s, Amel moved to a 46 Santorin and the subject of this review the 53 Super Maramu, an evolution of the 53 Mango design. In April of 2005, le Cap’tain passed away four days shy of his 92nd birthday. These days the Amel 54 is their only production model. They are building hull 1 of a 64 Amel in 2010. The company is 100% employee owned and has produced more 50-foot ocean cruising boats than any other manufacturer.

First Impressions The Super Maramu has a soft raked bow coupled with a straight sheer that declines steadily from stem to a sugar scoop stern. The hull is of moderate beam at 3.5 length to beam ratio. The cabintrunk runs from the foredeck to far aft. A plastic overlay over the portholes gives the cabin trunk a one-piece look and sexy French style. The sidedecks are faux teak – a distinctive feature. The hard dodger is an easy way to pick out Amels. Just below the sheer is a thick red rubber rubrail bolted to the hull through a stainless striker strip. These ketches have a tall two spreader main mast and smaller mizzen. Underneath, Henri Amel was one of the first to combine a fin keel and full skeg hung rudder. The keel bottom is flat and wide enough for her to stand on. But, of course you should block up like usual. Some notable differences to the older Mango 53 are a lower profile cabintrunk and the sugar scoop stern aft. The Mangos had a counter stern.

Construction I like how Amel does their hull and deck joint. The hull is solid fiberglass of bi-axial cloth layers including the skeg and stub keel. The deck is cored with Balsatek. To join these, they place the deck on the hull while the hull is still in the mold. Then, Amel fiberglasses the hull from the outside and inside to the deck. This procedure eliminates the need for a traditional hull-deck joint. It is one of the features that makes you wonder. In this case, the procedure really adds value here and makes sense. The end result are traditional bulwark style gunwales without any mechanical fasteners or 5200. An Amel is really one piece.

As I perfectionist I never like when builders use iron instead of lead and especially with an external keel. Amel uses mostly high quality techniques, but the only reason for using lower quality cast iron instead of lead is to reduce cost. Lead is superior in every way. Lead gets the VCG lower, absorbs collisions better, and is more resistant to corrosion. The only thing I can say and pretty persuasively is that this trade-off makes an Amel more reasonably priced than an Oyster or Hallberg Rassy. The chainplates mount outboard, tuck under the external rubrail, and bolt through the hull. Amel brags that you can pick her up by her chainplates. Amels come with a retractable bow-thruster in the foc’sle.

What To Look For “Either you buy in 100% or don’t go near Amels,” says one owner. More than any other, Amels are a cult-like group. In France, they have an unquestionable reputation especially for support. The factory really stands behind their product. For instance, the Lexan in the hard dodger on one owner’s 15 year old Amel 53 was crazed and scratched from years of sun and abuse. The owner emailed the factory and asked what they would recommend to replace the glass. The next day Amel emailed that it was part A-45 and would arrive in three days to his address. Sure enough, three days later the Lexan piece arrived. The owned unscrewed the old one, screwed in the new one, and cocked the edges. It was an absolutely perfect fit.

A valid criticism of Amel is the lack of options. When purchasing his new 53 Maramu, one prospect mentioned his wife did not like the upholstery. The Amel agent replied, “Monsieur, you have three options. One, you can purchase a new Amel with the upholstery you see here. Two, you purchase an aftermarket Amel that has a different upholstery. Three, you can purchase a new Amel and hire someone to reupholster her according to what your wife likes.” The options are limited and include the inverter wattage, two engine models, and various other miscellaneous items.

On Deck Up forward, two hatches to the chainlocker are port and starboard with hinges from the bulwarks and dog latches. The windlass is horizontal between the hatches. The decks have that awful faux teak, and I really think Amel has lost their taste here. While the faux teak is functional and sensible, I feel like it cheapens the yachts. More logically, the faux teak can develop annoying voids and is not entirely maintenance free. Then again, the fake teak is definitely more cost effective and maintenance free than real teak – not to mention more ecologically responsible. The human race can’t keep plundering out natural resources.

With the chainplates outboard and genoa tracks along the top of the bulwarks, the side decks are easy to walk along. The main has mid boom sheeting with a traveler in front of the hard dodger. Portside of the cockpit is a deck hatch. Aft of the cockpit is an end boom traveler for the mizzen mast. There is oddly no push pit but instead a setup of various holes, a pole, and rope. You can insert the pole in two stern deck holes and another on the first step of the swim platform. This moves the orientation of the stern railing. Two lazarettes port starboard aft finish the deck storage.

Notably, the Super Maramu has relatively little obvious ventilation except three hatches. The Mango had four hatches forward while the Super Maramu has only two. There are not any dorades. The key to ventilation is opening all the hatches and closing the companionway. This allows air to flow though the interior. But, you must close the companionway for it to work. To facilitate air flow, an optional fresh air system draws from the cockpit and blows through the interior.

The cockpit has low head room with the hard dodger setup. The helm is a molded chair with the wheel mounted on the companionway wall. The helm has a raised footrest and is nice and comfortable. Clearly, an experienced eye fine tuned the ergonomics. The companionway hatch is offset to starboard. The port and starboard benches are long enough to lay down on and have the right kind of corners for cruising. Port side is a locker under the seating. Centerline aft is the mizzen mast with cockpit lockers port starboard. Two portholes help lighten up the interior starboard side and aft to starboard. Access to the engine room is under the cockpit sole.

Down Below A one-piece companionway door slides downward for interior access. I really like this guillotine style hatch instead of the normal slats. Every manufacturer should have entryways like Amel. The interior is fantastic African mahogany with teak covered plywood soles in the galley and saloon. The staterooms and walk through are carpet. The headliner is cream vinyl. You feel like you entered a French nobleman’s boat during the renaissance. The frilly upholstery and dainty details contrast deeply with what you usually see.

Forward most, the V-berth is more accurately U-shaped. A hatch and two portholes give some light and ventilation. The stateroom has a two piece door that latches shut. Outside is a head to port with en-suite shower. These all close off by the first submarine bulkhead. Amels are famous for these watertight submarine style bulkheads. I think you can classify this as one of the features that does not make sense. While on a submarine, such a bulkhead is useful, on a pleasure yacht it seems silly. At a recent Annapolis Sailboat show, Amel had a demonstration where they flooded the forward compartment and then went for a sail on Chesapeake Bay. With her nose 10 degrees point down, she still sailed safely to port. At the very least, the submarine bulkheads do illustrate a positive and under appreciated mentality. Amels are engineered to be seaworthy vessels with safety foremost, an ideology that many manufacturers either do not understand or disregard in their blind search for the all might dollar.

Amidships, the saloon has a quaint French love seat starboard. To port, a U-shaped dinette fits a good group of guests. The galley is port side the starboard offset companionway and is a long U-shaped galley with front loading refrigeration. The tiled counter top has high fiddles a sometimes forgotten detail. The navigation station is opposite forward of the step down to walk through aft. Aft most is another watertight bulkhead and access to the master stateroom and head. The master head has an en-suite shower again. The berth is low, large and U-shaped.

Engine and Underway Another unique feature of the Super Maramu and Amels in general is the engine access through the cockpit sole. The hatch is watertight and opens easily with hydraulic lifts. I think this goes as another superior feature on Amels. The access and room is excellent. You can step down into the room and maintain the Volvo engine and Onan generator with ease. A particular problem and worry with this approach is leaking through the sole. Amel takes particular care to seal and prevent this possibility. On the Mango 53, this aft cockpit sole was raised to help. Here the sole is flush.

The Super Maramu is on the light side of the D/L ratio at 222. Performance cruisers usually range from 220 to 280. The Super Maramu has a double spreader rig for the main instead of the single you will find on Mangos. One owner writes about the Amel Super Maramu’s pointing ability and performance to weather, “The shrouds are fastened to the sides of the boat so the Genoa angle can not be brought in to point very high, But 30-35 degrees is a max. You also have a hundred horsepower engine and enough fuel to motor from New York to Bermuda. Getting off a lee shore is not a problem.”

Conclusion Amels have unique features and a cult-ish following including the long running and popular 53 Super Maramu. Some of the unique features make significant sense like the hull-deck join and engine access while others like the watertight bulkheads are interesting. Finally, features like the faux teak decks and cast iron ballast do not add value for me but do keep the prices on these yachts comparatively low without any serious trade-offs. Two used Amels in Fort Lauderdale are asking $350,000 and $450,000. Fort Lauderdale happens to be Amel’s US headquarters, and a resource for more information is Joel Potter, the exclusive US agent for the Americas.

8 Replies to “Amel Super Maramu 53 Review: Cult Boat, Deservedly So?”

The author did not understand the stern of the Amel Super Maramu. The “setup of various holes, a pole, and a rope” are NOT used to move the orientation of the stern railing. The stern railing remains in place with the pole and rope. Those holes are for the passarelle.

The swim ladder which is normally mounted beneath the railing on the starboard side is re-positioned to the stern and used as a passarelle or ‘boarding plank’ when docked stern-to. The ladder has a large mounting that fits into either the larger hole in the stern deck in the center of the steps or into the hole on the top stern step, depending on the level of the dock to which you are berthed. There is a stainless steel stabilizer bar that clips into the side of the ladder to prevent lateral movement of the passarelle. A “Y” line with a spacing separator to keep the 2 sides apart is clipped to the axel bar of the wheels on the end of the ladder; the other end is clipped to a halyard. The halyard is used on a winch mounted on the mizzen mast to adjust the height of the passarelle. A piece of wood fits into the top horizontal side of the ladder on which to walk while using it as a passarelle.There is another attachament — 2 poles connected with rope — that ties to the stern pole. This serves as a handrail on the port side when walking on the passarelle.

Thanks Judy!

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how much should I expect to run and maintain a super maramu in Grand Canaria per annum; say a 2003 year needing new sails?

S/V Delos is a famous Amel Super Maramu 53. It’s been on a world cruise for years. You can see Brian and the boat on youtube or the website. I’m sure he would answer any question posed.

There’s no “best” boat, there are boats suited for a purpose. The Super Maramu’s purpose is to sail around the world, in particular the South Pacific (French Polynesia) hence its design is made of choices for this application. Tradeoff examples: Chainplates: It will not point high on the wind, it’s made to go downwind. But it will survive heavy (really heavy) weather. The submarine bulkheads, the Chainplates and the rigging in general suddenly make sense when you cross the Pacific… Know your needs, and chose your boat accordingly.

“The factory really stands behind their product. For instance, the Lexan in the hard dodger on one owner’s 15 year old Amel 53 was crazed and scratched… three days later the Lexan piece arrived. The owned unscrewed the old one, screwed in the new one, and cocked the edges. It was an absolutely perfect fit.”

I’m pretty sure he ‘caulked’ the edges… with sealant. At least I hope he did.

Signed, Your friendly typo police.

I’ve been dwelling into an Amel 53 for purchase, so all these comments and architectural description’s were an added plus.

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Amel 53 Super Maramu - The Ultimate Global Cruising Yacht

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46' Amel Maramu 1979

Perhaps you have been saving, and waiting for the day to get your blue water boat, but you haven't made the jump yet. Or perhaps you are a seasoned sailor who's looking for a new adventure on a new vessel.

Whatever the case, now's the time, and Avalo is your boat.

(Pronounced Av-a-low, with emphasis on the first syllable.)

As you can clearly see in the video, she is a good boat with many great features.

Her current owners have taken good care of her, and are waiting for you to take her on your own adventures.

She was built in the tradition of the renown yacht manufacturer Chantiers Amel, of La Rochelle, France, and has had numerous upgrades, and is ready for sailors who understand the dream of owning a yacht in French Polynesia that can travel anywhere in the world.

She is an Amel Maramu, the product of superb engineering, and designed for heavy-duty blue-water sailing with safety and comfort in mind.

Avalo, short for Avalokitsehvarra, is the great and compassionate one. Often depicted in Asia as a seated Buddha with many arms. This is an apropos name for Avalo, because as you can see with her ketch sail plan, it's easier for one person to handle the sails as opposed to a sloop rig, etc.

Therefore, she gives you many extra arms!

She has a secure cockpit, that's centered on the deck, and has good railings around the entire boat. Once again, kept secure by her “many arms”!

As you can see from the video, the tender is mounted to davits, which makes launching and storing Little-Red much easier than wrestling it onto the deck.

Also, the wind generator is mounted half-way up the mizzen mast so it grabs extra wind and is less noisy.

Here are some particulars for the boat:

Length : 13.95 m (45' 8") / Beam : 4 m (13'1") / Draft : 1.80 m (5'9") / Displacement : 9.5 tonnes /

Material : Fiberglass

Diesel fuel capacity : 500 liters

Rigging : Ketch

Engine : Yanmar turbo 75 HP

USCG Documentation available.

Based in French Polynesia with taxes paid for same.

Hull Production #51

Sleeps 4 to 6 with two double-cabins and main salon

Double cabin fore with en-suite head

Large L-shaped saloon on the port side with benches facing each other

Folding saloon table with storage

L-shaped galley fitted to port

Chart table equipped with navigator seat to starboard

Aft passageway with many storage spaces

Aft owner cabin with double bed and en-suite head

Here's the complete description of Avalo's inventory:

Yanmar 4JH4TE turbo 75 HP of 2015 (2500 hours)

35mm shaft line

Yanmar Selva gearbox

Fuel tank 500 L (regularly treated with an antibacterial product)

2 pre-diesel filters: decanter and connection

Engine oil last changed February 2023

Three-blade fixed propeller France Hélice

1 spare three-blade propeller

All items have been installed by a Yanmar dealer

Spare parts : starter, alternator, seawater pump, fresh water pump, elbow, impeller, filters, belts

Ketch Rigging

Rigging revised by a professional in 2015 (3 lower shrouds changed), all outer stays except for forestay replaced by a professional in 2022

New 2024 3-reef mainsail, older mainsail in decent shape also on board

Mizzen 2 reefs

Genoa 120% on furling Harken with new sun protector on leech (2023)

Sheets (2024)

Lewmar outhaul traveler (2018)

2nd light air Genoa 100% in reserve on furling

Storm jib on removable stay

Gennaker 110% for removable stay

Mainsail Storm (Norwegian)

Spinnaker with snuffer for the mizzen mast

1 Winch on the main mast and 2 Lewmar winches in the cockpit

Spare halyards and sheets

Ground Tackle

Electric windlass LOFRANS Tiger 1500 W with remote control and foot control

New spare solenoid

Engine and new complete windlass block replacement

Main anchor: anchor Mantus - ROCNA 45 Lb (20 kg)

100 m chain 10mm purchased in 2022

Secondary anchorage: anchor CQR 35 Lb (16 Kg) + 10 m of chain 10 mm + 100 m of rope

New Fortress 7 lb anchor for aft mooring primarily

Many fenders,, ropes and lines

Fresh water capacity: 1050 liters (in the keel)

Double stainless steel sink (pressurized fresh water)

5 micron water filters

Electric water pump + a new backup water pump

2 Gal pressure accumulator tank new in 2022

Stainless steel 2 burners gas stove + oven FORCE 10 (revised 2019)

Crockery, cutlery, stainless steel pots, pans, dishes, etc

Polynesia standard gas bottle filled in August 2023

Refrigerator / freezer Frigomatic W35F with separate compressors (seawater cooling - new emergency pump and 2 new electronic spare modules)

Water heater (new, to be installed)

Deck shower

1 Jabsco electric toilet with spare engine (2015)

1 Jabsco manual toilet with spare parts (2015)

1 Kenwood Bluetooth-USB car stereo with 2 Bose speakers in the salon + 2 in the cockpit

Hella fans in all cabins, salon, galley and chart table

Samsung LED color TV (2019), DVD player (2023)

Electronics

12V circuit and 110V & 220V converters (all cables are identified)

Four 130 amp-hour lithium maintenance free house batteries, total 520 amps (2024)

Two 110 amp-hour lithium maintenance free engine and windlass batteries (2024)

Charge regulator

Shore supply

2 new solar panels 200 W each, total 400 W on aft davits ( July 2021)

Wind generator Green Marine 400 W, New (July 2021)

Regulator Tristar (2015)

1 Alternators of 80 Ah

Prowatt inverter SW2000 12V / 110 V of 1500 W

Electronic and Navigation Instruments

1 plotter-GPS-AIS Furuno-type (Onwa) large (18x25mm) screen at the chart table (2016)

1 plotter-GPS Furuno-type (Onwa) large screen spare (2016)

1 plotter- GPS Furuno-type (Onwa) large screen in the cockpit (2023)

Numerous paper maps of the Pacific and Asia

SSB (tuner to install)

Original autopilot engine (with chain and in good working order)

1 Raymarine autopilot with screen and CPU (2015)

Pacific Plus self-steering vane

VHF mast antenna + emergency VHF antenna

Furuno Radar 16 nm

VHF GPS AIS Standard Horizon fixed (2016)

VHF Standard Horizon hand held (2018)

1 Raymarine depth-sounder with cockpit screen (2015)

Wind direction indicator

Hydrometer Barometer

Red PVC aluminum hard bottom dinghy with trunk (on davit and quick launch)

Suzuki 15 HP 2 stroke outboard engine (2020), new carburetor (2023)

Suzuki 2.5 HP 4 stroke outboard engine (2016)

Grapnel + inflator

Safety equipment

Life raft (to be revised or changed)

Life line MOB

ACCUSAT EPIRB (batteries out of validity)

8 Lifejackets

4 Safety harnesses

1 Immersion suit

Survival kit

Softwood plugs

3 Fire extinguishers

First aid kit

1 Electric bilge pump at station

1 "Flying" high volume electric bilge pump

1 Manual bilge pump (needs refit)

Watertight door between saloon and fore (Amel series)

Cable cutter

Emergency tiller

Miscellaneous

Large selection of electrical equipment (cables, connectors, clamp, etc.), plumbing, tools, hardware

Comprehensive set of manuals and documentation on the equipment installed on board

Rigid spray hood on companion-way and cockpit

Bimini on cockpit with side enclosures

Folding cockpit table

Formal cockpit table

New sun awnings over main and aft cabins (2023)

New sail covers (2024)

Upholstery and mattress (2015)

Masks, fins, snorkels, body board

Last bottom paint with Carboline antifouling paint: 2023

Hull Painting (2022)

Specifications

Price USD: $ 119,000

Taravao, French Polynesia

LOA: 45 ft 8 in
Display Length: 46 ft
Water Capacity: --
Fuel Capacity: --
Engine Details: Yanmar
Engine 1: 2500.00 HRS 75.00 HP
Days on Market: INQUIRE

+ Disclaimer

The company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change or withdrawal without notice.

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