Yachting Monthly – March 2018

ALL WINCHES AND FURLERS

CAN BE CONTROLLED FROM

THE SHELTERED HELM

Mullion-free
windows help give
a panoramic view
from the helm

PERFORMANCE

Cocooned under a hardtop, surrounded by glass on three sides

I was surprisingly engaged by sailing Amel 50. I didn’t expect

to feel connected to the sailing experience without feeling the

wind, but in a full range of conditions I really enjoyed it. I did,

however, prefer to open the windscreen windows and get a bit

of breeze in my face when the weather allowed.

Upwind in reasonable seas and 20 knots of true wind our

close-hauled angle was not great but acceptable for offshore

passage making and our boat speed a good 8.4 knots. More

impressive was our light airs upwind performance; managing

to hold 4.4 knots of boat speed in only 5 knots of true wind.

The steering system uses push-pull cables, rather like those

on an engine control, to move the quadrant. Combined with

the well-balanced twin rudders this results in a helm that gives

little feedback, but has a good level of response when the wheel

is turned. It takes good concentration to hand steer but the

autopilot coped well in all situations.

We tried additional offwind sails during our test, boosting

our light airs performance and increasing downwind boat

speed from 7.8 to 9.2 knots in the heavy breeze. If haring

downwind with a spinnaker is not your cup of tea, the poled-

out headsail gave us reasonable performance in all but the

lightest airs. However, I feel the boat

really benefi tted from the extra sail

area and would recommend a code

zero on a furler as an easy-to-manage

compromise that will keep you sailing

for longer.

There is no hiding the size of the

Amel 50. It looms over an alongside

pontoon requiring a fender step to get

up the high topsides – the alternative is

to drop the bathing platform and come

over the stern. Despite the size I found

the steering position high enough to

have good vision of all the ‘corners’

while manoeuvring in the marina, and

I was comfortably able to reverse into a

fi nger berth using the joystick bow

thruster control and minimal wheel

steering. Turning tightly without the bow thruster is almost

impossible as the position of the rudders relative to propeller

gives very little turning moment from prop wash.

DECK LAYOUT

The Amel has a centre cockpit covered by a full doghouse with

three-quarter-length solid windows and a roof that slides out

to full length. The back of the doghouse can be enclosed by

fabric panels to further protect occupants from the elements.

There is a deep sail locker forward with access to the

retractable bow thruster and anchor chain. Aft, the full beam

lazarette is cavernous and houses the gas locker and provides

access to the rudder stocks. The transom opens up to create a

bathing platform with fl ip down stainless-steel ladder.

Though the huge aft deck would be great for sunbathing I

felt vulnerable traversing this area while heeled over and Amel

have already indicated that later builds of the 50 have included

additional handholds on the coachroof and foot chocks on the

cabin top.

AT THE HELM

Helming the Amel 50 was a new experience for me; I’ve never

steered a yacht from inside a doghouse before and I wondered

whether I would enjoy being separated from the elements. As

we slogged upwind in the rain and the fi rst wave crashed over

the doghouse, however, I accepted there could be another way.

The small wheel is offset to port, with standing room

directly behind it and a helmsman’s chair set abaft. I preferred

standing to helm, even with maximum heel. The view from

the helm is good; the lower tell tales and the horizon can be

seen through the panoramic windscreen while the mast top

and mainsail are viewed through roof hatches. The offset

wheel is positioned directly behind the slot giving a great view

of the jib on starboard tack but on port tack only some of the

headsail luff can be seen. This was more pronounced when

using the gennaker, as the whole sail becomes obscured by the

main when reaching on port.

The helmsman’s chair is comfortable and can be height

adjusted then swivelled to lock in any position, but the chair

cannot be moved closer to the wheel and I found reaching out

to the wheel uncomfortable over time. I am not sure there is