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Eph1987 · 08-11-2021, 15:31

Hello

Is an Amel 50 Yacht suitable for exploration to The Antarctic or Northern Areas such as Iceland, Norwegian Sea and Svalbard without damaging it? I like what I have read about the Amel 50 in terms of normal latitude world cruising and live aboard. I haven’t heard of them being used for extreme latitude exploration however, due to their fiberglass hull ( instead of aluminum hull more typically used in extreme latitudes)

The Garcia 52 seems like the perfect boat EXCEPT I vastly dislike the idea of the centerboard mechanism wearing down with use and developing play and constant clunking sound at harbor or under sail AND/OR THE possibility of electrolysis slowly decaying the hull of my expensive Garcia 52 Aluminum boat. That seems very wrong 😑

One idea I have is to perhaps get a smaller, less expensive new Garcia 45 and do all of my Antarctic and high latitude exploration while I am younger. Then if my Garcia 45 melts or drives me crazy from the clunking centerboard mechanism, retire to an Amel 50 yacht latter on.

I am a youthful mid 50s , but I won’t be in a position to retire and buy yacht for 6 or 7 years. I plan to travel single handed.

In general, I like the Amel much better as an all round boat but yearn to explore those areas I mentioned above and even perhaps transverse The Northwest Passage one day.

The extreme sailing mentioned would likely only account for 5% to 10% of my sailing however. I like the idea the Amel 50 can more easily be sailed single handed.

Thanks in advance for any experienced feedback.

PS not interested in buying a used boat or one not mentioned above with possible exception of a KM Yachts boat.

**Pete7** · 09-11-2021, 02:42

You can't just sail to the Antarctic, you need a really good reason and then permission. Search for the Antarctic Treaty. Same applies for Svalbard.

Who are you going to insure with for solo Antarctic cruising? let us know what sort of quotes you get.

It's a nice pipe dream, but it's not going to happen.

Pete

MarinePig · 09-11-2021, 04:01

Check Youtube Sailing Vessel UMA, they are in Svalbard now (well their most current video is from there).

acunningham · 09-11-2021, 04:42

This year Thierry Courvoisier has sailed his Amel 50, Gaia, to the north coast of Iceland, and she's there now for the winter. He seems to have had an excellent voyage.

https://sy-gaia.ch/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo9...2OTxBU-Dn4coKQ

Eph1987 · 09-11-2021, 06:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7

It's a nice pipe dream, but it's not going to happen.
Pete

wow. just wow.

Sailmonkey · 09-11-2021, 06:53

Is the Amel insulated?

If not, that would point me to the Garcia. Then again, if the high latitudes are only going to be a short term thing, get the boat that covers most of your requirements and manage some discomfort for a short time.

acunningham · 09-11-2021, 07:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Is the Amel insulated?

Not per se, though it is vinylester cored above the waterline, which may provide a modest amount of insulation.

There's also optional diesel forced air heating throughout the boat, which I can tell you from personal experience is very effective. I know of a few people who have stayed overnight on board their boats in La Rochelle when it was freezing outside and there was ice on the deck, and they reported being very comfortable below decks and in the cockpit with the cockpit enclosure closed.

acunningham · 09-11-2021, 07:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Is the Amel insulated?

If not, that would point me to the Garcia.

The Garcia Exploration 45 does have an impressive amount of insulation, and very good ventilation to prevent all that insulation leading to condensation. Then again, an aluminium boat will always require more insulation than a glass fibre boat.

Muaddib1116 · 09-11-2021, 08:09

I'm not sure Pete7 is right, but aside from that my understanding is that the biggest reason to have an aluminum or steel hull is if you are going to be in the ice. Going to Svalbard in the summer seems to be no problem for a fiberglass boat. I imagine the same is true of the Falkland islands and the South Georgia/Sandwich islands. I suspect that careful and modest exploration of South Shetland islands is also possible in a glass boat in the right season. I remember that Johan from Ran Sailing went to Antarctica in the mid 2000's in a fiberglass boat with a friend of his. I don't recall him mentioning needing special permissions. As far as insulation, I think unless Amel offers it as a factory upgrade option that it isn't an insulated boat, aside from the hull core. This probably just means that you'll need to run your heater more than in the Garcia.

acunningham · 09-11-2021, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

I'm not sure Pete7 is right, but aside from that my understanding is that the biggest reason to have an aluminum or steel hull is if you are going to be in the ice. Going to Svalbard in the summer seems to be no problem for a fiberglass boat.

I seem to remember some experienced Arctic cruiser - it may have been John Harries of Morgan's Cloud - advising that glass fibre boats are fine on the west coast of Svalbard and the west coast of Greenland as far north as Disko Island, but should avoid other areas, especially the east coast of Svalbard and the east coast of Greenland.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

I imagine the same is true of the Falkland islands and the South Georgia/Sandwich islands.

There are certainly quite a few glass fibre boats at Ushuaia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

As far as insulation, I think unless Amel offers it as a factory upgrade option that it isn't an insulated boat, aside from the hull core.

They don't.

acunningham · 09-11-2021, 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7

You can't just sail to the Antarctic, you need a really good reason and then permission. Search for the Antarctic Treaty.

Who exactly provides this permission, and what are the requirements?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7

Same applies for Svalbard.

Are you sure? I thought Svalbard was famous for allowing anyone to visit without a visa.

Stewie12 · 09-11-2021, 09:45

Re The possibility of electrolysis slowly decaying the hull of my expensive Garcia 52 Aluminum boat. I lived on an 86ft aluminium boat for 5 years and so long as you respect the table of metals there are no problems.ie Do not screw a non aluminium fitting directory to the boat. Insulate it and the screws that fasten it. I made plastic gaskets and used plastic rawl plugs to hold the SS screws, The plus side is that there is no corrosion, as with steel, and the entire inside of the hull was like the day it was built.

250224 · 09-11-2021, 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by acunningham

Are you sure? I thought Svalbard was famous for allowing anyone to visit without a visa.

Don't know about visa but you need a gun, special insurance and a cruising permit. --> https://www.noonsite.com/place/norwa.../longyearbyen/

Paul Howard · 09-11-2021, 10:34

We (my wife and I) sailed our fiberglass/airex core catamaran north around Iceland and through the Beagle Channel and around Cape Horn. We saw both Garcia and Amel boats in both high latitudes. We met an Ovni (similar to the Garcia) that sailed across the Drake Passage and to the Antarctic Peninsula. We declined to sail our catamaran to the Antarctic Peninsula because of the ice. The year we were there a Catana Catamaran sailed to the Antarctic peninsula and was damaged by ice but managed to sail back to Argentina with one rudder and a damaged bow.
We encountered icebergs and bergy bits from the Straits of Belle Isle, Labrador and around the south end of Greenland, as well as at the tidewater glaciers in the Beagle Channel. The trick is to avoid the ice and avoid getting trapped and crushed in the ice.
The year we went around Cape Horn both a steel hulled vessel and an aluminium hulled sailing vessel were also damaged in the ice near the Antarctic Peninsula.