Helena

Amel Super Maramu

Length
16 m/52 ft

monohull

sail

Description

The first impression when you get on board of any Amel ship is that everything is built for simplicity, practicality and endurability. This is of course also the case on board the Helena. The ship has all comforts and facilities needed for long term travels at sea. From a desalinator for making drinking water from sea water to easy accessible wiring to spacious areas for storage and living on board. All normal berths (6) are seaberths which can be used during sailing. The additional optional berths are not seaberths and can only be used when the ship is moored or anchored. The aft section of the ship has a double seaberth with a separate bathroom. We then have the Pilot berth in the hallway from the main cabin towards the aft with one seaberth. The main cabin has one seaberth and an optional double berth. Finally, there’s the front cabin which contains 2 seaberths and 1 optional berth and a bathrooom. Helena is provisioned with all the comforts for on a tropical sailing experience. First of all we have two bathrooms with hot showers, toilet and sink. One is located in the front and one in the back. We also have two deck showers with hot and cold water. For all this water, we have a tank in the keel which has a capacity of 1000 liters. For the warmer climate we have air conditioning on board in the main cabin (with airducts to the front) and in the aft section. We also have a dishwasher and a washing machine on board, together with 3 large fridges with freezers. To use all this equipment, we have a generator and sufficient batteries to ensure a comfortable stay. Of course the generator and the engine use diesel, so we have a diesel main tank which can hold about 600 litres of diesel and a secundary tank with 260 litres. On top of that, we can carry 240 litres of fuel on deck for the long passages. The main living areas are the main cabin and the cockpit. The main cabin is comfortably designed and can be used at all times. The cockpit is very comfortable with cushions and a large removable table. We even have a lounge deck on the aft with large cushions. In order to protect you from the sun, we have sunscreens that cover the entire deck from the bow to the stern. Helena is completely provisioned for long term ocean trips and equipped with an Epirb (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), short and long distance radio equipment, satellite phone, (epirb) life jackets, rescue equipment (liferaft, slings, buoys etc), flares and much more. Furthermore, all areas on board contain fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and can be sealed off with watertight bulkheads and there are sufficient medical supplies on board.

Additional details

I have done 3 large overhauls so far. One in The Netherlands before my departure in 2009, one in St Maarten before getting onto the Pacific in 2010 and one in 2011 in Australia. I keep improving the ship and she is as good as new. She is a bit of a luxury cruiser with air conditionings, washing machine, 12V, 24V and 230V power systems (we use european power plugs, round with 2 pins), a genset and (really!) a Playstation (which I don’t use)… I’ve just put in a brand new engine and I’ve rebuilt the engine room. During passages we normally are independent of engine and genset due to solar panels, wind generator and a shaft generator. There is an air compressor on board with 8 dive tanks and dive gear in all sizes. Needless to say, I am a diver.