The Amel 54 Sailboat
Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Amel 54, a staysail ketch, was designed and built in France by Amel.

An Amel 54

Published Specification for the Amel 54

Underwater Profile: Fin keel & skeg-hung rudder

Hull Material: GRP (Fibreglass)

Length Overall: 56'5" (17.2m)

Waterline Length: 50'4" (15.4m)

Beam: 15'9" (4.8m)

Draft: 6'10" (2.1m)

Rig Type: Staysail Ketch

Displacement: 38,580lb (17,500kg)

Designer: Amel

Builder: Amel (France)

Year First Built: 2005

Published Design Ratios for the Amel 54

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 21.2

Ballast/Displacement Ratio: 29.1

Displacement/Length Ratio: 191

Comfort Ratio: 29.1

Capsize Screening Formula: 1.9

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Amel 54

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1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 21.2 suggests that, in the right hands, the Amel 54 will have enough performance to leave most other sailboats of similar waterline length well astern.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 29.1 would usually mean that the Amel would have a tendency to heel uncomfortably in a gust, and need to be reefed early to keep her sailing upright in a moderate breeze.

However, as she has much of her ballast located at the foot of her keel, she's likely to be considerably stiffer than her published Ballast/Displacement Ratio might suggest.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 191, tells us the Amel 54 is a light-to-moderate displacement sailboat. If she's loaded with too much heavy cruising gear her performance will suffer to a degree.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 29.1 suggests that crew comfort of a Amel 54 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a coastal cruiser with moderate stability, which is not encouraging news for anyone prone to seasickness.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.9 tells us that a Amel 54 would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0.

Amel 54 Sailboat: A Dream Cruiser for Adventurous Sailors

The Amel 54 sailboat is a 53-foot ketch designed by Amel Design Office and built by Amel in France between 2005 and 2010.

The Amel 54 is a successor of the popular Amel Super Maramu 2000, and it shares many of its features and qualities. However, the Amel 54 also offers some improvements and innovations, such as a larger cockpit, a more modern hull shape, a retractable bow thruster, and a more powerful engine.

Overview
The Amel 54 is a cruising sailboat that was designed to offer comfort, performance and safety to its owners. It is a boat that can handle any weather conditions, thanks to its robust construction, heavy displacement, deep draft, and balanced rudder. It is also a boat that can sail fast and efficiently, thanks to its powerful ketch rig, furling sails, electric winches, and bow thruster.

The Amel 54 has a spacious and ergonomic cockpit that can accommodate up to eight people. It has single wheel steering that is protected by a hard dodger and a bimini. It also has a large cockpit table that can be folded away when not in use. The cockpit is connected to the deck saloon by a sliding door that can be locked in any position.

The deck saloon is one of the most distinctive features of the Amel 54. It is a bright and airy space that offers panoramic views of the surroundings. It has a U-shaped dinette that can seat six people comfortably, and a navigation station that has all the instruments and controls within reach. The deck saloon also has plenty of storage space and access to the engine room.

The interior of the Amel 54 is luxurious and cozy. It has three separate cabins that can sleep up to six people. The owner's cabin is located aft and has a centerline double bed, a dressing table, a sofa, and an ensuite head with shower. The guest cabin is located forward and has a V-shaped double bed, a hanging locker, and an ensuite head with shower. The third cabin is located amidships and has two single bunk beds and a hanging locker.

The galley of the Amel 54 is located on the port side of the deck saloon. It is fully equipped with a three-burner stove with oven, a microwave oven, a fridge, a freezer, a dishwasher, and a double sink. The galley also has ample counter space and storage cabinets.

The Amel 54 yacht is available in two versions: the standard version and the owner's version. The standard version has three cabins and three heads as described above. The owner's version has two cabins and two heads: the owner's cabin aft with an enlarged head with shower and bathtub, and the guest cabin forward with an enlarged head with shower. The third cabin amidships is replaced by a storage room or an office.

Hull and Deck
The hull of the Amel 54 is made of single skin fiberglass polyester with vinylester resin in the outer layers to prevent osmosis. The hull is reinforced by longitudinal stringers and transverse bulkheads. The hull also has watertight bulkheads fore and aft for extra safety.

The deck of the Amel 54 is made of sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester with anti-slip surface. The deck is bonded to the hull by mechanical fasteners and adhesive sealant. The deck also has teak toe rails, handrails, rub rails, cockpit seats, cockpit floor, aft platform, and side decks.

The Amel 54 has a large foredeck that can store two anchors with electric windlasses, chain lockers, fenders, mooring lines, dinghy davits, and solar panels. The foredeck also has two large hatches that provide ventilation and light to the forward cabin.

The aft deck of the Amel 54 has an integrated bathing platform that can be lowered by an electric winch. The platform has a swim ladder, a shower, and a passarelle. The aft deck also has two large lockers that can store gas bottles, spare parts, tools, diving equipment, etc.

Mast and Rigging
The mast and rigging of the Amel 54 are designed to offer performance and ease of use. The boat has a ketch rig with two masts: a main mast and a mizzen mast. Both masts are deck-stepped and made of aluminum. Both masts have two levels of swept-back spreaders and in-mast furling systems for the mainsail and the mizzen sail.

The Amel 54 has a total sail area of 1507 square feet (140 square meters), which can be easily adjusted to suit the wind conditions. The boat has a genoa, a staysail, a mainsail, a mizzen sail, and a gennaker. All sails are made of Dacron and have UV protection strips. All sails can be furled or unfurled by electric motors controlled from the cockpit.

The Amel 54 has a stainless steel standing rigging with 1x19 strand wire. The boat has a forestay, an inner forestay, two backstays, two lower shrouds, two intermediate shrouds, and two upper shrouds for each mast. The boat also has a removable cutter stay that can be used to hoist the staysail or the storm jib.

The Amel 54 has a running rigging made of polyester ropes. The boat has two genoa sheets, two staysail sheets, one mainsheet, one mizzen sheet, one gennaker sheet, one outhaul, one topping lift, and one vang for each mast. The boat also has two reefing lines for each sail. All lines are led to the cockpit through clutches and blocks.

The Amel 54 has six electric winches and two manual winches in the cockpit. The boat has two genoa winches, two staysail winches, one mainsheet winch, one mizzen sheet winch, one gennaker winch, and one outhaul winch. The boat also has one halyard winch and one reefing winch on each mast.

Keel and Rudder
The keel and rudder of the Amel 54 are designed to offer stability and maneuverability. The boat has a L-shaped keel with a bulb that provides a low center of gravity and reduces the wetted surface area. The keel is made of cast iron and is bolted to the hull with stainless steel bolts. The keel has a draft of 6 feet 11 inches (2.1 meters) and a ballast weight of 11244 pounds (5100 kilograms).

The rudder of the Amel 54 is skeg-hung for protection and strength. The rudder is made of fiberglass with a stainless steel stock and bearings. The rudder is controlled by a single helm wheel that is connected to a hydraulic steering system with an autopilot.

The Amel 54 also has a retractable bow thruster that can be deployed or retracted by an electric motor controlled from the cockpit. The bow thruster is a propeller that is mounted in a tunnel at the bow of the boat. It can provide lateral thrust to help the boat turn or dock in tight spaces.

Conclusion
The Amel 54 sailboat is a dream cruiser for recreational sailors who want to enjoy sailing around the world in comfort, safety and style. It is a boat that combines performance, ease of use, luxury and spaciousness. It is also a boat that offers many options and features to suit different preferences and needs.

The above text was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material; we believe it to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.