A boat that has caused discussion, because it is the first sloop after a long tradition of ketches. The reason for this choice lies in at least two reasons: the first is a purely marketing reason, to propose a novelty that can also attract a new, younger or more advanced public, even from motor boats. The second reason is purely practical: a single mast is still easier to manage than two and for a boat that aims to bring its guests around the world it is not a trivial matter.

One of the Amel trademarks could not be missing, the central cockpit sheltered by the hard top and equipped with a continuous window under which the wheelhouse is sheltered. In practice, in any wind and sea condition, you can drive the boat totally dry and keeping all maneuvers under control. In fact, everything is sent back to the cockpit, apart from the adjustment of the halyards of the foredeck sails, which is carried out from the mast with dedicated winches.

The day Hyères offered us was particularly disturbed, with a wind that rose from a base of 15 knots to over 25 under a lump , allowing us to test the Amel 50 in the conditions it prefers. We tried upwind with mainsail and genoa, wide-hauled with mainsail, genoa and staysail, and again upwind only with mainsail and staysail when the wind strengthened around and over 20 knots.

An almost excessive precaution, given that the boat has a certain ease in holding the entire canvas even with wind around or above 20 knots, but with the self-tacking staysail you have the added convenience of not having to maneuver anything during tack, and when the wind picks up, in view of a long voyage, it is something to take into account.