Design and Construction
The Amel 50 has a 54-foot 2-inch hull, a 47-foot 7-inch waterline, and a 15-foot 9-inch beam. Light displacement is 41,336 pounds, with 11,817 pounds of ballast.
Amel’s traditional construction discipline carries into the 50, but the execution is new. The hull is vacuum-bagged with solid glass below the waterline and a foam core above, and this is the yard’s first model built using resin-infusion techniques. The lines follow contemporary trends: a blunt stem, full-volume bow, high topsides, modest sheer, and a beamy transom. The beam is carried farther aft than on earlier Amels.
Twin rudders are another first for the yard, giving the boat a firm grip at all angles of heel. Close inspection of hidden areas reveals neatly finished work, and the systems are installed meticulously. For reliability and straightforward maintenance, the wiring is conventional rather than distributed. It runs overhead behind removable panels instead of being buried in furniture or the bilge.
The trademark Amel teak is also present: a gelcoat deck molded to resemble planked teak. Four full-height interior watertight bulkheads, including a forward collision bulkhead, are bonded in while the hull is still in the mold. Secondary watertight doors can close off the sleeping quarters, while clamps and special seals across the doorframes can make the internal bulkheads watertight.
Rig and Sail Handling
The Amel 50 is a masthead sloop with a 74-foot mast and a sail plan considered small enough to handle comfortably in this configuration. The test boat carried the standard double-headsail rig: a 135 percent genoa and a self-tacking inner jib, both on electric furlers. An electrically driven in-mast mainsail furler was operated by joystick at the wheel.
The optional cutter rig added a 24-square-meter self-tacking staysail to the 126-square-meter sail plan. Jib sheets run through a wide shroud base, then along coachroof tracks to electric primary winches. Manual secondary winches allow jib-car trimming under way, and the genoa-car positions could even be adjusted under load from the cockpit.
A specially extruded four-compartment mast keeps the halyards, electrical wiring, and furler separate. A welded mid-boom tang accepts a preventer from within the deck footprint.
Performance and Maneuvering
On the water, testers measured a 37-degree close-hauled angle. Under power, the boat made 6.8 knots at 1,800 rpm from its 110-horsepower diesel, which sits behind heavy soundproofing.
The turning circle was 1.5 boatlengths. When backing, however, the boat showed a kick to port that resolved only once it had sternway. Low-speed maneuvering can be tricky because of the hull and superstructure windage. The twin rudders receive little prop-wash effect to counter gusts, making the bow thruster a welcome docking aid.
Cockpit and Deck Safety
The open passage forward from the companionway across the saloon originally had few grab handles. Amel addressed this on later builds by lengthening the stainless-steel grabrail on the folded dining tabletop and repositioning the handholds at the bottom of the companionway steps.
The solid deck handrail stands higher than normal guardrails and will take a person’s weight if they fall, partly offsetting the earlier gap.
Accommodations
The owner’s cabin is aft, reached through the galley passageway. It includes a large double island bed, writing desk, sofa, and en-suite heads.
Forward, the guest cabin has a freestanding double berth and shares a heads with a starboard cabin fitted with bunk beds. That twin cabin is disproportionately small, although its upper bunk folds away. Every bunk has a well-fitting leeboard or cloth, allowing even the island beds to serve as sea berths.
The saloon has nearly two meters of headroom and receives plenty of light through mid-height topside windows and coachroof hatches. Forward is a U-shaped dinette to port, with a navigation center and sizable desk aft of it. Head-height lockers conceal drawer fronts mounted on tracks, which retain their contents when the boat is heeled.
The large inline galley lies aft and to starboard. It has a proper sink, pull-out fridge and freezer drawers, and ample work surface. A clear plastic port beneath the aft berth provides a direct view of the propeller.
Machinery and Systems
The cockpit sole lifts to reveal a spacious, entirely watertight engine room, reached by a small ladder. All tankage sits beneath it, including a grey-water tank in the bilge sump. A pan at the foot of the companionway collects shower and other gray water, and the gray-water system empties automatically through a float switch.
Through-hulls are kept to a minimum through the use of a single inlet and seawater manifold. The test boat housed a generator, watermaker, air-conditioning, and two inverters.
Thoughtful details continue throughout the systems installation. Chafe protection is fitted wherever a locker lid might scratch the stainless-steel handrail, while the furling systems use a current-sensitive timeout to prevent damage from excessive loads.
The Verdict
The Amel 50 is a thoughtfully engineered modern cruiser that trades some traditional Amel character for the simplicity of a sloop rig and a thoroughly contemporary hull. Its disciplined construction, watertight integrity, and ergonomic sail-handling systems make it a serious offshore candidate. Below, the accommodations pair a superb aft owner’s suite with a compromised third cabin.
Pros
- First Amel sloop since 1997, with a modern beamy hull and twin rudders
- Meticulous systems installation, conventional overhead wiring, and watertight bulkheads
- Electric furling and winch systems allow short-handed control from the cockpit
- Spacious, watertight engine room, direct propeller viewing, and minimal through-hulls
Cons
- Early builds had too few grab handles along the forward passage through the saloon
- The twin cabin is disproportionately small compared with the rest of the boat
- Low-speed handling is sensitive to windage, with limited steering authority from prop wash
