Overview
Amel’s own sailboatdata.com record notes the Santorin as the successor to the Maramu 46, introduced in 1989 as the range moved toward a slightly more modern hull while keeping the same cruising-system philosophy: build a boat a couple can sail around the world in comfort, without needing a large crew or constant maintenance. Chantiers Amel built roughly 150 hulls through 1997 before the line gave way to the Super Maramu.
Design and Construction
Yachting Monthly’s independent review is blunt about the build quality: “From the moment you step aboard she feels sturdy and well built,” with a solid fiberglass layup and a fully bonded hull, deck, and bulkheads that make her genuinely stiff, “bomb-proof” in the reviewer’s own words. Like the rest of the Amel line, ballast is cast iron rather than lead, and the ketch rig (a sloop version was also offered) keeps sail handling manageable from the security of a deep center cockpit. The reviewer found that the solid guardrails, moulded decks and plastic rubbing strake might not suit everyone’s taste, but add up to what he called an uncompromising concept of rugged luxury. Below, he reported well over 6 feet of headroom throughout and wide berths that stay usable at sea, with leeboards available even on the aft double. The three separate water tanks are built into the keel, which leaves storage under all the bunks. A powerful bow thruster and anchor controls at the helm make the start and end of each sail low stress for a short-handed crew.
Under Sail
She needs a real breeze to show what she can do. In light air, heavy displacement and in-mast furling sails cost her drive to windward, and Yachting Monthly notes she’ll struggle to point especially high, a real factor when trying to claw around a headland. Give her Force 6 or a gale, though, and she comfortably reaches 9-10 knots; the same review recommends planning around 7 knots off the wind in tropical trade-wind conditions, where she’s genuinely in her element. Yachting Monthly notes the Santorin gives a crew who enjoy trimming for extra degrees too few lines to pull, and that later Amels with a redesigned hull improved upwind performance dramatically. Amel historically offered very short options lists because everything was included in the standard spec.
Buyers Notes
Weigh the light-air pointing limitation against your intended cruising grounds; a boat built for downwind trade-wind passages rather than upwind coastal work. As with other Amel models, confirm ballast material and factor cast iron rather than lead into performance expectations against lead-ballasted competitors of similar size. Amel’s centralized parts and service model, with dedicated centers in Europe and the US, is worth confirming access to before buying outside those regions.
