Overview
The Sharki 39 is a Henri Amel and Jacques Carteau design built by Chantiers Amel in La Rochelle, France, from 1980 to 1987, with 195 hulls completed. It is the smallest model in Amel’s long-running center-cockpit ketch lineup, a family of boats purpose-built around one idea: making offshore passages manageable for a couple rather than a full crew.
Design and Construction
The Sharki carries a fin keel with the rudder hung on a skeg, a 6 ft draft, and just over 21,000 lb of displacement, split between a fairly modest 33 percent ballast ratio and a heavily engineered hull and deck. Amel’s ketch rig splits sail area across two shorter masts rather than one tall one, a deliberate choice that keeps individual sails smaller and more manageable for shorthanded crews, at some cost in windward performance compared to a sloop of similar length.
Under Sail
An SA/D of about 17 and a capsize screening figure of 1.69 put the Sharki solidly in conservative offshore-cruiser territory. John Neal’s Mahina list rates the Amel range 4 out of 5, calling the boats “strong, well designed passage makers” while flagging that they are “systems-rich and AC generator-dependent,” a fair description of Amel’s approach generally: these boats carry more built-in systems (hydraulics, generators, watermakers) than most production cruisers of their era, which adds capability and complexity in roughly equal measure.
Buyers Notes
Given Neal’s note about system dependency, budget time and money for a thorough inspection of the boat’s generator, hydraulic steering, and electrical systems specifically, not just the hull and rig. As with any French-built boat from this era being brought into a different market, confirm parts availability and whether a local Amel-experienced rigger or mechanic is accessible before committing to a long-distance refit.
