Cruising the Med

The boat we've purchased for our Med adventures is a Sharki made by Chantiers Amel at La Rochelle, France. She is 12.5 m long by 3.5 m wide, draws 1.7 m and displaces around 10,00 kg. There were about 190 or so made between 1980 and 1989. Cap des Isles iwas built in 1986 and is hull number 133.
She is no racing boat but has a modern underwater shape and sails very acceptably. The design parameters were for a boat that a couple could comfortably sail around the world, not a race winner. As such she is very comfortably equipped with a double cabin in the stern, two berths in the bow, a roomy galley/main cabin and a single head. The engine is a 50HP Perkins, the same engine that was used in the ubiquitous London cabs.
What is unique about Amels is that Henri Amel took a holistic approach to design. He thought through every detail, taking into consideration the needs of a cruising sailboat. There are some very quirky things about the boats but they are not there by happenstance. Most yacht builders leave it to the owner to customize the boat, often a difficult thing to do after the boat is completes. Henri decided he would build a complete boat, from soup to nuts, and if his approach was not to your liking, go somewhere else. Henri was definitely a character. Stowage is a good example of Henri's thought process. Stowage is always an issue in a small boat. Where do you put all the accouterments of a comfortable, on-board life? Most cruising boats do not have enough stowage. Wide open cabins and lots of open space sell well and, as a result, stowage on most cruising yachts is woefully inadequate. To compensate cruisers typically have lots of stuff on deck, lashed to the rails, piled on top of the cabin and generally look like a floating hodge podge. Cruising Amels seldom have this clutter because Henri understood the stowage needs of a cruising boat and built cavernous stowage into the boat. There is no need to use the decks, cabin top etc. there is adequate space within the boat. Accordingly you don't worry about an errant wave sweeping the hodge podge over the side nor do you have to climb on or around it when moving about on the boat.
The sails on Cap des Isles are all roller furling (easy on us old folks) and the jib has an electric furler that uses a truck starter motor (easy to replace). Amel construction is also unique. Most boats come in two pieces, a hull and deck, bolted together. Amels start off like that but then they fibreglass over the bolted joint so that the boat becomes one complete structure (a 12.5 m egg shell).
By now you get the picture. You either accept Amels for what they are or go elsewhere. One broker told me they only appeal to about 5% of the market and I can believe it. In the US they are looked at as stodgy, in Europe they are admired. I get the feeling that the Europeans think about them in a "Mercedes-Benz" sort of way, classy, solid, reputable, comfortable. What you buy when you are no longer looking for an adrenal rush and where a place to store a couple of cases of wine has become a priority.
Jane's underlying philosophy is "no camping". If we are going to spend several months a year on board, she wants it to emulate a summer cottage and "roughing it" is not part of the equation. Already the galley is set up to her exacting standards, a freezer has been added, all of the cushion covers have been replaced, curtains are next, new cockpit cushions are in the works.
We are looking forward to a boat which can carry us comfortably and safely through the nooks and crannies of the Med, and yet still be well within the physical limitations of two aging geezers (did I mention the oversize windlass?)