Amel · Sailing yacht
Amel Santorin
The Santorin is a 14 m (46 ft) centre-cockpit cruiser that Jacques Carteau drew under Henri Amel’s supervision and Chantiers Amel built in La Rochelle from 1989 to 1997, as a ketch or, on the same hull, as a sloop. It carried the Sharki’s idea into a bigger boat with the look and systems of the Super Maramu: Amel’s electric jib and main furlers, a retractable bow thruster, an electric windlass, a shaft alternator and the Amel drive, whose propeller sits just behind the keel. Amel’s own papers name a Perkins M50 of 50 hp in 1989 and a Volvo of 50 hp later, owners report Volvo Penta MD22 engines on late hulls, and the drive came in two versions with a 35 or 40 mm shaft, so read the engine plate and check the drive before ordering parts. Owners know of no owner’s manual for the Santorin: Amel’s customer service in La Rochelle, Hyères and Martinique still handles spare parts, and the yard drawings of 1989 circulate in the French-speaking Amel owners’ forum.
- Manuals & documents
- Equipment & its manuals
- Specifications
- Good to know
- Videos & how-tos
- On the marketplace
Manuals & documents
Amel offers none of these for download any more. The links go to Amel’s brochure and history pages, to archived pages of its old website and to two owners’ forums. Owners have scanned the 1989 sales flyer and yard drawings there; we cite them as sources but link neither those scans nor host any manuals or drawings.
- Santorin brochure (scanned): Henri Amel’s foreword, the 14 Amel points, engine room, sloop version; the English edition is a text sheet with the captions Brochure amel.fr · PDF · FR · EN
- Santorin specifications on Amel’s website, 2006–2007 (dimensions, 50 hp, tanks, ketch sail areas; the French page adds the sloop) Archived maker page web.archive.org · EN · FR
- Santorin profile, sail plan and layout drawings on Amel’s website, 2006 Archived maker page web.archive.org · EN
- Santorin summary of standard equipment from Amel’s brokerage, 2016 (Volvo 50 hp, Amel transmission, ketch and sloop sail wardrobes) Archived maker page web.archive.org · PDF · EN
- The Amel story: every model with build years and the original brochures Product page amel.fr · EN · FR
- Amel history, chapter 8: the Super Maramu and Santorin years (2025) Press release amel.fr · EN · FR
- Amel customer service: spare parts and technical help from La Rochelle, Hyères and Le Marin (Martinique) Manual portal amel.fr · EN · FR
- Forum Voiliers Amel: public French-speaking owners’ forum with many Santorin threads and the scanned yard documents Manual portal forum-voiliers-amel.net · FR
- Amel Yacht Owners Group: independent forum of about 1,500 owners; Santorin owners are in the main group (for owners and serious buyers) Manual portal amelyachtowners.groups.io · EN
Equipment & its manuals
Standard equipment as the builder’s documents list it. Boats were ordered with options and refitted since — check what is actually aboard.
| Item | Model | Manual / page | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Perkins M50, 50 hp1,2,3,4,5Engine-room drawing and sales flyer of March 1989: four-cylinder Perkins M50 diesel of 36.5 kW (50 hp), 40 hp (30 kW) of it usable; 7.5 kn fast cruise, 6.5 kn economical, 450 nm range | — | Owners call it the Perkins Prima M50 and report it on boats up to at least 1993. Read the engine plate before ordering parts. |
| Engine | Volvo Penta, 50 hp6,7,8,9,10,11,3,12Amel’s summary of standard equipment (brokerage, 2016): Volvo 50 hp diesel; Amel’s specification page of 2006–2007: 36 kW (50 hp) diesel; the engine-room photo in the brochure shows a Volvo Penta | — | Amel names no type. Owners report a Volvo Penta MD22 (MD22L) on hull 117 of 1995 and on hull 122; check the plate before ordering filters, impeller or belts. |
| Gearbox | AMEL transmission (C-drive)1,8,13,6,14,10,15,16Amel’s own drive on every boat: engine and drive on silent blocks, a propeller leg with two right-angle gears mounted flexibly on the keel, the shaft through the hull in a flexible sleeve (1989 drawing); Henri Amel calls it the “AMEL transmission”, the English brochure sheet “S-drive” | — | Two versions, according to Amel’s after-sales manager as relayed by owners: early boats have the angle gear in an aluminium block of about 15 cm with a 35 mm propeller shaft, later ones (from about hull 40) a cast-iron block of about 20 cm with a 40 mm shaft. Owners name a ZF 25M reverse gear with cone clutch in front of the drive. |
| Propeller | 3-blade fixed, ø 480 mm1,6,17,15,181989 drawing: propeller of 480 mm diameter on a 35 mm shaft; Amel’s summary: three-blade propeller | — | Owners give the original as a left-hand 19 × 14 in three-blade (Radice or France Hélice). |
| Bow thruster | AMEL retractable, 12 V8,13,6,19,20,21Amel’s own retractable electric bow thruster, “stronger and more powerful” than on earlier Amels (Henri Amel in the brochure); on the 12 V system in the 1989 wiring diagram | — | A small board with three limit switches in the box on the actuator also acts as the fuse; Amel’s base in Le Marin supplied a new one in 2023. Lip seals and foam seals come from Amel. |
| Furler | AMEL electric jib furler8,13,6,22,23Electric furling jib (point 1 of the 14 Amel points) with crank-adjusted jib sheet car; the ballooner furls together with the jib | — | On a 1993 boat the owner found a Bosch 0 186 350 009 motor (12 V, 1000 W). Owners relay Amel’s advice to fill the reduction gear with silicone grease instead of oil. |
| Mast & rigging | AMEL ketch or sloop, in-mast furling8,13,6,24,25AMEL masts and booms: electric in-mast furling main with electric clew outhaul and AMEL halyard tensioner, furling mizzen, AMEL main sheet tackle and two two-piece AMEL poles with complete rigging; the sloop has the main mast only | — | Amel’s exploded view of the main furler (June 1990) shows a CIMA motor of 300 W at 12 V (Amel ref. 1518; 400 W at 24 V ref. 1519) on a Bonfiglioli MVF 44 gearbox (ref. 1515). Owners furl the mizzen with a winch handle. |
| Sails | Tri-radial: 5 sails ketch, 3 sloop6,8,13,26Ketch: mainsail, mizzen, genoa, mizzen staysail and ballooner; sloop: mainsail, genoa and ballooner; tri-radial cut in composite cloth (brochure) | — | Owners name Gateff as the original sailmaker; sail areas see specifications. |
| Winches | Winches, maker not named6,19Amel’s summary lists “winches” without number or maker; in the 1989 wiring diagram only the furlers, the windlass and the bow thruster have electric controls | — | |
| Windlass | Electric, cockpit remote control13,8,6,19Electric windlass with cockpit-operated remote control, AMEL stainless bow roller and anchor wash (points 2 to 4 of the 14 Amel points) | — | Amel does not name the maker. |
| Anchor | Anchor with chain6,27Complete anchor set with chain and anchor in Amel’s summary | — | One owner found 60 m of 10 mm chain and a 45 lb CQR on his boat in 2011; owners say Amel prefers 10 mm chain to 12 mm on many models. |
| Toilet | 2 heads, forward and aft28,8,13,10Forward and aft head compartments, each with WC and shower, sea-water intake and discharge through the hull (1989 fluids diagram); Henri Amel and Jacques Carteau name the aft head as one of the gains over the Sharki | — | Maker not named. Some boats have a holding tank of about 60 l for the forward WC; an owner thinks it was an option. |
| Autopilot | Wheel autopilot, chain drive2,6,29,30,31Autopilot standard from the start (1989 flyer, Amel’s summary); maker not named | — | Owners describe a Raymarine pilot with a Type 2 chain drive on the wheel; its fluxgate compass sits behind the saloon backrest. |
| Instruments | Navigation centre + GPS13,6,32,33,34Navigation centre unit with digital display at the helm (wind speed, boat speed, depth, 360° analogue), GPS navigator, clock, barometer and magnetic compass (brochure, Amel’s summary) | — | Owners of boats from 1992 and 1994 have B&G Hydra instruments (330, 2000); the central unit sits behind the panel above the chart table. |
| Radar | Daylight radar13,6Daylight-display radar (brochure, Amel’s summary); maker not named | — | |
| VHF | VHF13,6VHF radio-telephone (brochure, Amel’s summary); maker not named | — | |
| Audio system | Radio/CD, 4 speakers13,6Radio and CD player with four speakers (brochure, Amel’s summary) | — | |
| Generator | 12 V emergency generator2,6,35A small emergency generating set in the 1989 flyer, “12 V emergency generator” in Amel’s summary; no diesel generator as standard | — | An owner who added a 4.5 kW Onan diesel generator put it where the batteries were and moved them. |
| Batteries | 3 × 12 V, about 100 Ah19,1,61989 drawings: three 12 V batteries of 102 Ah (wiring diagram) or 105 Ah (engine-room drawing) in parallel, in a laminated box in the engine room, with a battery switch worked from the cockpit; Amel’s summary: set of batteries (3) | — | One bank for engine and services in the original design. |
| Alternators | 12 V 70 A + shaft alternator19,13,8,6,36,371989 wiring diagram: 12 V 70 A alternator on the engine and a propeller-shaft alternator as an option; Henri Amel’s brochure text and Amel’s summary list the shaft alternator as standard | — | The shaft alternator charges under sail; a key on the panel switches its field on (red lamp, green when charging). One owner found a Valeo unit with a Motorola regulator. |
| Charger | 220 V shore power + charger19,1,6Shore-power inlet with residual-current breaker, automatic charger, 220 V sockets and water-heater element, the 220 V gear grouped in one zone of the engine room (1989 drawings); “220 V complete circuit with charger” in Amel’s summary | — | |
| Fridge | 12 V fridge13,8,6A larger 12 V refrigerator than on the Sharki (Henri Amel); maker not named | — | |
| Stove | Gas stove with oven6,13Amel’s summary; the fully equipped galley is shown in the brochure | — | |
| Gas system | Butane, vented bottle locker28Butane bottles in a locker with a vent through the hull and a gas valve on the line to the stove (1989 fluids diagram) | — | |
| Heater | Diesel heating + 220 V heating6Both in Amel’s summary; makers not named | — | |
| Water heater | Calorifier: engine + 220 V13,19,6Hot-water tank heated by the engine and an immersion heater (English brochure sheet), a 500 W element on the 220 V circuit (1989 wiring diagram); hot and cold water to heads and galley | — | |
| Water pump | Electric fresh-water pump28,6Electric pressure pump from the 800 l tank to galley, heads and cockpit shower (1989 fluids diagram, Amel’s summary) | — | |
| Bilge pump | Electric automatic + manual1,28,6Very deep central bilge sump collecting all drains, an electric bilge pump with automatic switch and a manual pump worked from the cockpit (1989 drawings); “bilge with automatic pump” in Amel’s summary | — | |
| Fuel filter | Decanter + engine filter1Stainless fuel tank with a decanter at the outlet and one filter on the engine (1989 engine-room drawing) | — | |
| Canopy & T-top | AMEL hard-top + folding hood13,8AMEL hard-top with folding spray hood over the centre cockpit (point 11 of the 14 Amel points) | — | |
| Dinghy | Stern locker + electric inflator13,2,6Watertight stern locker for dinghy, outboard and fenders, a halyard to handle the tender and an outboard bracket (brochure, 1989 flyer); electric dinghy inflator in Amel’s summary | — | |
| Swim platform | Bathing ladder / gangway13,6A bathing ladder that doubles as a gangway (brochure, Amel’s summary) | — | |
| Fire extinguishers | 2 (automatic + manual)6Two fire extinguishers, one automatic and one manual (Amel’s summary) | — |
Specifications
| Years built | 1989 to 1997 (Amel’s history)38,39 |
|---|---|
| Versions | Ketch or sloop on the same hull: Jacques Carteau designed the boat to take either rig without modification (1989 flyer); two versions of the Amel drive, according to Amel’s after-sales service as relayed by owners, the later one from about hull 402,39,40,14,10,15 |
| Hulls built | Amel publishes no total; the owner of hull 117 put the series at about 135 boats (owners’ forum, 2011)10 |
| Designer | Jacques Carteau, under Henri Amel’s supervision (drawings signed “Architecte J. Carteau”; the fluids diagram names H. Amel and J. Carteau)41,13,2,28 |
| Builder | Chantiers Amel, Périgny (La Rochelle), France; test sails also from Amel Méditerranée in Hyères38,8,13 |
| Predecessor | Amel Sharki (11.95 m, built 1979 to 1989): Henri Amel and Jacques Carteau present the Santorin as the Sharki’s programme in a bigger boat; the Maramu (13.80 m) was also built until 198913,2,38 |
| Successor | None directly: after the Santorin ended in 1997 Amel built only the Super Maramu 2000 (16 m) until the Amel 54 of 200539,38 |
| Length overall | 14 m; 13 m on deck7,13,2 |
| Waterline length | 11 m7,2 |
| Beam | 4 m; 3.50 m at the waterline (1989 flyer)7,2 |
| Draft | 1.90 m7,2,42 |
| Air draft | 17.50 m (1989 flyer)2 |
| Displacement | 11 t loaded, 9.3 t empty (Amel 2006–2007); 10 t loaded and 8.5 t empty in the 1989 flyer7,40,2 |
| Ballast | 3.9 t in the ballasted fin (Amel 2006–2007); 3.7 t in the 1989 flyer; the midship section of March 1989 shows 3200 kg of cast iron on ten 20 mm stainless studs7,2,42 |
| Keel | Fin keel laminated as part of the hull, with AMEL side wings; the propeller turns just behind it42,8,13 |
| Hull | Solid glassfibre hull, balsa-cored deck laminated to the hull all round, plywood bulkheads laminated to hull and deck; watertight bulkheads and doors, which Amel says make the boat unsinkable42,13,8 |
| Mainsail | Ketch 26 m² (Amel 2006–2007; 23 m² in the 1989 flyer); sloop 30 m²40,7,2 |
| Genoa | Ketch 52 m² (54 m² in 1989); sloop 60 m²40,2 |
| Light-air sails | Mizzen 13 m², mizzen staysail 23 m² (22 m² in 1989), ballooner 57 m² (70 m² in 1989)7,2 |
| Engine | Perkins M50 of 36.5 kW (50 hp), 40 hp usable (1989); 36 kW (50 hp) diesel (Amel 2006–2007); Volvo 50 hp in Amel’s later summary2,1,7,6 |
| Cruising speed | 7.5 kn fast cruise, 6.5 kn economical under power (1989 flyer)2 |
| Range | 450 nm under power (1989 flyer)2 |
| Fuel tank | 400 l, stainless steel7,2,1 |
| Water tank | 800 l, laminated into the bilge above the keel and lined with food-grade gelcoat7,13,42 |
| Cabins | Forward and aft cabin with the same comfort and storage, each with its own head compartment (WC and shower)13,8,28 |
Good to know
- There is no owner’s manual to ask for: owners know of none for the Santorin, and Amel could not supply wiring plans when asked. The best reference is the set of seventeen yard drawings, most of them from 1989, that owners scanned for the French-speaking forum. Spare parts for the furlers, bow thruster and drive still come from Amel’s customer service (customer@amel.fr).43,44,45,46
- Before ordering seals, a wear sleeve or a propeller, find out which drive your boat has: the early Amel drive has an aluminium angle box of about 15 cm and a 35 mm shaft, the later one (from about hull 40) a cast-iron box of about 20 cm and a 40 mm shaft. Owners give the original propeller as a left-hand 19 × 14 in three-blade.14,10,15,17,1
- Look into the drive’s oil reservoir on the forward bulkhead of the engine room: a creamy “mayonnaise” means sea water is getting past the lip seals on the propeller shaft. The cure is a haul-out, three new lip seals and often a new wear sleeve from Amel; owners describe the job step by step in the forum.47,48,49,50
- Many owners have already repowered their Santorin. The 1989 wiring diagram ties keel, engine and drive, tank, fuel lines, seacocks and water pipes into a bonding circuit kept apart from the negative, so owners advise a new engine with an isolated ground: two-wire senders, an insulated starter and alternator, or a relay that opens the block ground.19,3,4
- If the bow thruster stops after it has jammed, check the small board with three limit switches in the box on the actuator before anything else: it doubles as the fuse, and a burnt track can be bridged. The lip seal at the propeller and the big one at the top of the tube should be watched at every haul-out; Amel supplies them and the foam seals.20,21
- Before ordering sails, check which sizes your boat was built with: Amel’s figures changed between the 1989 flyer and the website of 2006 (ketch main 23 or 26 m², jib 54 or 52 m², ballooner 70 or 57 m²), and the sloop carries a 30 m² main and a 60 m² jib. Owners have collected luff, leech and foot lengths of the original ketch sails in the forum.2,40,7,51,52
Videos & how-tos
Links to YouTube, nothing embedded. The maker’s own channel comes first; the rest are channels we found clear and correct for this model.
- Complete tour of an Amel Santorin, deck and interior (German) Video hafenkino.blog · DE · 40 min
- A 1993 Santorin ketch under sail in the Mediterranean Video Lars H Knudsen · EN · 19 min
On the marketplace
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Sources
- Amel yard drawing “Compartiment moteur” Santorin, March 1989 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- Amel sales flyer Santorin, 1989 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/changement-de-moteur/1274
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/remotorisation-amel-santorin/3335
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/plan-de-cablage-santorin-ketch/3164
- web.archive.org/web/20170506130201/http://www.amel.fr:80/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Santo…
- web.archive.org/web/20070116105648/http://www.amel.fr:80/en/pages-amel/santorin.htm
- amel.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BROCHURE-SANTORIN-FR.pdf
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/pompe-a-eau-sur-volvo-22-dl-santorin/948
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/santorin-maramu-reservoirs-a-eaux-noires/1348
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/farniente-santorin-ketch-1995-a-vendre/1798
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/helice-maxprop-pour-santorin-122/3480
- amel.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BROCHURE-SANTORIN-ANG.pdf
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/santorin-transmision/1395
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/regime-croisiere-dun-moteur-perkins-prima-m50/1827
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/inverseur-zf25m-pour-santorin/2022
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/helice-mise-en-drapeau-pour-santorin/2033
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/helice-santorin/2066
- Amel wiring diagram Santorin, 21 March 1989 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/propulseur-santorin/1519
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/carte-electronique-propulseur-detrave-santorin/2873
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/demontage-enrouleur-santorin-1993/3128
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/enrouleur-genois-sur-santorin/3205
- Amel exploded view of the main furler Santorin, 1990 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/enrouleur-de-voile-dartimon-santorin-et-sm/1447
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/voiles-gateff-dorigine-du-santorin/1166
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/modele-dancre-pour-santorin/1329
- Amel fluids diagram Santorin, 25 March 1989 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/pilote-sur-secteur-santorin/3768
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/moteur-de-pilote-sur-santorin/1628
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/pilote-automatique-santorin/1512
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/expansion-b-g-hydra-330-sur-santorin/1679
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/b-g-sur-santorin-pb-sortie-ffd-hydra-2000-nmea/2562
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/centrale-hydra-2000/3077
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/santorin-maramu-generateur-4kw/1349
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/alternateur-darbre-dhelice-sur-santorin/969
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/alternateur-darbre-valeo/3055
- amel.fr/en/the-amel-story/
- amel.fr/en/2025/05/15/chapter-8-the-years-of-recognition-when-amel-became-a-global-refere…
- web.archive.org/web/20061005204343/http://www.amel.fr:80/pages-amel/santorin.htm
- web.archive.org/web/20061005205030/http://www.amel.fr:80/en/pages-amel/santorin-photos-pl…
- Amel midship-section drawing (hull scantlings) Santorin, 1989 (owners’ scan, not linked)
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/manuels-santorin-et-achat-intracommunautaire/1391
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/schema-electrique-du-santorin/1350
- Amel yard drawings Santorin, 1989 (owners’ scans, not linked)
- amel.fr/en/our-yachts/amel-service-and-support-par-excellence/
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/help-traces-dhuile-et-transmission-sur-santorin/1356
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/probleme-sur-sail-drive-santorin/1549
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/remplacement-bague-dusure-sur-santorin/3564
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/remplacement-de-la-bague-dusure-sur-une-transmiss/947
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/plan-de-voilure-dun-santorin-ketch/917
- forum-voiliers-amel.net/t/cotes-des-voiles-du-santorin-ketch/1636
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