EBM saying what needs to be said, a depressing situation, and in the “Your elected reps at work” department…
Over the last decade or so, the HIP choice for cruising boats are the Amel or just about anything with two hulls. This popularity has a lot more to do with so-called Influencers than it does about boat design or good cruising boats.
I won’t go into why I think most modern condomarans catamarans are not good cruising boats. I’ll leave that rant for another day. However, I will share some thoughts on Amels and the Super Maramu in particular.
The Amel yard is a family concern and builds great boats. Their clientele is folks with a lot of money who care more about comfort than performance. As the vehicle for a popular YouTube channel, it became the monohull du jour for a lot of YouTubers. Well, those who could afford to spend a couple of hundred grand or so for a boat.
The Super Maramu is a nice boat if you’re into that middle-aged or older couple thing who want to cruise a “50” (French slang for motorsailer). It also makes a great party boat with copious booze and a bikini-clad crew. I’m guessing that the current Super Maramu’s popularity has to do with T&A rather than sailing performance.
The important thing is that as nice as an Amel is, it’s a very poor VolksCruiser.
Anyway, here’s a VolksCruiser that has a bit of the Amel vibe but performs and (if you can find one) makes a much more affordable alternative…
The Karate MK1.
What’s not to like? The Karate offers great performance, a reasonable cruising interior, small enough to single hand, and affordable. Sure, it’s nearly half the size of the Maramu but it’s just the right size for a couple. Hell, you can even throw on a hard dodger and everyone will think you’re sailing an Amel.
Seems the Maramu has a weak mast. Been a string of collapsed spars, something to do with compression from spinnaker poles. There was a rumour of litigation.
Does the trailing edge of the keel move? (On that karate)