Sailing Miragevideo
Two years with "Mirage", my Amel 50. Review and five wishes for next-generation push-button sailing.
16 July 2025 · 7 min · 8K views
What this video covers
After two years and two full seasons aboard the Amel 50 Mirage, Vlad reviews the boat's push-button sailing concept and proposes five specific upgrades for the next generation.▶ 0:00 He rates the existing switch-based control philosophy highly and wants to extend it further.▶ 0:00 His first wish: automate the mainsheet traveller car electrically or hydraulically, as already done on the Amel 60, freeing the secondary winches from that duty.▶ 1:17 Second, fit a hydraulic boom vang like those on the Oyster Yachts 495 and Hallberg-Rassy 50, eliminating the manual line entirely.▶ 1:40 Third, route mainsheet control to a captive-drum capstan winch hidden below deck, removing the dedicated cockpit winch and clearing space.▶ 2:21 Fourth, replace the primary winches with Harken Rewind electric self-tailing winches, which add a powered ease-out function to the standard two-speed operation, enabling full sheet control from a single three-position switch.▶ 3:07 Fifth, build a permanent furler for downwind sails — code zero and gennaker — into the bowsprit at the factory, eliminating the removable Nex 5 electric furler and its wiring.▶ 5:00 He notes the Amel 50's interior comfort needs no improvement, but praises Garcia Yachts Exploration 45 and 52 for their watertight, soundproof companionway doors as a concept worth borrowing.▶ 5:26
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