- Founded
- 1964
- Headquarters
- Périgny, France
- Shipyard location
- Same as headquarters
- Official website
- https://amel.fr
Brand Overview
French builder of blue-water cruising monohulls, based in Périgny (La Rochelle) since the shipyard's founding in 1964.
Overview written fromamel.fr/en/the-amel-story/read 9/7/2026
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
Amel is a French builder of heavy-displacement, blue-water cruising monohulls built at its own single shipyard in La Rochelle since the 1960s, known for a small, deliberately conservative range of models (currently the 50.2 and 60) rather than a broad production lineup. It occupies a distinctive niche among luxury bluewater sailboat builders, emphasizing proprietary ease-of-handling systems (in-mast/roller furling, retractable bow thrusters) and long-range comfort over performance sailing.
Who sails them
Amel yachts are typically bought by experienced or aspiring offshore cruising couples and small crews planning long-distance, often circumnavigation-style voyages, valuing ease of short-handed sailing, comfort, and self-sufficiency over speed. Many owners keep their boats for years as liveaboard or seasonal blue-water cruisers rather than day-sailing or racing.
Signature models
Super Maramu, AMEL 54, AMEL 50/50.2, AMEL 60
Strengths
Amel is widely credited with pioneering owner-friendly, short-handed offshore sailing systems (retractable bow thruster, in-house furling gear) and building extremely robust, watertight one-piece laminated hulls, earning a loyal following among long-distance cruisers.
Considerations
Amel builds a narrow range of large, heavily-specced blue-water monohulls (typically 50-60ft) at a single French yard, so pricing is high and choice within the range is limited compared to volume production builders; buyers pay a premium for the brand's proprietary systems and finish.
Analysis generated 9/7/2026
Part of
Chantiers Amel · since 2005
Where they build
The building sites this yard publishes, in its own order.
Périgny (La Rochelle)
Périgny, France
Main production shipyard since 1969
AMEL-Mediterranean
Hyères, France
Off-site location/after-sales base
AMEL Caraïbes
Le Marin, Martinique
After-sales service base
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 2
- Length range
- 16.7–19 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Monohull 2
- Cabins
- 3
Models by this brand
2 models
History
Henri Amel, born Henri Tonet in 1913, sailed from his youth, began building boats in his Paris coachwork company and continued in Lyon after the war, and though wounded in one eye and later blind for many years never gave up his dream of robust, comfortable, easy-to-handle sailing boats. The Amel yard began in La Rochelle in 1964 when he took over ARPIN in the Ville-en-Bois district; after fire destroyed the workshops on 3 February 1968 he built a new yard at Périgny, inaugurated in January 1969, where every Amel has been built since. In 1973 he was one of the four La Rochelle builders who created the Grand Pavois boat show, the company became Chantiers Amel S.A. in 1978, the Maramu, Sharki and Mango followed, the first Amel furling systems appeared in 1983 and the retractable bow thruster in 1985, and the Super Maramu of 1988 led to the Super Maramu 2000, Cruising World's Boat of the Year in 2000. Henri Amel died on 12 April 2005, and from then every yacht has carried the name Amel -- the 54, the 64 and 55, the Amel 50 of 2017, European Yacht of the Year 2018, and the Amel 60 of 2019.
History written fromamel.fr/en/the-amel-story/· The AMEL storyread 9/22/2026