SV Delos vs. SV Hanalei
You might be wondering why in Poseidon’s name I keep mentioning SV Delos? Is it because she’s famous?
It’s true that the Amel Super Maramu 2000 is an international YouTube star, but that’s not it.
Is it because our boat, SV Hanalei, is also a Super Maramu 2000?
Warmer. Not quite.
If you met us before 2009, you already know the answer. If you met us cruising Cuba, Guatemala, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador during the past 10 years, you’re understandably confused. You might be as confused as we were when strangers took one look at our boat and started talking about SV Delos.
SV Delos used to be our home. She’s where our kids grew up. Delos Days posts will share stories about raising kids while cruising.
It’s more than nostalgia, though. SV Delos is half the story, an integral part of my formation, the boat I first captained alone.
SV Delos, Tonga, 2004.
Back in the year 2000, Stephan and I commissioned SV Delos from Chantiers Amel for a grand cruising adventure. Our three children, aged 8 to 13, named her for the floating island of Greek myth. The idea was that we could explore the world by day and still sleep in our own beds.
And that’s exactly what we did.
We took delivery in the Mediterranean port of Hyères and moved aboard for a shakedown. We cruised full-time for five magnificent years, from France to Turkey, Sweden to the Gambia, the Caribbean to the Galapagos, French Polynesia to New Zealand. We crossed two oceans and a half-dozen seas.
Then our pesky children went and grew up. Instead of a cruising kitty, we needed tuition money. I sailed SV DELOS from Tauranga, New Zealand, to Bellingham, Washington. Then we sold her to Brian Trautman.
Brian and his crew turned SV Delos into a YouTube rock star with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Nice job, Brian. You and your family have inspired so many would-be cruisers. And congratulations on turning SV Delos into a kid boat again!
How all Amel Super Maramu 2000s are alike:
• Size. 16 meters (53 feet) overall length; 5 meters (16 feet) at widest point; 2-meter (6.6 feet) keel.
• Ketch-rigged, meaning a second mast at rear of cockpit.
• A drop-down bow thruster to aid parallel parking.
• 220v electrical; 50 cycle European-style (not 60 cycle of US 220).
• 24v battery bank and inverter.
• Two autopilot controls.
• Dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, chest freezer.
• Forward cabin with two bunks (port berth expands to double), hanging locker, head, and watertight bulkhead.
• Aft cabin with two berths, desk, hanging locker head, and watertight bulkhead.
SV Hanalei, Ecuador, 2020.
A few years passed.
Despite their former teachers’ qualms about boatschooling, the kids made it through college and grad school. They didn’t even bankrupt us or themselves.
Nice job, crew.
When the time came to look for another boat, nothing compared to our beloved SV Delos. Chantiers Amel builds limited production boats, at that time, 33 per year. All 16-meter ketches, all beautiful. And, honestly, we already knew how to sail a Super Maramu. Why learn a whole new boat?
So we bought SV Hanalei, her twin. Not strictly an identical twin, but a sister ship. If you know where to look you’ll spot a few differences.
Stephan says explaining the difference between two Super Maramus is like comparing 1965 and 1966 Volkswagen Beetles, whatever that means.
I don’t pretend to be mechanical. You can only do so many things well.
How to tell SV Delos and SV Hanalei apart:
• Wind generator. We put the wind gen on SV Delos’ transom when we built an arch in Panama, 2004. SV Hanalei’s is atop the mizzen mast.
• Aft stateroom. Their double bed and desk are non-convertible. Our double bed breaks down for passages so there are port and starboard berths. We don’t have a full-time desk.
• Watermaker. Delos makes 150 liters per hour (or used to). Ours is broken. It keeps slipping down the fix-it list.
• Freezer/fridge. Delos has the optional second chest refrigerator/freezer. When we were making passages with six crew, it sure came in handy. The one is enough for us now. Stephan uses the other space to store tools. (He does that with most spaces.)
• Stowage. Most of bilge lockers are identical, but Delos has one under the galley sole. I miss it.
• Logo. SV Delos flies a logo on her mainsail. Cool, huh? The only logo we fly is Amel’s red, white and blue ballooner on the forestay track.
I did always want a flag that said, KIDS ON BOARD.
Maybe that would make a good baby present for SV Delos?
Fair winds,
Christine
Do Tell!
What’s your connection to SV Delos? Have you met one of your sister ships?
