Her name is confidential, for now. So are the majority of details about her interior design, and whether she will serve privately or charter. Regardless, an Amels 180 nearing completion in The Netherlands recently sold to a buyer. That buyer will be able to start cruising aboard this summer, too.
As is true of this entire Limited Editions model range, the Amels 180 bears exterior styling by Tim Heywood. The owner selected Laura Sessa, popular with many of the yard’s customers, to transform the interior spaces to suit his needs. Six staterooms will take care of the owner’s party, amid an atmosphere with glossy finishes. (Amels hasn’t specified the woods or other materials featured.) In addition, the owner and guests get three fold-down balconies from which to take in the views. Surely one of the three balconies benefits the master suite, given what other Amels Limited Editions customers—and megayacht customers across the world—prefer.
In general, the engineering package for the Amels 180 is largely set. Among other things, this means a beam of 31 feet (9.4 meters) and an anticipated range of 4,500 nautical miles at 13 knots. But, customers are still welcome to request some structural changes, rare among shipyards offering similarly set technical platforms. In some cases, for example, owners have wanted longer deck areas to enjoy, or a helipad. This Amels 180 follows suit, with an extended sundeck. It’s nearly 92 feet (28 meters) long, compared to the 82-foot (25-meter) length of some Limited Editions predecessors.
To put the upcoming delivery into perspective, consider that the Amels 180 lineage dates back several years. In fact, Rose Damen, Amels’ commercial director, declares it’s “the world’s best-selling 55-meter yacht design since 2007.” The first 180 to start construction was Engelberg, which saw delivery in 2013. She now bears the name Gene Machine. Other notable 180s since then include Step One, La Familia, Elixir, and, just last year, Driftwood and Lili.
Consider, too, that Amels marks a significant milestone this year. One hundred years ago, it opened its doors, as a commercial boatbuilder. Those types of projects remained the focus until the late 20th century. Amels launched its first megayacht in 1980, the 158-foot (48.2-meter) Katalina. Though that LOA is not unusual these days, nearly 30 years ago, it was quite out of the ordinary. The Damen Shipyards Group acquired Amels in 1991, its first (and still only) yacht-specific division.
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