General Info: Astrea 42: Owners?

[NausetSailor]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

If you can get the Yanmar for the same price I'd consider them. It was a very large upcharge for the Saona 47 so I ended up staying with the Volvo despite a nagging MDI problem on the Volvo. Atlantic Cruising Yacht says it is fixed, but I had 30 years positive experience with Yanmar so I would have preferred them. The Volvo are good engines also. If you go with Yanmar I'd suggest checking footprint and layout. Someone told me that the 57hp Yanmar was difficult to get to the raw water impeller on the Saona.

Zzmeyer - can you please share the upcharge for the Yanmars? I too have a penchant for Yanmar and have inquired about this for my Elba 45. Am also concerned about the fit issue. Thanks -trevor

[NausetSailor]

Does any have any firsthand experience and insights on the Parasailor? I met the US dealer at the Annapolis show today and he told me you don't need a bowsprit for this (I'm a little uncomfortable not spec'ing this on my FP45). I've got limited experience with spinnakers, Code 0's, etc. Any suggestions are appreciated! -trevor

[VP and the Fox]

No first hand expereince as yet but have done a lot of research on it. We ended up ordering a Levante Parasail from Oxley Sails who were recommended to us by another Astrea owner. We don't need to have a bowsprit for it but are getting one anyway for the screecher and will run the parasail from it asymetriacally. Also, we are running the blocks from the cleats and not getting them fitted through the hulls. The quotes for the deck hardware and fitment for the ISTEC were pretty expensive. Others are doing this with the Levante on Astreas and Helias are having no problems from what I have heard. Plus the Levante was way cheaper than the ISTEC and the wingaker. If you search the Facebook Astrea 42 group using "Levante" you'll find more info there. Sven at Oxley has been a pleasure to deal with too. He's in Germany.

[Zzmeyer]

Originally Posted by NausetSailor

Zzmeyer - can you please share the upcharge for the Yanmars? I too have a penchant for Yanmar and have inquired about this for my Elba 45. Am also concerned about the fit issue. Thanks -trevor

For the Saona 47. Last year pricing. Volvo 50 standard; volvo 60 plus $4091, 57 hp Yanmar plus 15,289, 80hp Yanmar 21843. I originally went with 57 hp Yanmar but switched to 60 hp volvo for two reasons. Seems the MDI problem mostle solved; second, I heard the form factor is larger on the Yanmar which made some maintenance issues harder. No idea if true.

[NausetSailor]

Thanks VP & Fox and Zzmeyer - very helpful feedback!

[David2.0]

Originally Posted by Europe Sails

Everyone seen that review?

I´ve been on a Astrea in Croatia and I can agree with most of the points

The reviewers are concerned about the flimsy steering mechanism. Is this concern really warranted? In other words, have people in real life actually experienced the steering mechanism of the FPs (and the Astrea in particular) to be a true issue that requires constant repair, and/or redesign?

[VP and the Fox]

I'm in touch with quite a few current Astrea owners on Facebook and no one has said anything about it at all. Nick seems to focus on this area in all his catamaran reviews. There has been a few comments on this thread in the past about it and the general consensus is that it's perfectly acceptable.

[SailCreation]

Thank for the update. For asthetic reasons I lean Astrea, yet feel the safe decision is lagoon 42. Are there any non asthetic advantages of the Astrea over the lagoon 42.? The review made it sound like looks is all the Astrea has going for it.

[VP and the Fox]

Yes Brackebusch, it wasn't the most complimentary review but, as Nick and Teresa keep saying, it's only their personal opinion, and they have never owned or cruised full time on a catamaran anyway. It's all going to come down to personal preferences, budget, and the quality of the salespeople you are dealing with, as (for most of us) this is a huge purchase decision.

So few of these boats are sold to "live-a-board" purchasers. It's such a small database to work from. We were horrified to see they rated the Astrea second last of all the cats they have reviewed but then again, they are not working from a level playing field - comparing cruising cats to performance cats that can vary from $500K to millions of dollars is like comparing caravans to Porshce's.

Go with your heart mate. Fall in love with whatever boat you choose. They are all quality vessels at the end of the day and 95% of the time you'll be at anchor in any event.

We are really happy with our decision and can't wait to pick it next June.

[SailCreation]

So why did you choose the Astrea? (I have until March to decide - or stall longer and forfeit a weeks charter reimbursement.)

[VP and the Fox]

We actually fell in love with the Helia and spent a year looking for a second hand one before they released the Astrea. Once we realised it was in our budget to get a brand new boat, we moved ahead. We bought it before we actually saw it. The open living spaces, the easy of double-handed sailing, the styling and the performance were exactly what we were looking for. We have had a share in a Seawind 1160 for a few years and love it but this was the move up we wanted.

[tedscreamer]

Quick question re: dinghy size for the Astrea 42. Looks like to recommended size is a 3.4m with 15HP. Is a 3.6m going to be too big and get in the way of the hull?

Stefan, Hull #51
https://www.facebook.com/svOutofOffice/
https://www.instagram.com/svoutofoffice/

[VP and the Fox]

My understanding from our agent is that the 3.4m leaves you with only about a 20cm gap at each end which they said is very tight so the 3.6 might not fit at all. We are going with the 3.1m tender with a Yamaha 4 Stroke 20hp (F20SWPB) as it's the same weight as the 15hp one. Having said that we don't have the boat yet so probably best to get an opinion from someone who has!

[tedscreamer]

Originally Posted by tedscreamer

Quick question re: dinghy size for the Astrea 42. Looks like to recommended size is a 3.4m with 15HP. Is a 3.6m going to be too big and get in the way of the hull?

Stefan, Hull #51
https://www.facebook.com/svOutofOffice/
https://www.instagram.com/svoutofoffice/

Looks like we will be going no longer than 3.4m (unless I hear of any issues). Toss up between 15HP and 20HP (same weight).

Also, corrected the signature/hull number.

[Luc bulterys]

There is 360cm between both transoms of the Astréa. We have the platform (358cm), and the center of the dinghy (bow) is a little bit more backwards than the transom. I suppose that will be the same for davits. So it also depends on the shape of your dinghy, the outboard, and how easy you want to keep the manoeuvre. But I wouldn’t recommand a bigger dinghy than 340.
Ours is a Highfield CL 310 with a 20hp and it fits nicely. But we are only 2 aboard for 90% of the time.
Luc #55