General Info: Astrea 42: Owners?

[BKC]

No, deposit is with FP. Same risk as a deposit with any company. Get a good broker. I can thoroughly recommend Stephen Cockcroft (Cat Guru) having been thru the end to end process with him.

[BKC]

Any one interested in a sailing an Astrea from Abaco to Annapolis?

Hi everyone. Turns out our boat will need to move from its Abaco winter base to its summer base in Annapolis right when we are sailing in Croatia. Darn!

I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone interested in taking her as a great test drive? There's an 11 day window July 7th to 18th for the trip. Going with the Gulf stream so should be a fun, fast sail. Couple of options - someone suitable takes her and assembles their own crew or could look for volunteers here, or even take a Captain and see who's interested - best send me a private message so thread is not swamped. Just pay your own costs, no charter cost as such....shout with any interest.

[VP and the Fox]

Bugger! I'd be heartbroken Brian. Sorry I can't help you out. Ken

[CruiserUser]

Hi everybody,
we brought our ESCAPE (hull#5) all the way from La Rochelle to south of Portugal. Quite nasty weather almost all the time, wind mostly coming directly from ahead. She behaved quite well also in really bad conditions, but steering resoponse is relatively poor under motor when trying to avoid slamming into bigger waves.
I just wanted to share some information regarding a fantastic option we equipped the boat with. We ordered a headsail type "Levante" from a company Oxley Sails. Was quite some effort to put all extra rope locks and blocks in place, and I am not 100% happy with some details of the configuration yet. But: she flies!

The sail has a size of 175 square meters. In apparent wind of around 12 knots she reaches hull speed. If sailing with the wind coming from the stern you need about 20 knots true wind, if sailing with apparent wind 90° right from the side, true wind of around 12 to 15 knots. I have not mounted my feathering props yet, and you feel the saildrive spinning at high rpm, making the whole boat slightly vibrating. With the new props things will even improve.
A great experience!
Total cost of sail, ropes, hardware was around € 8.000,- and worth every cent.
I attached a short video sequence. As you see on the water surface, wind is very low, maybe 3 to 4, but at the end you see the great speed we are at.
https://youtu.be/UaUAPFQhdV0

[GRcatlover]

Hi CruiserUser. Can you repost the video please. The link says "video unavailable" but I'd love to see it!

[CruiserUser]

Hi again,
hope this link works. Sorry.
https://youtu.be/UaUAPFQhdV0

[Steve_C]

Originally Posted by CruiserUser

Hi again,
hope this link works. Sorry.
https://youtu.be/UaUAPFQhdV0

Worked for me, Thanks!

[VP and the Fox]

Was quite some effort to put all extra rope locks and blocks in place, and I am not 100% happy with some details of the configuration yet. But: she flies!

That looks epic! I have not heard of Oxley Sails but the price certainly is competitive. Can I ask what were the issues with getting the extra rope locks and blocks in place? Also, did you get this done by Uchimata in LR or was it organised by Oxley Sails?

Also, was there any particular reason you went with 175m2? I just ask as our agent in Australia said the 156m2 parasailor was about as big as you would want to go on an Astrea (obviously you've proven otherwise!)

Thanks in advance. Ken

[VP and the Fox]

Originally Posted by CruiserUser

Hi everybody,
We ordered a headsail type "Levante" from a company Oxley Sails. Was quite some effort to put all extra rope locks and blocks in place, and I am not 100% happy with some details of the configuration yet. But: she flies!
:[/url]

That looks epic! I have not heard of Oxley Sails but the price certainly is competitive. Can I ask what were the issues with getting the extra rope locks and blocks in place? Also, did you get this done by Uchimata in LR or was it organised by Oxley Sails?

Also, was there any particular reason you went with 175m2? I just ask as our agent in Australia said the 156m2 parasailor was about as big as you would want to go on an Astrea (obviously you've proven otherwise!)

Thanks in advance. Ken

[CruiserUser]

Hi Ken,
two massive upstanding blocks at the bow are required. At time of mounting them I was not 100% aware how the sail would be positioned under all conditions. If very far to one side, my blocks are touching the rods of the bow chairs. I should have left more clearance and moved them further forward.
As there are three lines to control per side, three rope locks are required. It was quite tricky to find the right position where they would not stick out over the side of the boat or into the side deck walking area, and at the same time being well positioned for the ropes coming in and out. For the locks stopping the rear sheets, I have under certain conditions problems to open the levers, as they collide with the sheet going almost straight forward. Nothing serious, just needs some more fine tuning. Unfortunately I did not take pictures to share, and will be back on the boat earliest in June.
I did the installation myself, including planning and selecting the parts. Took in total around two days with all drilling, sealing, removing covers inside etc. But was nice work and I learned again more about how to get into all different corners of the boat. If you are interested, I can post a list of parts I used.
Sizewise I went to the biggest sail I could fit as I know how weak the sailing performance is with the standard sails and low winds. Love to sail, not to use her as a motor boat. The 175 square meters work perfectly well, length of my snuffer is 17m (also from Oxley). I can fully recommend that setup.
Best regards,
Thomas

[CruiserUser]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...1&d=1556894763

[VP and the Fox]

Great information Thomas. Thank you. Well done on fitting he hardware yourself. Yes, I'd be keen to get your parts list and some photo's when you get back on the boat in June.

I'd be interested in your comments on how hard it was to remove and replace the covers inside the boat too. Fitting the deck hardware by myself does not scare me but removing and replacing the covers without damaging them does!

Ken

[BKC]

Hi Everyone:

Finally getting to sailing performance...

Been meaning to get around to posting an update from our last trip on Asgard (hull#11) in the Bahamas in April. Second time aboard and for a more extended stay allowed me to get my head around a few elements of performance.

Let me start by saying we did a LOT of sailing this time and were THRILLED with how she handles. Had a great friend of ours and his family on board so we also tested her with 8 people (including 2 kids).

1. We were cruising at 9.1-9.4kts with a True wind speed of just under 17kts. Whooa! Ideal conditions, yes, but a lot of fun.

2. Folding Props add fully 1/2kt. Really noticeable, once you put the throttle in reverse of course. If you are a sailor, get the folding props - you won't regret it.

3. The Astrea prefers to motor sail V's just plain motoring. Heading into waves or just generally handling rollers, makes a huge difference with some sail on deck. Performance and comfort change quite noticeably with sail. In fact, my eldest daughter gets a little sea sick and changes her experience once the sails go up. With lighter winds, close to the nose it is tempting to just lose the sails altogether, but if you can get some apparent wind to fill some sail you can feel the difference.

4. Motor sailing on one engine: Apart from in harbor/anchoring maneuvering, the Astrea performs very, very well on just one engine. You really get very little benefit from that 2nd engine, particularly when motor sailing. And the auto pilot is quite happy with either once it settles down. Saves a lot of fuel.

5. Running in high winds (30knts+) with rollers chasing, she sails like magic with no main and just the Genoa furled. And I mean seriously furled. We had a couple of people fishing (successfully) so wanted to keep us under 6kts and handled beautifully with no main and just a 1/3 (max) of the Genny out for most of a day.

6. Based on my Genoa only experience, can't wait to get a Code 0 and in time, a Wingaker or similar. Delighted I added the bowsprit. When I get her to Annapolis for the summer/fall season, will add one of these - code 0 most likely.

I'll make a separate post on how I feel about other options now that we've lived with them (watermaker, Plancha, radar etc). I also have pics and materials to talk more about Solar options as I spent time looking (pictures) of the built in support structures etc. And, if I forget, ask me about the Garmin - now that I have read the 74 page small print manual and tried playing with some more options.

[Luc bulterys]

So nice to read your evaluation. Thanks Brian. It helps passing the waiting time, knowing there will be a fine reward.
Looking forward to your next post.
Luc

[Steve_C]

Thanks Brian, Great to hear. I will be in Annapolis this fall again looking at the Astrea vs the Lagoon 42. I am hoping to be purchasing this time next year! Although I think neither is perfect, I probably can't make a bad decision.

Also looking forward to hearing more.

Fair Winds!