{"id":134243,"date":"2025-02-04T06:37:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T06:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/?post_type=review&p=134243"},"modified":"2025-02-04T06:38:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T06:38:06","slug":"astondoa-39-used-boat-review-proper-quality-engineering","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/reviews\/flybridges\/astondoa-39-used-boat-review-proper-quality-engineering","title":{"rendered":"Astondoa 39 used boat review: Proper quality engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"

A common sight in the Med, but less so in UK waters, Astondoa has a heritage stretching back more than 100 years. The company\u2019s story started in 1916, when carpenter brothers Jes\u00fas and Jos\u00e9 Astondoa began building rudimentary rowing boats for local fishermen in the small Spanish coastal town of Portugate, just north of Bilbao.<\/p>\n

As their skills developed, the brothers moved on to more sophisticated vessels known as traineras \u2013 row or sail boats with a raised prow and rounded stern, traditionally used along the Spanish coast of the Cantabrian Sea. An Astondoa trainera would go on to win the 1929 Bilbao racing regatta, an important feat as fishermen prized boats that could get them to market quicker than their competitors.<\/p>\n

In the wake of that success, \u2018Astilleros Astondoa\u2019 (Astondoa Shipyard) was soon contracted to build lifeboats. Roll on half a century to 1981 and Astondoa, by now located in Santa Pola near Alicante, built its first polyester resin boats.<\/p>\n

These 12m recreational vessels initially supplemented the wooden craft that had helped it forge its reputation, but five years later only resin vessels were being produced. At that time there were 35 employees building 15 units per year, but since then, Astondoa has gone on to manufacture a whole range of models, from open boats and coup\u00e9s to flybridges and 100ft-plus superyachts. Today, it will even build you a 197ft steel megayacht should you so desire.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Spanish yard\u2019s styling and build quality has stood the test of time very well<\/p><\/div>\n

But the subject of our report is the Astondoa 39. Our example dates from 2004 and is being offered for sale by Lymington-based Berthon International for \u00a3145,000 including VAT. Despite the wealth of Astondoa information available online, including a 240-page multilingual tome on the business and its history, not a single word appears to have been written about the Astondoa 39.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s communications department appears equally reticent on the matter and there\u2019s no local dealer to turn to either. The vessels were once marketed in the UK by a Poole-based firm with a second location in Windermere, but the offices for both are now long gone. So we have pieced together the story of the mysterious Astondoa 39 with the help of the test boat\u2019s original owner, former marine engineer, John Sandon-Allum.<\/p>\n

Taking a tangent<\/h2>\n

\u201cI purchased the boat new in 2004,\u201d recalls John. \u201cAt the time, the broker was trying to introduce Astondoa into the UK. Because I\u2019d had a couple of other boats off him previously and upgraded from a smaller to a larger one fairly quickly, he put the 39 on the mooring next to me. Then he said, \u2018Oh, you were thinking of upgrading,\u2019 threw me the keys and said, \u2018Have a look around it, see what you think.\u2019 My wife and I had a look and decided to buy it!<\/p>\n

\"\"

The ladder up to the flybridge is pretty steep but it\u2019s worth the climb when you get there<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAt the time, I had been looking at a Fairline Phantom 40 and a couple of others. But although the Fairline had two cabins with two bathrooms, it was quite cramped in the saloon area. I was thinking that in the cabins, you\u2019re only sleeping. You don\u2019t actually live in them that much. So we went with the Astondoa because it was so spacious in the saloon area. And although it only had one bathroom for its two cabins, that was enough for me, my wife and our two young girls at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boat was also very, very well made. And looking around at other boats on the market, they just didn\u2019t seem to have that sort of quality. It was a good price too, so we thought, why not? I have to say, we found it extremely attractive, and it hasn\u2019t aged as much as some other makes of boats have. To my mind, it still looks relatively modern.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has a point. While it lacks the big hull windows and sharp lines of the very latest designs, it does still look good for a 20-year-old boat. And in our view, it gets even better on the inside, where a large and beautifully appointed Art Deco-style saloon awaits.<\/p>\n

Accessed via the boat\u2019s spacious aft-cockpit (which itself is accessed from an equally large bathing platform), the saloon sports not one but two super-comfy sofas, covered in a delightfully light and bright fabric which has stood the test of time well. In fact, our review boat sparkled like new in every respect, which is a credit to John and its subsequent owner. There\u2019s lots of natural light, too, courtesy of long glazed panels on either side above each settee.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Walnut dashboard is rather splendid but visibility is compromised by thick windscreen mullions<\/p><\/div>\n

The woodwork throughout the saloon, and indeed the rest of the boat, is equally impressive. Deep gloss finishes, rounded corners and ultra smooth lines make this boat feel surprisingly upmarket. The plush leather-clad double helm seat is a case in point. Its curved wood-framed back rises magnificently above the saloon\u2019s starboard settee and ahead of that the wood theme continues with a walnut-faced dash.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only when you perch your bum on the helm seat that you begin to realise you are not quite master of all you survey because the view ahead is significantly impeded by the roofline of the boat\u2019s superstructure and chunky A-pillars. The view to either side isn\u2019t that great either, and with only two small sliding windows it could all get a bit stuffy in here. But of course, this is a flybridge cruiser, so when the weather plays the game, none of this really matters.<\/p>\n

The flybridge<\/a> is accessed by way of a steep six-step ladder from the aft cockpit. The clamber up is rewarded by a good-sized fly with a central helm, a navigator\u2019s seat to starboard and a seating unit to port, which stretches back and curves around the wet bar. Despite there being no table up top, this is a great space for drinks and casual entertaining. The other outside areas \u2013 the aft cockpit and sunpadded foredeck \u2013 offer plenty of space too.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Galley down layout is a bit dated but it\u2019s actually quite practical and well equipped<\/p><\/div>\n

Back inside, to the left of the helm, two steps lead down to the galley. Again, this is a spacious area with a double sink, twin hotplate, microwave, fridge and storage both above and below the countertop. And ahead of the galley is the boat\u2019s accommodation: two cabins and the single heads. The guest cabin offers twin beds, storage lockers and a full-height wardrobe.<\/p>\n

A little more light at the head end of the beds wouldn\u2019t go amiss, but there is still room for a small table lamp on the unit between the two beds. The heads has Jack-and-Jill doors, so the master cabin, which has a large island bed with storage on either side plus a full height wardrobe, can claim a fully-equipped ensuite.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Big windows, light fabrics and wooden highlights make the most of the saloon\u2019s space<\/p><\/div>\n

Olesinski expertise<\/h2>\n

Clearly then, this is a boat with plenty of features that push it firmly toward the luxurious end of the scale, but how does it handle? \u201cIt\u2019s got an Olesinski hull, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d offers former owner John. \u201cWe\u2019ve been all over the place in it; all along the south coast and we used to go over to France a lot.<\/p>\n

“I remember once, a storm blew up and the waves were probably 10ft higher than the boat. It was really, really bad. But the boat was absolutely superb. I was quite surprised it didn\u2019t rock about much, but it\u2019s a heavy boat and it\u2019s quite a wide boat as well. Also, the hull is interleaved with Kevlar, so it\u2019s pretty much bulletproof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

The forward owner\u2019s cabin still looks very clean and smart for a boat of this age<\/p><\/div>\n

One thing that did concern us was access to the boat\u2019s twin 370hp Volvo Penta TAMD-63-P engines. These are reached via a hatch in the saloon floor, which measures 2ft 6in by just over 12 inches \u2013 enough to do the daily checks but not much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe engine access could be a bit better,\u201d agrees John. \u201cBut actually, if you roll back the carpet, the whole floor does slot out. When I took it out, I would just stick it on the bathing platform. Then you can stand all round the engines. I always used to do that because I did the servicing. It would always take me a day or so, so I thought why not just take the flooring up and do it properly?\u201d<\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t able to ascertain exactly how many Astondoa 39s there are in the UK, but we suspect that they\u2019re few and far between. That said, if you\u2019re interested, you can easily find a good selection available on the continent, particularly in Spain, and with prices appearing to be relatively low for a boat of this size, spec and quality, shelling out for transport back to Blighty might not be such a bad idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The twin cabin isn\u2019t as bright or spacious but is fine for children and teenagers<\/p><\/div>\n

Astondoa 39 specifications<\/h2>\n

MODEL:<\/strong> Astondoa 39
\nDESIGNER:<\/strong> Bernard Olesinski
\nHULL TYPE:<\/strong> Planing
\nRCD:<\/strong> A
\nLOA:<\/strong> 42ft (12.80m)
\nBEAM:<\/strong> 13ft (3.97m)
\nDRAFT:<\/strong> 2ft 6in (0.75m)
\nDISPLACEMENT:<\/strong> 11,200kg
\nFUEL CAPACITY:<\/strong> 2 x 450L
\nWATER CAPACITY:<\/strong> 350L
\nTOP SPEED:<\/strong> 28 knots (based on broker data)
\nFUEL CONSUMPTION:<\/strong> 2.68L\/nm @ 28 knots (Volvo TAMD63L\/P)
\nRANGE:<\/strong> 316.8 nm at 22 knots with 20% reserve<\/p>\n

Astondoa 39 running costs<\/h2>\n

Annual fuel burn:<\/strong> 2,300 litres (based on 25 hours at 28 knots and 25 hours at 6 knots)
\nBerthing:<\/strong> \u00a39,088 (based on \u00a3710 per m for a Hamble River marina downstream of Bursledon bridge)<\/p>\n

\n

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Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht<\/a> world and at the luxury end of the market.<\/p>\n

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers<\/a> and save at least 30% off the cover price.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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A common sight in the Med, but less so in UK waters, Astondoa has a heritage stretching back more than 100 years. The company\u2019s story started in 1916, when carpenter brothers Jes\u00fas and Jos\u00e9 Astondoa began building rudimentary rowing boats for local fishermen in the small Spanish coastal town of Portugate, just north of Bilbao. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":134257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[1593,344],"review_manufacturer":[],"review_category":[42],"review_type":[],"review_award":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/134243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134243"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/134243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134264,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/134243\/revisions\/134264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134243"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=134243"},{"taxonomy":"review_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_category?post=134243"},{"taxonomy":"review_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_type?post=134243"},{"taxonomy":"review_award","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_award?post=134243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}