Astus 16.5 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Astus 16.5 means looking at a folding pocket trimaran built around a VPLP collaboration, offered in club or sports trim, and suited to trailering rather than marina living. The boat's 2.5-meter folded width and telescopic floats define its ownership profile, so the brokerage examples worth considering are those whose folding gear and platform remain sound.
Layouts on the Used Market
Ex-charter four-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available, and ex-charter examples are common. In practice the 16.5 is a dinghy-style multihull with a large storage locker rather than sleeping quarters, so the layout conversation is really about the recreation versus sport rig and the condition of the folding floats.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Commonly fitted equipment on the used market includes a watermaker, air conditioning, heating, gennaker, bow thruster, radar, AIS, chartplotter, and Starlink. For a buyer, the consequential clusters are power and energy — heating, air conditioning, and a watermaker demand a robust electrical setup — and navigation and sail handling, where radar, AIS, chartplotter, and the gennaker reshape how the boat is run offshore or in company. A bow thruster and Starlink are frequent additions that speak to shorthanded docking and remote connectivity rather than core sailing ability.
What to Inspect
The telescopic floats are the heart of the design, and any used boat should be checked for smooth retraction and confirmation that the folded width still meets road-gauge requirements. The sabre board should operate cleanly for ease of use, and the central hull and floats should show the planing form and narrow water entry intact. Because the boat is rated category D for five people with a 2.5-horsepower maximum outboard, verify the engine mount and that no oversized auxiliary has been fitted.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These trimarans appear in the United States, Netherlands, Canada, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and Germany. For a shopper, the short list is: confirm the floats telescope and road-fold; match the rig version to intended use; check the electrical load behind heating, air conditioning, and watermaker; and verify the outboard stays within rated power.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Astus 16.5. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 1 | $32,375 | — |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $25,000 | -22.8% |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $19,680 | -21.3% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $780,975 | +3868.4% |
Where they're listed
Astus 16.5 listings appear across 2 countries. Germany has the most listings with 1 (50.0%), followed by Svalbard.