Astus 20.2 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 20.2 emerged as a clean-break development of the 20.1, which itself had found 75 buyers and established the format. Astus Boats built the new boat on entirely new moulds, with a hull, floats, and coachroof that share nothing with the predecessor and crossbeams that were reworked to suit a telescoping folding system using offset channels so the amas slide inboard to a width of 7ft 10in and extend to 13ft 11in afloat. Folded, the 20.2 is narrower than the 20.1; unfolded it is wider, and the floats carry more volume. The standard Leisure hull is hand-laid polyester, while the Sport version is infused to save 132lb, dropping displacement from 925lb to 793lb; a Raid version sits at 992lb. The deck is glued to the hull on an outward-turning flange and glassed over inside, and the amas are treated the same way to guarantee watertight integrity, with neither crossbeams nor bowsprit piercing the hull anywhere.

Rig and Handling

A fractional sloop rig steps easily by two people or solo with a gin pole, and the Sport version adds a shroud, cunningham, and telescopic tiller extension. The gennaker flies from a continuous-line furler at the tip of a retractable bowsprit, and the standard sail plan gives 226ft² in Leisure and Raid trim with a SA/D of 32 and D/L of 98 under 300lb of crew. On the water the boat proved remarkably stable and easy to sail upwind in flat conditions, and testers found it predictable on the wind and capable of over 6 knots on a close reach. With true wind aft of the beam the gennaker drove boatspeed to 10 knots, and one owner later reported 17 knots in ideal conditions. Writing in Multihulls World, reviewers found the sport version took off in the slightest gust and noted the trimaran is more stable than a centreboard monohull while still performing well in light weather.

Accommodations

Despite its size the 20.2 is a legitimate cruising boat. The small cabin sleeps two and shelters four at meals, while the Raid version adds a slightly larger cuddy with seating for four and a small galley, giving plenty of shelter for beach cruising or camping. The cruising versions use an offset centerboard for easier cabin access, and a storage bin forward of the mast holds a light anchor and rode. Cockpit benches and outboard tramps gave testers plenty of room for the crew, and a lockable front locker came standard. Options included a mattress and bunk plank, fixed porthole, balcony, swim ladder, and mainsheet traveller.

Known Issues

The known constraints are inherent to the design rather than faults: the safety kit is rated for navigation under 6 nautical miles for four persons, and the boat folds but remains a 13ft 11in trimaran afloat. The ama construction depends entirely on glued-and-glassed joints for watertight integrity, so any breach at the flange or inside the ama would undermine the buoyancy volume of 550 litres that the floats and central hull provide.

Refits and Ownership

Ownership centres on trailering and optional equipment. A non-braked or braked road trailer with CE certificate and 750kg PTAC was offered, with a spare wheel and support available. The standard safety kit bundled life jackets, flares, signal mirror, flashlight, bucket, extinguisher, anchoring kit, flags, sounding lead, first-aid kit, warning triangle, fog horn, and paddle-boathook for coastal day use. A Plastimo Iris 100 compass mounts easily on the door for accurate bearings. Gennakers of 17m² or 20m² on bowsprit and furler, or a 25m² asymmetrical spinnaker with deck hardware, were options, and buyers could take sport sails in Dacron at a price deduction instead of Pentex.

The Verdict

The Astus 20.2 is a thoughtfully re-engineered small trimaran that trades the 20.1's parts bin for a dedicated new hull, fatter floats, and a genuinely narrower trailering footprint. It sails with the stability multihulls promise and the pace of a sport boat, yet folds small enough to store at home and offers real overnight shelter in the Raid version.

Pros