Design Brief & Intent
The foundational mission of the Astus 22 was to offer an ultra-portable coastal cruiser capable of carrying a family of four on weekend adventures while remaining small enough to tow behind a standard family vehicle. In the niche multihull market of its era, it directly competed with the more performance-oriented, complex-folding Corsair 24 and the heavier, more expensive Dragonfly models. What set the Astus 22 apart was its extreme simplicity and focus on user-friendly ergonomics.
To achieve this, Stephan Vallet designed a central hull utilizing a pronounced, flared tulip shape. This design feature serves two distinct purposes: it maintains a narrow, low-drag waterline for blistering straight-line speed, while flaring outward above the water to create an exceptionally roomy and dry interior cabin. Inside, the joinery is minimalist, prioritizing weight savings over heavy wood. However, the molded fiberglass interior is highly functional, offering four berths—a double V-berth in the bow and two single quarter-berths stretching aft under the cockpit benches. Crucially, the boat offers enough sitting headroom to comfortably seat five adults around a central salon area. Practical considerations for weekend cruising are well-addressed, with space for a chemical head that can be separated from the main salon by a privacy curtain and designated molding for a slide-out galley block with a sink and stove.
Variations & Configurations
The defining feature of the Astus 22 is its telescoping crossbeam system. Rather than using the complex, heavy, and costly vertical folding geometries patented by Farrier and utilized by Corsair, Astus opted for a straightforward horizontal sliding system. The crossbeams consist of staggered, solid aluminum tubes that slide into larger sleeves built directly through the central hull. This configuration allows the outrigger floats, or amas, to slide inward in minutes. In a single motion, the boat's sailing beam of 15.09 feet is compressed to a road-legal trailering width of 8.3 feet, allowing the boat to remain on its trailer without any disassembly of the rig.
Another highly unusual configuration of the original Astus 22 is its twin pivoting centerboard design. Rather than utilizing a single central daggerboard or centerboard, which would require a massive, space-stealing trunk in the middle of the salon, the designer placed twin pivoting centerboards directly into the side floats. This unique choice leaves the interior salon entirely open, clean, and unobstructed. However, it also changes the handling profile and maintenance requirements.
In terms of rigs, the Astus 22 came as a deck-stepped fractional sloop. Over its decade-long run, it was available in a "Leisure" version with a standard aluminum spar and robust Dacron sails, as well as a "Sport" version. The Sport variant featured a taller mast, high-performance sails, and a retractable bowsprit designed for flying a large gennaker or asymmetrical spinnaker, taking full advantage of the boat's high-speed potential 2.
Sailing Performance & Handling
On the water, the Astus 22 feels light, responsive, and remarkably level. With a light displacement of 1,444 pounds and a high-performance Sail Area to Displacement ratio of 37.74, the trimaran acts more like a high-performance dinghy than a traditional cruising boat. It accelerates instantly in a light breeze, sliding over the water rather than pushing through it. In moderate-to-strong winds, the massive 850-liter buoyancy of the floats ensures that the boat sails flat, rarely exceeding a few degrees of heel. This stability makes the Astus 22 an exceptionally reassuring platform for young families or crew members prone to seasickness.
The Capsize Screening ratio of 5.34 is a number that would normally raise alarms on a monohull, but on this platform, it highlights the boat's ultra-light weight. True safety on a trimaran of this size is achieved through its wide, stable stance. Under sail, the single transom-hung rudder provides precise, finger-tip control, and the flared central hull serves as a highly effective spray deflector, keeping the large cockpit dry in choppy conditions.
Tacking requires a slightly different technique compared to a monohull. Because the boat lacks a heavy keel, momentum can bleed off quickly when heading into the wind. Sailors must keep the jib backed slightly to help swing the bow through the wind before releasing and trimming on the new tack. When sailing off the wind under the gennaker, the Astus 22 is in its element, easily achieving double-digit speeds while remaining highly controllable.
Known Issues & Triage
While the Astus 22 is a robustly engineered multihull, its unique design features introduce specific maintenance requirements and potential failure points. First-hand owner accounts and technical reviews emphasize several areas of concern:
- Telescopic Beam Binding: The aluminum tubes that slide through the central hull must be kept completely clean. Salt crystallization, sand, and road grit can easily migrate into the sleeve housings. If not flushed out regularly with fresh water, the grit acts as an abrasive, scoring the aluminum and causing the beams to stick or bind during extension and retraction. Over time, the internal plastic wear sleeves can degrade, leading to play in the beam sockets.
- Float Centerboard Trunk Wear: Because the twin centerboards are housed in the outer floats, they are highly exposed to grounding forces when beaching. While the pivoting design is meant to kick up on impact, lateral strikes or sandy build-up inside the narrow trunks can cause binding, jamming, or structural delamination of the trunk housings. Regular inspection of the pivoting pins and control lines is essential.
- Hull-to-Deck Joint Stress: The high torsional and bending loads generated by the outrigger floats are transferred directly to the central hull around the crossbeam sockets. On early models, surveyors recommend inspecting the fiberglass around these high-stress areas for gelcoat crazing, stress cracking, or minor delamination.
Market Snapshot & Economics
On the brokerage market, the Astus 22 is a rare and highly sought-after commodity. Because production ended in 2020 to make way for the newer, VPLP-designed Astus 22.5, supply is highly constrained. These boats tend to hold their value exceptionally well, commanding a premium from buyers who prioritize easy trailering over raw interior volume.
The real economic advantage of the Astus 22 lies in its low cost of ownership. Because it can be easily ramp-launched and trailed behind a standard vehicle, owners can entirely avoid the recurring expenses of marina slip fees, winter storage, and commercial haul-outs. Furthermore, maintenance is simplified by the absence of an inboard diesel engine; the boat relies on a small outboard, typically between four and nine horsepower, which can be easily removed for winter servicing. Refitting the deck hardware or replacing sails is also relatively inexpensive due to the modest proportions of the rig.
The Verdict
The Astus 22 is an exceptional, niche-defying trimaran that offers the perfect entry point into the world of multihull coastal cruising. It trades the complex, heavy folding mechanisms and high price tags of its competitors for a brilliantly simple telescoping system and a lightweight, easily trailerable GRP structure. While it lacks the luxurious standing headroom and wood-heavy joinery of traditional cruising monohulls, it more than compensates with flat, thrilling sailing performance, a highly functional four-berth layout, and the ability to explore ultra-shallow creeks and beaches. For the cruising family or adventurous couple seeking maximum utility, minimal maintenance, and trailer-born freedom, the Astus 22 remains an outstanding and enduring design.
Pros
- Exceptional performance and acceleration in light air, with a high sail area to displacement ratio.
- Simple, highly reliable telescopic crossbeam system that reduces beam to road-legal limits in minutes 1.
- Twin pivoting centerboards in the floats leave the cabin completely free of a central trunk, maximizing interior volume.
- Ultra-lightweight displacement makes it easy to tow, ramp-launch, and step the mast short-handed.
- Amas provide 850 liters of buoyancy, delivering a stable, flat sailing platform that minimizes crew fatigue.
Cons
- Telescopic aluminum beams are prone to binding and scratching if not frequently flushed of salt and road grit.
- Minimalist GRP cabin finish lacks the luxury, insulation, and standing headroom of traditional monohull pocket cruisers.
- Highly sensitive to weight; excessive payload or heavy equipment will noticeably degrade sailing performance.
- Twin centerboards in the outer floats are vulnerable to grounding damage and require more maintenance than a single central foil.
