The Astondoa shipyard was founded in spain a century ago and has grown into a boatbuilding empire that remains family-owned and managed — a rarity in today’s corporate world. While Astondoa yachts are regular features at major European boat shows in places like Cannes and London, the builder is still growing brand awareness in the Americas. Its 80 GLX should help that cause.
EYE-CATCHING VERSATILITY
The Astondoa 80 GLX can be tailored to the needs of her owner, even though she is labeled a production yacht. My test 80 GLX was a European-style craft with an enclosed galley set between the pilothouse and her formal dining room. European chefs are rarely seen, while American families tend to open up the galley. In this case, the owner doesn’t cook, so this layout works perfectly. Whether he uses it or not, however, the galley is nicely fitted-out with stainless-steel counters and appliances, plus enough stowage for a family summer cruise.
Her interior is contemporary with a whitewashed oak sole and light oak bulkheads washed to show the rich grain. The interior palette ranges from white to taupe, with soft Spanish leather sofas in the salon and polished stainless-steel accents. This interior was built to mirror the owner’s Fort Lauderdale home, which has an interior by Dkor Interiors of Miami. Photos of the home were sent to Astondoa’s in-house design department to match it to the yacht.
Astondoa offers four layout options for the 80 GLX, and my guess (barring owners who don’t like to cook) is that a particular one will prove most popular in America. It puts a J-shaped galley at the after end of the main-deck salon, convenient to the settee with dining table on the deck just steps away. Protected from the sun by the flybridge overhang, this is where I want to have an alfresco breakfast with café con leche and a Spanish sweet roll.
Barring the location and enclosure of the galley, my test 80 GLX was stunning, with a teak afterdeck opening to the salon with its pair of white leather couches. I have to clarify “opening” because the triple stainless-steel salon doors open completely, making the salon an extension of the deck. Another popular spot will be the formal dining setup, which seats eight people, the same number that the berths accommodate belowdecks — a nice change from the countless builds I’ve been on with a dining table that serves six while the yacht sleeps eight. (It’s like that constant hot dog package and hot dog bun scenario.)
While sitting on the yacht’s cockpit settee, I discovered another feature I really like: the single-level deck. You can take your coffee and walk forward on either side of the superstructure, alongside high bulwarks topped by stainless-steel handrails, to a neat forward seating area, sans steps. This bow seating is particularly cool because the settee wraps around a table. Erect the surrey top over the settee, toss in a couple of soft pillows and just try to get me to move — unless it would be to the sun pad in the bow area, of course.
LIVING LARGE
The accommodations are available in a variety of setups, but I liked the choice on my test 80 GLX. It had four en suite staterooms with surprising amounts of space in each. The master suite is full-beam, offering lordly comfort with what homebuilders would call picture windows: oversize square panes that provide light and a spectacular view from the king-size berth. This cabin is L-shaped, with the extension going forward toward the cabin door, providing space for a desk and chair. A bureau with drawers stretches along the starboard side, and a couch to port is the perfect place to escape with a good book. The head compartment is full-beam, creating his-and-her heads separated by a stall shower. When it comes to hanging clothes, the two lockers are practically walk-in closets.
A VIP stateroom is forward, with an island berth framed by two large windows and surrounded by shelves and drawers. Like the master, the VIP has a head with a large shower stall. A second guest stateroom is abaft the VIP to port, with a walk-around double and a large window. The last stateroom abaft the VIP to starboard is all-purpose, although I suspect it will be the kids’ cabin, with a pair of singles.
All the bulkheads and headboards in the staterooms are a mix of white and taupe leather, accented by eye-catching zebrawood. The heads have striking turquoise glass mosaic tiles, along with marble sinks and counters.
I suspect that a good number of 80 GLX owners might also be operators, but a cabin with head adjacent to the engine room accommodates two crew when desired or required. This cabin is on the smallish side, but if no crew are aboard, it might appeal to a youngster wanting his own space. The cabin opens onto a hydraulic transom platform large and strong enough to handle a center-console jet tender for dinners ashore and exploring beaches.
TOP OF THE WORLD
A molded-in, teak-step staircase leads from the cockpit to the flybridge, sure to be the center of activity on pleasant days. As with other areas aboard, this space can be arranged to suit an owner’s needs. On my test 80 GLX, the helm was forward to port, with the controls in a tidy fiberglass console that included a flip-top to raise the electronics into view or to protect them when not in use. The vessel’s twin helm seat was posh, and there was a double sun pad with forward-facing backrests to starboard abaft the tinted and effective Venturi windscreen.
Just abaft the sun pad was a bar counter with three forward-facing seats, convenient to the wet bar and barbecue to port. This was all under a black fiberglass retractable hardtop. The bridge’s living area was finished with a U-shaped settee that wrapped around a table for cocktails or an alfresco dinner.
A PERFORMER TOO
When it comes to power, this is one quick 80-footer. On my test yacht, a pair of standard 1,550 hp MAN V12 diesels give the 80 GLX a wind-in-your-hair top speed of 33 knots with a 28-knot cruise, helped in part by the yacht’s variable deadrise (warped plane) hull form with a 14-degree deadrise at the transom. Her stout fiberglass hull is built via resin-infusion, offering a strong, relatively lightweight structure. (The yacht’s full-load displacement is around 133,900 pounds.)
If you need even more speed, 1,800 hp MAN V12s are said to propel the 80 GLX to a top hop of 38 knots, offering a 30-knot cruise speed. Smaller 1,360 hp MAN V12 diesels reportedly provide a respectable top end of 27 knots.
Whatever your power plant selection, the 80 GLX’s engine room is voluminous. Full-size, diamond-plate walkways surround all sides of the diesels for access. There is more than 4 feet of space between the engines, with all main service points facing inboard. (Your mechanic will thank you.)
Perhaps the years have jaded me because it seems to take more to impress me these days than it used to, but I was delighted at what I found on board the Astondoa 80 GLX. She’s well-built, a solid performer, thoughtfully arranged and well-suited for the American audience. And when you consider the high level of customization available, she’s a yacht you can truly call your own.
