LOA: 80ft 3in (24.46m) BEAM: 20ft 5in (6.22m) ENGINES: Twin Volvo Penta IPS-1350s TOP SPEED: 22 knots PRICE: POA CONTACT: www.astondoa.com
Astondoa’s Ax8 is apparently designed to augment the yard’s broader family of flybridge motor yachts. But when you look more closely, you begin to suspect that its real job might be to take the brand into the long-distance luxury crossover sector inhabited by Princess’s much-admired X Class. Certainly, the aesthetic similarities are evident enough – and while the arrival of this boat will add little in the way of clarity to Astondoa’s famously eclectic fleet, there is plenty of merit in the flexibility of the Ax8’s deck arrangments.
In the absence of a lower helm, the main deck is split between lounging duties aft and dining duties forward. The 20ft beam and long superstructure generate plenty of space in here and that’s beautifully optimised with vast wraparound windows and luminous natural tones. The job of driving the boat is reserved for the fully enclosed upper helm, which is accessed via an internal staircase from the dining zone. It features a very cool two-man helm station beneath a louvred sunroof with some companion seating to starboard.
Behind this, through a sliding door, a private sky lounge looks aft onto an open stern deck that is nicely sheltered from the wind by the elevated superstructure. In truth, the Princess X80 makes better use of the space ahead of the helm with an intimate alfresco lounge, but in many ways, the Ax8’s lower deck feels a touch more charming than that of the British builder.
The boat we sea trialled in Alicante used a pair of crew cabins in the bow, alo
