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• Steel hull & deck. Aluminum alloy superstructures with Triclad bi-mitalic welded strip.
• Built to DNV Ice Class Super 1A Swedish & Finnish rules.
• Hull shell plating up to 15 mm.
• Double bottom tanks.
• Keel hung SCHILLING Rudder with 64 degree +/- deflection allowing steerage at 1.6 knots.
• Four watertight bulkheads with watertight glands for all plumbing and cable penetrations.
• Two-part polyurethane JOTUN commercial paint on all exterior surfaces summer 2022.
• JOTUN commercial antifouling paint summer 2022.
• Three H-2 Sonihull Ultrasonic antifouling transducers.
• Engine room main seachest and watermaker/airconditioning seachest.

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ASTRA's engine room occupies over half her length with plenty of room to work around for maintaince. Located amidships/aft, the engine room is an ideal location to work in almost all weathers. The electrical switchboard and new 23 kW Cummins Onan genset are in the control room removed from any contaminants. In the event of an engine room fire, the genset would be safeguarded and would be able to provide electrical power for communications and navigation equipment. Access to the Engine Room is through watertight doors leading to the control room and the workshop. An escape hatch to the aft deck is also provided. A soft patch is fitted around the escape hatch to facilitate removing large equipment from the engine room.

There are 3 sources of generating power from the shaft generator, Volvo Penta and Onan.The 2021 MECC ALTE 50 kVA shaft generator is a big plus in that the running hours on the other generators is not increased and it is so amply sized that it can power everything on board.

A last generation mechanical engine, the MITSUBISHI at 8 tons is an incredibly large engine for a vessel of this size. It is coupled with a very heavy duty gearbox and 1718 mm controllable pitch propeller in a 2021 nozzle. If there was an issue with one cylinder head you can work on that cylinder on its own rather than having to lift the whole bank of cylinders.

The water maker only needs to run four hours daily for the ship's complement's needs and Silver-ion dosing of the fresh water ensures purity. Two complete independent air-conditioning systems provide 100% redundancy.

The workshop, with ample space to carry out repairs even has a lathe and proper drill press.

There are two separate systems (Main Engine or Volvo) to run the hydraulics and the Volvo Penta also provides get home power to the main shaft.

ASTRA has one electric and one hydraulic steering pump.  Having one that is hydraulic, powered off the main engine, means there is less electrical demand for the generator. The hvirtually maintenance free rotary vane steering gear requires less space to fit and there is not the associated hydraulic oil leaks that occur with steering gears of the hydraulic ram type.

Following her circumnavigation all equipment was fully serviced.

• Mitsubishi S6U-MPTK 1350 hp (933 kW) main engine  with dry exhaust with 13,300 hours (December 2022) 12,000 service prior to circumnavigation followed by the next 6,000 hour service post return.
• Finnǿy G50 FK gear boax with 2.96:1 reduction
• BERG 4 blade 1718 mm controllable pitch prop
• 2021 2000kg Opitima nozzle by Damen
• The propeller shaft is is fitted in an oil bath. DEEP SEA SEAL shaft seals are seawater cooled.
• Berg 100 kW (135 hp) hydraulic bow thruster
• 2017 Four MAGNUSMASTER electric rotary stabilizers; fully retractable
• TENFJORD SR-562L rotary vane steering gear operated by four bridge joy sticks and helm.
• 2022 WASP W-FLC-1500 fuel polishing system.
• Five integral main fuel tanks and the integral 2,300 lityre day dank provide for 31,400 litre capacity expandable to 44,000 litres.
• One stainless steel engine room hydraulic tank with also the aft ballast tank having been converted for spare hydraulic oil.
• 500 litre lube oil engine room tank and 1,280 litre waste oil tank with THRIGE PUMPER sludge pump.

• Two LEROY SOMER 400 VAC 2.2 & 5 kW air compressores for the main engine controls and starting and for the air outlets.
• 2017 FLAGSHIP MARINE airconditioning system fitted with two chilled water pumps, two seawter pumps and two compressors.
• INGERSOLL RAND air dryer is fitted for the compressed air system.
• Radiators are fitted throughout the vessel for the heating system supplied by the engine room CTC 100 OLJA-EL calorifier/diesel heater.One ENWA MT-6000 watermaker  with 250 litres/hour output.

Fully upgraded in 2021 with the latest Vector Chart Radar system and additional safety measures, such as Wave Height Analyser and infra-look ahead.

• 2021 SAILOR INMARSAT VSAT System
• 2021 Fleet Broadband
• 2021 Inmarsat C
• 2021 FURUNO MF/HF SSB Radio
• 2021 FURUNO Chart Radar 3220 BB
• FURUNO FAR-1513 backup Radar
• NXT Solid State Radar facing aft to track small craft astern
• Four HATTELAND LCD monotors for the  FURUNO Black Box & CCTV system
• 2021 FURUNO Timezero 4 with worldwide charts
• 2021 FURUNO Wave Analyser WV-100
• 2021 OSCAR Navigation A1 system
• 2021 Autopilot SIMRAD AP70
• Backup SIMRAD AP70 autopilot
• 2021 Two FURUNO GP39 satellite compasses
• 2021 Two FURUNO GP-150 GNSS units 
• FURUNO wind speed and direction indicator
• Two SAILOR 2 VHF radios with DSC
• Two SAILOR RT2048 VHF radios
• Multiple ICOM handheld VHF radios
• TAIYO TD-L1550 Synthesized VHF Automatic Digital Direction Finder
• 2021 SILECMAR digital montoring system for all analog and digital sensors to allow local readout in the engine room, navigational bridge and remotely ashore.
• 2021 SILECMAR highly accurate fuel flow monitoring system for the Mitsubishi main engine and the Volvo auxiliary engine.
• Clock & Barometer
• Entertaiment system throughout the accommodations

• 2021 RIBCRAFT 5.30 Metre(17'-5") Commercial RIB w/ twin SUZUKI DF30 ATL  four stroke outboard motors.
• 2021 RIBCRAFT 4.2 Metre (13'-10") Commercial Rib w/ SUZUKI DF50 ATL four stroke outboard motor.
• SKARHAMNS AB hydraulic windlass with two gypsies and two warping drums on foredeck.
• Two 184 kg POOLE stockless galvaninized steel anchors each with 120 metre 16 mm chain rodes. 
• One 2014 PALFINGER PK18500 M hydraulic crane on aft deck with 18 metre reach with up to 5,750 kg SWL. Invaluable for loading stores.
• One HEILA HLM 5-2S hydraulic crane on fordeck
• Hydraulic towing winch on aft deck with 15 ton bollard pull.
• Water cannon on the monkey island for firefighting or repelling pirates.
• Hydraulic hinged transom flap.
• Two Seematz and one Norselight searchlights on the monkey island.
• Horn for whistle signals

There are six banks of batteries aboard.

• One 24 V @170 A24 V @ 42 Ah bank of two 12V/170 Ah batteries for the Volvo Penta generator starting.
• One 12 V/120 Ah bank for the Onan generator starting
• One 24 V @ 180 Ah bank of two 12 v/180 Ah servbice batteries
• One 24 V @1000 Ah bank of twelve 2V / 1000Ah cells for the inverter
• One 12 V @ 380 Ah bank of four 24 V 190 Ah emergency bank

All batteries are sealed maintenance free. The emergency bank is fitted in a locker aft of the bridge deck. The radio bank is fitted are located below the bridge console. The inverter bank is in the workshop. The other banks are in the engine room or the control room.

The various banks are charged by the following battery chargers.

• One VICTRON SKYLLA 24V/50 A battery charger located in the engine room for the service bank.
• One CTEK 24 V/14A battery charger located in the engine room for the Volvo Penta generator starting bank
• One CTEK 12V/7A battery charger for located in the control room for ONAN generator starting battery
• One SBC 24 V/20A battery charger located in the wheelhouse for the radio bank
• One VICTRON SKYLLA 24V/25A inverter/battery charger located in the deck locker for the emergency bank
• One VICTRON 24V/8000VA/200A inverter/charger located in the workshop for the inverter bank

• One 400V/30kVA shore power transformer is fitted
• Two 15kVA Transformers are fitted in the control room for lighting
• One VAGGON 30 kW frequency converter is fitted to allow connection to 60 Hz shore power

GENERATORS

• One Volvo Penta MD120A, 40 kVA, 400/230V/50 Hz main generator with dry exhaust
• 2021 Onan 23 kW gneset w/ 1400 hours (December 2022)
• 2021 MECC ALTE SpA 50 KVA shaft generator

• 2021 New Switchboard panel in control room supplied by Progener

• Two DESMI SA50-180/4 400 VAC 20 cu metre/h (88 gal/minute main bilge pumps)
• One  DESMI S125-8275/402 400 VAC 70 cu metre/ h (308 gal/minute fire /bilge pump)
• One Portable 400 VAC submersible bilkge pump stowed in aft deck locker.
• Main bilge pumps connected to bilge suction manifold to nine compartments.
• High water float swtches coinnected to bridge alam panel.
• Two on deck & one engine room fire stations with lay flat hose and fogging nozzles.
• Water cannon mounted on monkey island can also be supplied by a hydraulic pump on the main engine.
• Nine 6 kg dry powder portable fire extinguishers.
  
• Three 5 kg CO₂  portable fire extinguishers.
• Two 45 kg CO₂  remotely operated fixed fire extinguishers for the engine room and control room.
• General alarm system with break-glass throughout the vessel.
• CONSILIUM fire alarm system with smoke/heat detectors throughout the vessel.
• Two 2017 VIKING 12DK+12 person liferafts with Solas B emergency packs serviced fall 2022.
• Three round life bouys, twelve SOLAS Approved life jackets, five line throwing appliances, Six SOLAS Immersion suits.
• McMURDO SMARTFIND G5 406 MHz EBIRB
• Comprehensive first aid kit, defibrillator and emergency oxygen
•  

ASTRA is a super strong expedition vessel that can go anywhere in the world, regardless of the weather. After completing her 151 day circumnavigation via the five southern capes in May followed by an extensive shipyard period she is ready to depart for Antarctica or the Northwest Passage. 

In Dag Pike’s article on ASTRA in Passagemaker magazine in March 2018 he said:  

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“...I would put this 80-footer in the category of the ultimate passagemaker - a vessel capable of taking on the world’s toughest oceans and coming out on top. She has to be one of the toughest boats of her size ever built... with traditional sheer lines and purposeful superstructure. No frills here, just a proper functional boat built for one of the toughest jobs in the world”.

Please read the attached links to ASTRA's website and Dag Pike's article.

ASTRA is a 23.35 metre customised polar expedition vessel with the highest ice class rating and ice breaking capability. All this on a vessel that is just below 24 metres in length and also European CE certified.

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According to construction drawings aboard (and confirmed by thickness measurements carried out during the survey in September 2020), the hull shell plating thickness varies from 15mm on the bottom plates tapering through 13, 11 and 9 mm on the outer shell plating and deck areas. UTI testing (Sep 2020) indicated less than 4% reduction in the original shell plating, in part attributed to ASTRA having operated in fresh water in the Baltic for her initial 22 years.

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She is powered by a low/medium speed Mitsubishi main engine (M.E.) of 1,350 BHP, that is started by compressed air at 30 Bar, in the same manner as a merchant vessel. You do have to remember that ASTRA was built as strongly as was feasible for a vessel of her size and she is a big step up from the small scale electrics and battery starts commonly found on other vessels below 24 m.

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The main engine goes through a 3:1 reduction gearbox, reducing the RPM at the propeller to 1/3 of that at the engine. The propeller shaft is approx. 12” in diameter and, on seeing it, you start to get a real sense of her strength and design capability for adverse weather. The propeller itself is a 4 bladed controllable pitch propeller (CPP) of 1.72 m in diameter and the rudder is a high performance Schilling rudder (+/- 64°) that can be operated either hydraulically or electrically.

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The Schilling rudder, combined with a 100kW hydraulic bow thruster, provides incredible manoeuvrability for a vessel of ASTRA’s size. Fitted with 4 conning positions from the navigation bridge, the vessel can be handled from Port, Centre and Starboard (looking forward) and the centreline aft when manoeuvring astern.

During ASTRA’s refit in 2017, aside from the work you might expect in a repair period, the following major additions were made:
- Air conditioning in all areas
- new Portuguese bridge
- new Furuno navigational equipment
- new 4 automatic rotating stabilisers
- large additional battery banks (to be able to lie at anchor without auxiliaries)

- increased fuel capacity

- fresh water maker

- new oak cabin soles
- new toilet and shower facility on the lower deck

With the new MagnusMaster rotating stabilisers fitted in Sep 2017, even in seas of 4-5 metres in height and it was remarked that “...this went largely unnoticed, with coffee cups staying firm on the table and the passengers able to get on with their normal activities. The vessel was only moving steady slightly up and down without rolling side to side”.

Anyone that has ever owned a SAAB or VOLVO will have had the opportunity to appreciate Swedish engineering. A substantial hydraulic system is at the heart of the ship’s systems on ASTRA and hydraulics power the following systems:
- Bow Thruster
- Anchor Windlass
- Towing Winch
- Stern Flap
- Forward Crane
- Aft Crane
- Fire Pump

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The key systems aboard are provided with a back-up system that provides 100% redundancy, including:
- Engines
- Steering
- Bilge Pumps
- Air Compressors
- Power Generation.

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Built as a rescue vessel, ASTRA is incredibly stable and has no ‘point of vanishing stability’. When fully laden, with all tanks full, she still has a GM of 0.98m.

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In addition to air conditioning, ASTRA has substantial heating capability from her CTC boiler (that can run electrically or from diesel) and is very cosy onboard, with ample heating radiators and lots of hot water. Heating is one of the areas where her ice class comes in to play, with heating blowers in the foc’sle store and steering flats, hot water discharge points from the engine cooling discharge to deck if required for clearing ice (lancing) and, running just below the bulwarks, is a heating coil for clearing ice from the scuppers. This has stainless steel pipework, as is common for the majority of systems onboard.

ASTRA's owner is a Master Mariner who has prepared her to an extent this broker has never seen aboard any yacht. She has my absolute highest recommendation. It has been a highlight of my career assisting with her purchase and now an honor to represent her.

                                                ~ John Clayman ~

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ASTRA's accommodations are appropriate for a polar exploration yacht with low maintenace in mind and comfort at sea.

On the maindeck are the saloon, galley, laundry, skipper/owner's cabin and large toilet compartment with stall shower.

Three watertight doors lead to the decks. There are external stairs to the engine room and also the wheelhouse. There are four double cabins on the accommodation deck along with another toilet compartment with stall shower. In 2021, the lower saloon as shown on the attached drawings has been replaced with a 1500 litre freezer and lockers sized for long life milk containers and dry stores.

During the circumnavigation, the crew enjoyed freshly prepared meals in all conditions as the galley is highly functional with the cook kept secure.

GALLEY

• MIELE Refrigerator
• 2021 BOSCH four burner range with pot holders and oven
• BOSCH extrator fan
• Double stainless steel sinks
• Stainless steel work surfaces
• Dedicated drawers and storage cupboards - a place for everything

LAUNDRY

• MIELE washing machine
• MIELE dryer

WHEELHOUSE

• Three BE-CE helm seats rehupolstered 2021
• Dinette
• Ship's office and radio desk
• Aft Conrol station
• Flag locker