Astondoa S.A. (Astilleros)

Astondoa is a Spanish yacht builder that has stayed in family hands for four generations. Its story began in 1916, when two brothers opened a small carpentry shop in Portugalete and built rowing boats. Today the company is headquartered in Santa Pola, on the Alicante coast, where its main yard covers more than 30,000 square metres. The current range is split into several lines. The Coupe line runs from the 377 to the 677 and was extended with the 577 Coupe, shown at boot Düsseldorf in January 2026. The Flybridge line covers 44 to 66 feet, the As line includes the As5 and As8, and the Century line reaches 33.5 metres with the 110 Century. Above that sits a Steel range of four custom-built yachts, from the 120 Explorer to the 197, which reaches about 60 metres. The company says it has delivered more than 3,000 boats in its first century. Smaller production sites in Almansa and Gador support the main yard. Astondoa also operates a marina next to the Santa Pola yard. Most work, including carpentry, mechanical fitting, laminating and upholstery, is done in-house rather than outsourced.

The company traces its origin to 1916, when brothers Jesús and José Astondoa Martínez started building rowing boats and traditional traineras in Portugalete. Jesús Astondoa Santamaría joined in 1944 and later took over the yard. In the 1960s and 1970s the yard built wooden boats of up to about 33 metres and moved to Santa Pola. In the early 1980s it changed from wood to fibreglass-reinforced polyester. By 2006 the group had more than 500 employees. In 2016 it marked its centenary and published a book on its first hundred years.

Astondoa builds in two main ways. Its motor yachts up to about 30 metres are made of fibreglass-reinforced polyester, formed by vacuum infusion. This process draws resin through the dry laminate under vacuum, which helps keep the hull light and consistent. The yard moved to this method from wood in the early 1980s. Larger yachts in the Steel range, up to roughly 60 metres, have steel hulls and aluminium superstructures. Interiors are finished largely in teak, and metal fittings are made in iron, bronze and steel. The company says it has also researched carbon fibre, Kevlar and titanium. Most of the build is done by its own staff in its own workshops at Santa Pola and its other sites, so each yacht can be adapted to the client from the start.

Astondoa suits owners who want a Mediterranean-built motor yacht from a long-established family yard. The Coupe and Flybridge lines, from about 11 to 20 metres, fit owners moving up from smaller boats who cruise and entertain close to shore. The As and Century lines, up to 33.5 metres, serve owners seeking a larger crew-assisted cruiser. The Steel range, with yachts of roughly 37 to 60 metres, is for those commissioning a custom long-range yacht.

The headquarters and main yard are in Santa Pola, Alicante, on Spain's Mediterranean coast. A second site in Almansa, Albacete, builds boats up to 16 metres and furniture, while Gador, Almería, builds the smaller Faeton boats. Marina Astondoa has 40 berths next to the Santa Pola yard.