Moody 425

[Cherp]

Hello. I have tripped over a Moody 425 from 1989 which looks like a reasonable cruising boat. Built in the UK so people from the US may not be too familiar with them but sailors from Europe may be. Does anybody have a view on them?

[skipmac]

Can't comment about that particular model but Moodys in general are very solid boats with pretty good performance. Not a racer but far from being a dog. If the boat doesn't have any major problems and is a reasonable price for the condition then I'd buy it.

[Geoff54]

If it is not on the general market and you decide not to go for it, I would be interested to take a look for myself. They are on my short list – I just missed a good one. Some owners have an inflated idea of their value.


As with most Moodys before Hans bought them, the 425 is Bill Dixon design built by Marine Projects and finished/sold by A.H. Moody. They were available with deep draft or shallow draft (scheel keel) – which one is most desirable depends on where you intend to sail.

Apart from the obvious things to check out on a 24 year old boat, the keel bolts were not stainless (they were concerned about crevice corrosion) so should be looked at carefully. If you are worried, one can be pulled for inspection but should you do that, there is a specific method to reseal them. Some Moodys had issues with the rudder post - I don’t think it affected the 425 and that should have been resolved long ago. Still worth a close look at survey time.

The standard engine is a Thornycroft, which is a marinized European Ford 1.6 or 1.8 liter diesel. They were reliable and so most 425s still have the original engine. Most parts are still available but only from the U.K.

BTW the 422 and 425 are the same boat with minor differences in layout - most significant is that the you can access the aft head from both sides on the 425 but only from the aft cabin on the 422.

As they are on my shopping list I have done some research. Let me know if I can answer any questions

Geoff

Edit: I just noticed that you are is Aus so maybe I'm not that interested after all - still willing to answer questions though.

[Cherp]

Thanks for the information gents.

[robert sailor]

We just bought a 425 in Greece. From everything I can gather its very good value for the money. Ours was in wonderful condition. Looking at the PHRF numbers which are right at 102 that suggests its quite quick for a cruising boat when you consider the Cal 40 rates 120, the Beneteau 44 cc rates 126 and one of my favorite cruisers the Peterson 44 rates 114.

[Cherp]

Thanks. The one I've been looking at in the net is originally from Scandinavia. It has done a lot of cruising and the interior reflects that. Looks like it has been worked faily hard. They want US $140,000 for it.

[Cherp]

Those rating numbers suggest they will nip along.

[robert sailor]

If the boat has been ridden hard and put away wet that price is too high. Mine is very well equipped and was well looked after. It had been outfitted for offshore use in the last couple of years but had been only day sailed. The interior is in very nice shape. The original diesel is still there but only has about 1900 hours since new and has been well looked after. These boats have a very strong following in Europe with a few sprinkled around other parts the world. My advice is to expect to pay around $120,000 US funds for a real nice 425 and less of course depending on condition. The earlier models, the 422 and the 419 are sold for less. Clean 422's can be bought around a $100,000 and 419's all the way down to $50,000 but they would be needing work.

[robert sailor]

Just read Geoff54 post more carefully and he mentions your in Austrailia...a real clean 425 would probably sell quite easily for 140 in Aussi.

[Pete7]

The good news is Moody have a very active owners association which have a Moody specific forum under "info exchange". Lots of information available and I spent 3 days reading before buying our Moody 31.

MOA Home Page

The is a dedicated forum for prospective members to ask questions and membership is £20 or$30 US a year.

I would love a Moody 425 or 44, only the mooring costs for the Solent UK would be crippling. Great boats

Pete

[Geoff54]

Originally Posted by Pete7

The good news is Moody have a very active owners association which have a Moody specific forum under "info exchange". Lots of information available and I spent 3 days reading before buying our Moody 31.

MOA Home Page

The is a dedicated forum for prospective members to ask questions and membership is £20 or$30 US a year.

I would love a Moody 425 or 44, only the mooring costs for the Solent UK would be crippling. Great boats

Pete

I'm guessing Cherp is the person from Aus who posted on Moody Owners yesterday

[Geoff54]

Robert

Did you buy Siempre of Dartmouth?
If so, sounds very nice. I was hoping to take a look at her when I am in Europe in a couple of months but I noticed that she had sold .

[robert sailor]

Hi Geoff,
Yes we did. Made an offer on her in December of last year. Owner is a very nice fellow that dropped close to $120,00 US in to her over the last couple of years and it shows it. Like all boats we won't be happy until we drop in another $20,000 into it, LOL. We have lots of sailing to do over the next few years as we will do a season in the Med and then cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean, thru the canal and back to the S Pacific and then home to Vancouver. We've done lots of sailing in the Pacific but this will be the first on the Atlantic side. Looking forward to it. Wife loves the boat. This will be my first cruising boat as all my past offshore boats have been converted race boats, should be fun. Cheers, R

[Dockhead]

Moodys of that era were designed by the great Bill Dixon, were laid down at Marine Projects of Plymouth (who also build Princess motor yachts), and were fitted out at the historical Moody yard on the Hamble.

Moodys in those days were positioned in the market as being somewhere between production boats like Benes and Bavs and high end boats like Swans and Oysters, but the build quality is very high -- Marine Projects were and are a top-notch builder with a particularly high reputation for their excellent vacuum bagged resin-infusing techniques.

As time went on, Moody attempted to move upmarket to compete directly with Oyster, and the last generation of Moody yachts from about 2000 actually bankrupted them, as they were as expensive to build as Oysters, but they were unable to achieve the same prices, so they lost money on every one. So the last generation of Moodys, although they are pretty expensive ( these days they sell for more than the original new price, even though they are getting on in years a bit) are still a pretty good bargain, offering something not too far off Oyster quality for probably 20% or 25% less money.

Not all of Bill Dixon's designs are performance oriented, but the 425, one of his early designs, is supposed to be pretty hot, witness the handicaps. Most of Dixon's designs have balsa cored hulls, which make them much stiffer and much lighter than solid core hulls used in comparable production boats, which accounts for part of the performance advantage. Marine Projects were supposed to have done a really good job building them, and I have never heard of any Moody with core problems, but you should be sure to check carefully using a good surveyor. Some people don't like cored hulls, considering them to be inherently risky; you will have to form our own opinion. My boat, a Moody 54, which was the first design of the last generation of Moodys (and my boat was actually the prototype), has sparkling performance despite being a comfortable cruising boat, with most longer passages in my log being made on a pace for 200+ mile days. A great deal of credit for this goes to the partially Kevlar-skinned balsa cored hull, which is immensely strong while weighing 4 or 5 tons less than a comparable Oyster. She easily breaks hull speed on different points of sail, and double-digit hours on a reach are not unusual. This despite a modest 16.5 SA/D ratio and an in-mast furling rig. Thank you, Bill Dixon!

I think for $140,000 such a boat would be a good bargain. Compared to an Oyster 435, this is a good $60,000 cheaper. The Moody will sail rings around the Oyster (a huge difference in performance), whereas the Oyster has a wonderful raised salon design which transforms existence in the salon (the Moody is dark and depressing below in comparison). Build quality is similar. Interior layout is a matter of taste; I think both are very good. The Oyster is rather more old-fashioned and somewhat dated in appearance below. I love the Oyster 435, but with that kind of price difference, I would find the Moody hard to resist.

Good luck; and let us know what you decide.

[Artif]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

were laid down at Marine Projects of Plymouth (who also build Princess motor yachts),

But don't let that put you off, they are good solid boats.