Moody 425 or Stephens 47

[seachange]

Hello All

After all the fantastic advice we received from our last post we have finally narrowed our boat choice down to two. We are interested in the Moody 425/422 and the Stephens 47.

However, before we go chasing off all over the world to look at these (as there doesn't seem to be any for sale in Aus) we would Really love to see them in the flesh. If anybody has a Moody 425/422 or a Stephens 47, or knows someone who does, preferably in Sydney, Melbourne or somewhere in between we would love to hear from you...

Also if you have been on both & have any comment to make on them we would also love to get your feed back.

cheers

[bstreep]

The Stevens 47 was on our short list. We did 2 charters on them, and absolutely loved the boats. BTW, I believe the Hylas 47 is the same boat.

[Rangiroo]

I have a Stevens 47 for sale in Auckland...come and see it...it is COMPLETELY fitted out for long distance cruising!!
Leave me a msg on here so we can arrange a viewing

Michael

[Richard Jordan]

Just to clarify:
The Stevens 47 was designed by Rod Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens and imported by Bill Stevens of Stevens Caribbean Charters.
Easy mistake to make.

[bstreep]

From another site:

"The Hylas and Stevens 47 are the same Sparkman & Stephens design built by the same yard in Taiwan, Queen Long Marine. Queen Long hired S&S to design the 47-footer for them right around 1981. Bill Stevens of Stevens Charters imported most of the original hulls, and they named her the Stevens 47. Later Queen Long Marine rebranded her as the Hylas 47 along with introducing other Hylas models.

The real difference between these two is the rig. The Stevens has a beefier rig. The Hylas 47's are high quality as well but just a little less robustly equipped. These Stevens models have become cult boats and rightly so.

The performance of these whether Hylas or Stevens is legendary. The hull shape and keel-rudder configuration make them surprisingly stiff and fast boats, well-balanced in any condition. A Hylas 49 model with a raised sheerline and sugar scoop stern is the current evolution of the 47."

[Richard Jordan]

Originally Posted by bstreep

From another site:
The performance of these whether Hylas or Stevens is legendary. The hull shape and keel-rudder configuration make them surprisingly stiff and fast boats, well-balanced in any condition. A Hylas 49 model with a raised sheerline and sugar scoop stern is the current evolution of the 47."

Terrible writing...total nonsense.
I prefer this: Used Boat Notebook: From the Pages ... - Google Books
Somebody who really knows what they are talking about.

I have never been on the Moody 422 or 425.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by jordanship

Terrible writing...total nonsense.
I prefer this: Used Boat Notebook: From the Pages ... - Google Books
Somebody who really knows what they are talking about.

I have never been on the Moody 422 or 425.

Nonsense? Seems like both writers liked the boat quite well. First maybe less technical, more boat mag hype type of vocabulary but I didn't detect any major departure from Kretschmer's writeup.

[bstreep]

I've only put a few hundred miles on a Stevens 47 - but I also agree with both assessments. Not sure what you saw that made you think it was "terrible writing" - since it was just another person's opinion post, not an article - and since it pretty much jives with the Used Notebook AND my experience, why argue?

Good article, by the way. As noted, both the Stevens 47 and Hylas 47 were on our short list. Along with the Hylas 44.

[Tspringer]

I absolutely adore our Stevens 47, she has proven to be an amazingly capable yacht. I really cannot see going wrong with a Stevens.

Mine is also for sale, take a look here for details:

Home - A WebsiteBuilder Website

Over $100K and 2000+ hours in refit over the past 18 months. She lies US east coast.... but I'm up for a sail to Australia if delivery assistance makes any difference!

Regardless of buying my boat or another, (and Rangiroo's is obviously closer to you) I honestly believe the Stevens 47's are among the most capable and well designed yachts in this class period.



Terry

[seachange]

Thankyou for your responses! Finally I understand why some Stephens are Stevens; & I just thought it was an American spelling convention...

We are hoping to get over to NZ at some stage early in the new year to look at a Stevens that is listed for sale over there, Michael I am not sure if it yours but we will chase you up when we make it across the Tasman.

Terry, we had a look at your boat & she is lovely, unfortunately out of our price range but good luck finding her a home. Having a good look at all your photos told us quite a bit more about the boat though.

Certainly the feedback we are getting is to go the Stevens over a Moody. A couple of our concerns with the Stevens are; that is will cost a lot more to maintain than the Moody as it is significantly bigger, that perhaps it is a little dark in the salon comparitively & I also have the impression that it is significantly harded boat to sail as it is constantly described as very powerful... any thoughts?

Thanks heaps

[Tspringer]

Seachange....

The rig on the Stevens is substantial, they carry a large sail plan and thus are powerful sailing vessels. That said, I find Lillie Mae very easy to sail. The winches and running rigging are massive and fully up to the task making the sailing effort really pretty simple. Flying the staysail is simple, changing headsails no big deal and the boat sails very well without demanding constant attention to sail trim to keep her moving.

I have never sailed a Moody... but I honestly do not consider my Stevens 47 any more difficult to sail than the old Hunter 34 I had. Same principals, larger sails, hardware and gear. You of course pay close attention to some things because the forces involved on a larger boat are so much more, but that is not a difficulty issue or a complication.

As for maintenance, thats going to come down to the condition of the boat you purchase more than anything. Also, are you willing to get your hands dirty? Sailboats are not horribly complicated devices. If you can read and understand technical instructions you can probably fix anything on the boat your willing to tackle.


Terry

[Jon D]

Seachange

I own a 85 Moody 47 so have a slightly different perspective. First I would say you are comparing apples and oranges. The 422/425 are much smaller than the Stevens 47. A more accurate comparison would be a Moody 46/47. All of the Moody's we are discussing are Bill Dixon designs which are great sailing boats. Many a time I have been sailing the same passages as various Hylas designs and depending on the boat I am either faster 44/46/47 or about the same 49. If you want to compare a Moody with the Stevens 47 I would suggest looking at the mid 80s 47s. If you want to compare to the Moody 425 then a Hylas 44 is closer.

From a construction standpoint they are both very good boats. I have had mine for 10 years now and am still impressed with how it was built.

For more specific Moody info suggest going to the Moody Owners Group at MOA Home Page

[ferguson]

Not sure why the Jordan folks say the rigs on Hylas are less hefty. I Have a '89 Hylas 47, but looked at 5 boats before buying - 3 were Stevens and 2 Hylas. The boats are exactly the same except that the Hylas boats, being slightly younger have more modern and to my mind more robust mast sections. The mast on the hylas is a Kemp which is actually 1.5 - 2 inches greater in diameter and the section looks stronger relative to the Stevens sections I viewed (while these were certainly of a spec that would take the boat round the world a couple of times). The standing rigging was exactly the same over spec shrouds on both. Whether Hylas or Stevens, either one would offer a more seaworthy and sea kindly blue water ride than the lighter moody. The cutter sail plan gives a huge amount of flexibility. The down below layout is hugely livable with it dual access either side of the companionway to the aft cabin. Three cabins in a 47 foot boat ... hard to achieve. Go for it...

[Davie J.]

I would love to buy a Stevens 47'. I am looking, although I'm not quite ready to take the plunge. If you have a late model ('85 or '86) and are thinking about selling, I would love to start a correspondence with you.