Moody 30-39 - Opinions ?

[SaltyMonkey]

I'm interested in understanding a bit more on the long range bluewater capabilities of the older Moody lines between 30-39 feet since they do NOt seem to come up in bluewater lists.

- What models are best? How would you rank them?
- What are some of the maintenance and sailing issues?
- What models should be avoided?

Thanks for your insight

SaltyMonkey

MOODY 30
MOODY 31 MKI
MOODY 31 MKII
MOODY 33 ECLIPSE
MOODY 33 MKI
MOODY 33 MKII
MOODY 333
MOODY 336
MOODY 33S
MOODY 34
MOODY 346
MOODY 35
MOODY 35 FIN KEEL
MOODY 36
MOODY 36
MOODY 36S
MOODY 37
MOODY 376
MOODY 38
MOODY 38 ECLIPSE
MOODY 39

[ozskipper]

I have been browsing them too. So far my budget seems to like the 333cc and the 34. We are thinking of taking a year off and living aboard in the Med. Having come from a racing background, I cant see myself in a hartley or steel roberts as i would still want some iota of performance. Although the bilge keel versions are attracting me because I can inspect the bottom at almost any low tide. I am a fan of the centre cockpit mainly because it give that larger owners berth. However, I have been told they can be somewhat "wetter" in certain conditions. Given that liveaboarders spend more time at anchor than at sea, the odd boarding wave over a year wont be too much for our wet weather gear to handle. In this case I prefer the comfort. Dont know how Hot and stuffy they would get though.

Let me know your thoughts. I will be interested to hear any thing you have picked up on them too.

Also if you like centre cockpits the older beneteau "evasion" is worth a look at. They are an older design (and perhaps even a bit ugly), but appear to be comfortable.

[markw]

I have a Moody 39 which is based on the 33 Mk1 design.Mine is a 1977 before the days or cored hulls so its built like a tank almost an inch thick of solid glass.Its great downwind and upwind performance although not great for pointing is still 35-40 deg off the wind.In December we were stuck off cape town in 50kts plus with 6m confused seas and although we never slept for 3 days we never felt unsafe.Because of the flared bow design she is an extremely dry boat even in 25 kts and moderate seas.Very beamy designs too,the 39 is 4,23m beam so plenty of room down below.
Things to look for...osmosis which is pretty standard for any design of this era I guess.On the 39 the compression post seems to compress a bit so check the rigging is adjusted correctly.Most Moodys of this era had Thornycroft motors and spares might not be easy to get if its an original motor.Feel free to check out my site and email me any questions.Cape towns famous moody39

[SaltyMonkey]

ozskipper - no opinions on any models yet. I think any CC under 40 feet is bound to be wet and a bit of a pig or windage under weather. However, a hard dodger may help. Yes the evasion has caught my eye when looking and bendytoys.

markw - thanks for your comments on the 39!

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by markw

I have a Moody 39 which is based on the 33 Mk1 design.Mine is a 1977 before the days or cored hulls so its built like a tank almost an inch thick of solid glass.

I do like the look and feel of the older Moodys - the new ones only seem to come in sizes "big", "too big" and "Wow! That's BIG".

You have a great boat there.

[Jon D]

Salty

In general Moody's make great Water boats">blue water boats. Obviously bigger is more comfortable but your best source is the Moody Owners Group for what to look out for etc. I personally know 3 owners that have gone transatlantic but they were between 37-42 ft. There are a number of larger boats >44 that have done it but you indicated you were looking at smaller rather than larger.

MOA Home Page

Of course I have a bit of bias but mine is an older one as well [1985]

[Pete7]

If you identify a particular model then the MOA have a free section to post questions and you can view the remainder of the forum (under info exchange). Hope the Admins don't mind refering to another forum, but its a forum dedicated to a mark as is Salkmonkeys question.

In brief, Moody yachts were expensive new and probably one of the reasons they ultimately gave up making them. The earlier with flared bows are Angus Primrose designs, the later like ours from the designer Bill Dixon, who owns a rather nice blue hulled Moody and is a throughly nice chap too.

Sadly I don't think they couldn't compete is the mass production French and German makers without lowering quality. The good news is that quality pays dividends as they get older. I know of no Moody from the Bill Dixon era (1980s onwards) which has osmosis. As an expensive yacht they also tended to be well looked after by owners who could afford to maintain properly. For example ours was always antifouled and polished by Moodys staff each year.

Perhaps not for everyone, but plenty out there cruising and half a doxen entered in this years Altantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

Pete

[Dockhead]

Moody sailing yachts have been designed by Bill Dixon and by Dixon's mentor and boss Angus Primrose since forever, so there is a great deal of continuity in the design approach of Moody over the years. Unlike, say, Oyster, who changed designers entirely a couple of times.

Bill Dixon is one of the foremost half-dozen or so yacht designers today, known especially for his one-off superyacht designs.

Dixon's teacher, Angus Primrose, was another of the great figures of yacht design, having designed the Gypsy Moth IV and all the early Moodys. He died with his boots on, to, at the helm of his own Moody 33 in a storm in the middle of the Atlantic.

Moodys are very common in the UK and much less so in the US. They are very strong seagoing boats much loved by their owners, and I am not aware of any bad models. Obviously the older ones benefit less from general progress in yacht design and technology than the newer ones, but Primrose/Dixon were using hull forms which would be considered modern today from a very early date, as early as the '80's.

Almost all of them, even the small ones, are center cockpit designs with nice aft owners' cabins.

They are supposed to be a cut below the Swedish and Dutch boats, not to mention Oyster and Swan, in quality but quite a bit better than what the Brits call AWB's -- Average White Boats. I am very pleased with the quality of my own Moody and have not discovered any corner-cutting anywhere.