Moody 38 opinions

[GODOT]

Looking for a comfortable boat with reasonable performance that will keep SWMBO happy.

A Moody 38 seems to fit, any opinions on it (or alternative suggestions?)

 

[Tranona]

Suggest you try the Moody Owners Association. They have extensive information on the boat and each model has a specific person you can speak to.

 

[Martin_J]

Great boat - Have you thought of the aft cockpit version, the s38?

My avatar shows mine from the masthead! Maybe not as quick as some of the lighter boats in light airs.. . but feels very safe/solid to sail and has huge amounts of stowage.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Dark and gloomy inside - wasnt really impressed by the inside of the boat. Got the feeling that they had more space than they knew how to use but not enough to do what they did with the 40 odd footers. Barn like.

When I got under the skin of my Moody ( and it wasnt a 38) I was unimpressed there too. You got the feeling that the guys at Marine Projects could have been building Moodies this week and caravans the next. Much use of bits of softwood to fix headlinings, ball valves instead of seacocks etc.

In truth it was a sound enough boat but I really didnt see how they could have a reputation of being any better than a Benny or a Bav.

 

[AIDY]

Great boat - Have you thought of the aft cockpit version, the s38?

nice boat !

 

[alandee]

Contact 'jonic' of this parish; I am sure he would be willing to discuss.

 

[GODOT]

Whilst I would be happy with an aft cockpit, SWMBO is much taken with large aft cabin in CC. Wondered if significant diff is between 38 and 376 apart from age? Also is the 40CC worth looking at or are they getting a bit tired now?

 

[rwoofer]

Worth pointing out that their are actually two Moody 38s. The earlier one was built from the early nineties onwards, whilst the latter one was from about 2001 onwards. I'm led to believe that the earlier version was a better sailer.

 

[chrisgee]

Looking for a comfortable boat with reasonable performance that will keep SWMBO happy.

A Moody 38 seems to fit, any opinions on it (or alternative suggestions?)

looked at similar a few years ago but apart from a nice aft cabin you also get a small cockpit, small saloon ( for a 38ft) and v cramped forepeak. Sailing performance is ok but nothing special as is build quality.
To get the amount of space we required we thought the Moody 425 a better bet but couldn`t find one at a sensible price.So bought a Catalina 42 which has 3 good cabins ( especially the owners double at the front) ,has a huge cockpit and sails the pants off any Moody and a lot more AWB`s.

 

[ianat182]

The Moody 376 is a fine boat that I've sailed as demo and in the RTIR. If your choice is the Scheel keeled version you may be disappointed by performance to windward, but OK if measured against the convenience of shallower draft. You may also find, as we did ,that the mainsheet tackle is rather too close for comfort in the helming position in the event of an unplanned gybe, our crew member had a new hair parting generated by the sheet itself during the RTIR.
This apart, a well thought of member of the Moody range past and present, and the 425 is also a good proposition. Height above the marina pontoons and fingers are always a problem with these larger centre cockpit yachts, needing care to be taken when jumping down to moor up, a jarred back or twisted ankle can result otherwise, and ruin your day.
Both the above are very manoeuvreable ahead and astern under power.

ianat182

 

[carrswood]

Good solid boats with excellent re-sale values (amongst the very best for that)
Hardly depreciate at all.
Any CC boat will not sail as well as an aft cockpit boat - due to additional superstructure weight, higher rolling momentum and windage etc. (not too mention the heavy in-mast furlers most CC boats come fitted with!.
But then again look at the positives of the large a/cabin.

The Moody 35 is a good boat too
Consider Westerlys too

 

[Marmalade]

376 has berth to one side in aft cabin; I think the 38 has a centre berth - good if one of you has to get up in the night!

I am a happy and biased moody owner - you will find many similar on the owners assoc website.

38S is the aft cockpit version (or is it S38?)

 

[CSFenwick]

We've owned a 1995 M38 for 5 years, sailing as a family of 4. We’ve been very happy with her. She's been designed as a safe, comfortable cruising boat for ideally 2 to 4 people and not a racing boat with shelf space for a crew of 9. I actually think that sailing performance is reasonably good but she's a solid boat and we carry cruising gear with a wind genny and davits and dingy on the back. To compare that with a First thirty something complete misses the point. She needs 10 to 15 knots to get moving but average passage speed is usually between 5 and 6 knots. Reaching in 15 knots you'll be in the sevens.

Build quality seems pretty solid to me. Our boat has Lewmar 48ST as main sheet winches. A Jeanneau 42 we saw at the boat show had 42's. Our boat has Lewmar Ocean size 2 cars which are adjustable on lines, the Jeanneau had smaller cars with pins. If you look at a HR of the same size you get the same quality deck gear. My experience is that today’s mass produced boats are built to a price and that means the smallest deck gear they can get away with unless you choose the option to upgrade.

If you're looking for a comfortable, safe, boat with reasonable sailing ability that holds its price well then you can do a lot worse. If out and out sailing performance is your thing then look elsewhere.

Our boat had the original in-mast furling changed to slab reefing before we bought her but the previous owner did it properly with Rutgerson cars running on bearings. Raising and lowering the main is Childs play. Unless you really want the convenience of in-mast then that's something I'd look for. We have a fin keel and again unless you want shallow draught because of where you sail it will help your windward sailing compared to shoal keel.

You may already have done so but you can post a question on the Moody owner’s site and there may well be an owner near where you live to give you the chance to look at one.

 

[jonic]

Took my 1996 M38 through the French canals cruised the med for two years then shipped her to the Caribbean for another two years, REGULARLY out sailed larger AWB on all points. One Je****eu owner who had a deep keel 43 and couldn't keep up, especially to windward TO Barbados, said I had "a real kick ass boat."

Safe, secure, seakindly. Great all rounder. There is a pic of her here

Just shipped her home to Southampton and may consider selling now. Does anybody want to swap her for a Contessa 32, Sadler 34 or Victoria 30 etc and some cash?

 

[Tranona]

Build quality seems pretty solid to me. Our boat has Lewmar 48ST as main sheet winches. A Jeanneau 42 we saw at the boat show had 42's. Our boat has Lewmar Ocean size 2 cars which are adjustable on lines, the Jeanneau had smaller cars with pins. If you look at a HR of the same size you get the same quality deck gear. My experience is that today’s mass produced boats are built to a price and that means the smallest deck gear they can get away with unless you choose the option to upgrade.

This kind of comparison is misleading. It is the size of the sail that determines the size of the winch. Lighter displacement boats, generally have smaller rigs (as they need less sail power to achieve the same performance) so need smaller winches.

If you look at my Bavaria 37 compared with an HR 36 of the same era it has exactly the same "quality" of equipment - Harken winches, Selden mast, Rutgerson deck gear etc. Just that everything is the next size down because it displaces 5600kg compared to 7500kg. More displacement means greater sail area means larger section mast means larger winches and so on.

It is a mistake to equate size with quality.

 

[jonic]

My somewhat jokey comment above did actually get a response, not quite right but it did get me thinking. So lf anyone does want to trade up PM me. I'm interested in something around 34 ft. Are there any websites that cover this sort of swap plus cash differential thing?

Perhaps I should just advertise her for sale with PX considered!