PaulCymro
New member
Anyone done a circuit in a BK Moody 31? That's my plan and I'd like to check I'm not being mental.
Moody 31 bilge keel Atlantic Circuit
- Thread starter PaulCymro
- Start date
V1701
Well-known member
No, but you're not being mental...
matt1
Well-known member
I know of a Hunter Channel 31 twin keel that did an Atlantic Circuit and I'm sure there will be countless other examples soon mentioned on here. Clearly space, water, diesel and provisioning are probably the biggest challenges
shaunksb
Well-known member
How many are “you”.
What time of year do you want to cross West to East?
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What time of year do you want to cross West to East?
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AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
Smaller boats have done it, so why not? The main problem that comes to mind is the relative lack of storage space; I have a Moody 31 Mk II, and while there's ample storage for coastal cruising, I think you'd have to give up living space to stow food for an Atlantic crossing.
PaulCymro
New member
There are two of us and west to east via Bermuda and the Azores will be sort of June July Aug time
shaunksb
Well-known member
Perfectly possible then.
Hiring a sat phone would help enormously with your weather routing on the way back.
In a smaller boat I may be temped to do the 5 day hop to Portugal from the Azores and also turn the corner up the coast and possibly head for la Rochelle or similar to give a shorter Biscay crossing if you want to avoid the chance of any nasties.
Fair Winds.
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Hiring a sat phone would help enormously with your weather routing on the way back.
In a smaller boat I may be temped to do the 5 day hop to Portugal from the Azores and also turn the corner up the coast and possibly head for la Rochelle or similar to give a shorter Biscay crossing if you want to avoid the chance of any nasties.
Fair Winds.
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dancrane
Well-known member
There's a well-known photo of a Westerly 22 (bilge keel) in a Caribbean anchorage. I don't think anyone ought to be discouraged by this solid, practical keel arrangement...especially as on this passage, you're unlikely to be hard on the wind very often.
Tranona
Well-known member
Success of such projects is as much about the people doing it as the boat. The challenge in a relatively small cruiser such as yours is deciding on the level of discomfort that results from 2 people living for long periods in a very confined space.
Bajansailor
Well-known member
This could only be 'Young Tiger', anchored in Admiralty Bay, Bequia in the mid 60's.
I remember seeing a British registered Westerly Fulmar with bilge keels arrive here in Barbados many years ago in the ARC in the late 80's - she subsequently took part in the Mount Gay Regatta here (which was just after Christmas in those days) and she gave a very good account of herself.
I wouldn't be surprised if she sailed back home the following summer.
Here is a quote from post #13 of this current thread -
ARC - Returning boats
"On our previous crossing we sailed from Fort Lauderdale to St Marys on the Isles of Scilly non-stop. There were two of us on a 31ft bilge keel Moody. The skipper put the boat on the market as soon as we got back. I started looking for the next trip. It affects us all in different ways! "
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capnsensible
Well-known member
We lived aboard our Moody 33 for 21 years.
Tranona
Well-known member
Yes, but that is huge compared with a 31! - one of its major selling points in the day.
capnsensible
Well-known member
More roomy certainly but still only two feet longer. We had a 31 in the past too. Know them well. Fin version.
shaunksb
Well-known member
If it wasn't for the six kids and a pony it would have worked quite well...
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capnsensible
Well-known member
Unicorn.
lampshuk
Member
There's a short "blog" written by 2 blokes who crossed in a M31 some time ago (not sure if fin or BK, but I cannot see any significant difference). Can't remember where it is, I'm afraid.
They did it rather quickly, I think, without spending much time in the Windies, which rather defeats the object of the exercise, to my way of thinking.
They said the most uncomfortable part of the crossing was sailing down the Bristol Channel.
Have you asked on the Moody Owner's Forum?
They did it rather quickly, I think, without spending much time in the Windies, which rather defeats the object of the exercise, to my way of thinking.
They said the most uncomfortable part of the crossing was sailing down the Bristol Channel.
Have you asked on the Moody Owner's Forum?
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AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
From all I've heard, the bilge keel version is slightly less weatherly, but otherwise very similar. Mine's fin keel. For ocean crossing, mainly downwind, I doubt there would be any difference.
capnsensible
Well-known member
There is a lot of not downwind sailing on a west to east crossing and a tendency of grey.....
steve350
Active member
How times change:
"When the ARC first started in 1986 the majority of the boats were between 30-40ft, with many below today’s limit of 32ft LOA. However, in 2016 the average length was around 55ft, with quite a number over 65ft."
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
The difference is slight. And when crossing oceans, even going to windward you probably don't want to steer as close as she'll go; you don't need to weather the next headland, and most boats make their best VMG a bit off the wind. I'm pretty sure that's the case for the Moody 31; I'm not a racer so I've never been that interested, but she certainly slows down when sailed as close as she'll go ( I have tried to weather headlands!). So I think the difference between the two configurations is unlikely to matter even for the West-East crossing.
