how well does moody eclipse 33 sail?

contessaman

contessaman

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Any eclipse 33 owners or crew out there?

how does this boat sail? much difference between fin or bilge version? Is it seaworthy?

To put it into context I presently have a very fast fin keeled 34 racing yacht. However, sailing just husband and wife we can not really handle it. (sails are set up for racing; tuff luff and bolt rope on the main) Add to this that every time I take leave from work its raining or blowing a hoolie, plus my first baby is on its way - we are getting little use from our present boat.

I always have and always will be attracted to racier yachts, but its time for me to face up to the facts. Any sailing is better than no sailing. And presently my crew is wife and baby. So the racing machine will have to wait for later in my life.

Just had a look at an eclipse 33. Wife loves it down below. Inside steering looks good with my luck with the weather. Also a small easy to handle rig with roller genoa and in mast furling main.

If this boat can make a decent stab at sailing to windward in the rough and offer reasonable cruising performance under sail (and enough responsiveness to teach my family how to sail) then I think I have just found the right boat for this stage in my life.

So.. can it??

thanks in advance for all your thoughts.
 
Think you have to forget any comparisons with your existing boat, otherwise your new boat will always be a let down. Just assess it for what it is and how closely it meets your perceived needs.

The 33 Eclipse is a couple or small family cruising boat, high on accommodation needs. It is not designed to thrash to windward but to give adequate cruising performance. The bilge keeler has a reputation for being a bit "slappy" and obviously won't point as well, but in the context of cruising with a small family is adequate. Many of these boats were bought by people doing the Med circuit so guess they are sufficiently "seaworthy" to cope with crossing the Bay etc.

Clearly lots of people value them as the asking prices are stubbornly high - higher than my 15 year younger Bavaria 37 - which meets a similar brief except that it is not wheelhouse. Think it is the latter feature which makes it so attractive, there is virtually no competition. This helps when you want to move on as there will always be a ready market.

If you were zero basing, that is starting from your brief rather than from your existing experience it would be hard to find a better boat for the job.
 
Eclipse 33

The Moody Eclipse 33 I used to sail on sales demonstrations back in 1990 and found that she was faster than expected of a 'motorsailer',indeed she kept up with a Sigma 33 on one demo 'racing' her in F3-4,without any griping or excessive heeling upwind and off-wind. One of these had the Cruising chute as an extra and performed well.
An option on these was to have the darkened windows in the cabin area, not a good idea if wanting to helm from within when cloudy or poor visibility.
The helming position being to the Starboard side below is also not helpful for side visibility on port tack when heeled.
I had several sailing sessions with a former customer and apart from a problem with the aft throttle and wheel steering linkage to the cabin steering, the yacht sailed impeccably.
If the opportunity arose the Eclipse 38 is an even better boat, and accommodation and layout superior to the 33.

Most of the 33's I demo'd were fitted with the 38hp engine giving 7-7.5 kts (Volvos) and all very good steering ahead and astern, twin-keeled and stable. Have not heard of any problems in construction method or materials .

Hope this helps.

ianat182
 
I am a bit of a Moody fan having had 2, both fin and bilge keelers, whilst not the fastest boats in the world, they are not the slowest either, provided the sails are decent, you can still crack along. We also have kids and all ours have sailed from 2 weeks old. A strong point in the Eclipse' favour is the pilot house, which your wife can sit in with the baby, instead of being below when it is necessary, to be honest kids are not a problem to sail with until they are about 3-4, all Moodys in my experiance perform well in heavy weather which is another consideration when you have a young child.
 
contessaman said:
how well does moody eclipse 33 sail?
Click to expand...

It's slow. We sailed approx. 90 miles from Smerwick harbour to the Aran Islands at the same time as an Eclipse we met and were nearly three hours quicker. (Albin Vega, 27ft - F6 -7).

Having said that it is lovely inside and they arrived a lot dryer and less excited than us. For serious cruising I would want to know more about the stability figures.

- W
 
davidfox said:
I am a bit of a Moody fan having had 2, both fin and bilge keelers, whilst not the fastest boats in the world, they are not the slowest either, provided the sails are decent, you can still crack along. We also have kids and all ours have sailed from 2 weeks old. A strong point in the Eclipse' favour is the pilot house, which your wife can sit in with the baby, instead of being below when it is necessary, to be honest kids are not a problem to sail with until they are about 3-4, all Moodys in my experiance perform well in heavy weather which is another consideration when you have a young child.
Click to expand...

Many 'older' traditional sailors, considered Moody's with a certain distain, perhaps because they came off a 'production line'.

However, having sailed several, including the Eclipse 33, I have always been suprised by how good they do sail. Have taken them across the channel, across Biscay etc. An friend even sailed his 38' to New Zealand without mishap.

Even the older versions, with the knuckle bow & deck anchor recess, whilst not the prettiest, seem to have weathered the years extremely well & compared to some of todays Bav's etc, would be a much better buy IMHO, as a cruiser.
 
Thanks for the responses so far.

I hear what people are saying about the performance being dissapointing ralative to our current boat. Theres not much that can touch my current boat to windward. It even gives the new stuff a run for its money (boat for boat) -until one turns downwind.
However, if I persist with this boat I will continue to get one or may be two sails in a year. And risk terrifying my wife who has not grown up sailing and racing like me.

I am in the military and so spend a long time away and live nowhere near the sea. I take some leave, go to the boat, the sky darkens and it looks like judgement day. I think it would be a great day to go for a sail with 5 big blokes on board, but I think it would put mrs M off sailing for life at best and would be irresponsible to put to sea. So we sit down below in a dim cabin in the marina and go nowhere.

I wouldn't intend to take this little moody blue water cruising(no time at this stage in my life) and indeed I would not willingly put to sea in a gale with a young family. But if it can provide real (albeit slow)sailing for my family in most 'british weather' conditions then it will make my family want to sail rather than hate it - Which is the real battle. I can get my swan when I retire from the airforce and live by the sea. Which is another thing - I dont really care if the eclipse is overpriced as long as it holds its value. I believe they do? (comments please)

I can live with it being as slow as a small westerly (it does make me grimmace) but it needs to be able to sail to weather in the rough else I may as well get a motorboat.

If it takes a whole day to beat across mounts bay thats fine I can sit inside and steer, have a cup of tea and read the sunday papers. But if I have to start the engine to get anywhere then thats taking it too far..

has anyone sailed one of these up wind? (in some proper sea) does the windage, low draft and bluff bow all consipre to stop you from making to weather? until now I had pretty much always judged a boats seaworthiness by its windward performance. But I suppose it needs to look after its crew also so that they in turn can sail the boat.

What about those big windows getting stove in if you were really unlucky and caught out in the nasty? I should want to make storm boards up just in case.
 
contessaman said:
Thanks for the responses so far.

has anyone sailed one of these up wind? (in some proper sea) does the windage, low draft and bluff bow all consipre to stop you from making to weather? until now I had pretty much always judged a boats seaworthiness by its windward performance. But I suppose it needs to look after its crew also so that they in turn can sail the boat.

What about those big windows getting stove in if you were really unlucky and caught out in the nasty? I should want to make storm boards up just in case.
Click to expand...

Think you still have to change your mindset a bit more. Getting an apprehensive wife and a small child interested in sailing is not about windward performance and definitely not about going anywhere near weather where you would worry about the windows getting stove in and whether your storm boards are good enough! You already say you don't go anywhere when it is bit iffy and you already have a heavy weather boat.

One should judge a boat by whether it meets the specific pattern of usage - and an Eclipse 33 is fine for cruising with a young family. Strong, safe, comfortable and somewhere nice and warm to get out of the weather. And yes, it will hold its value because there is always demand for boats like that.
 
contessaman said:
Any eclipse 33 owners or crew out there?

how does this boat sail? much difference between fin or bilge version? Is it seaworthy?

To put it into context I presently have a very fast fin keeled 34 racing yacht. However, sailing just husband and wife we can not really handle it. (sails are set up for racing; tuff luff and bolt rope on the main) Add to this that every time I take leave from work its raining or blowing a hoolie, plus my first baby is on its way - we are getting little use from our present boat.

I always have and always will be attracted to racier yachts, but its time for me to face up to the facts. Any sailing is better than no sailing. And presently my crew is wife and baby. So the racing machine will have to wait for later in my life.

Just had a look at an eclipse 33. Wife loves it down below. Inside steering looks good with my luck with the weather. Also a small easy to handle rig with roller genoa and in mast furling main.

If this boat can make a decent stab at sailing to windward in the rough and offer reasonable cruising performance under sail (and enough responsiveness to teach my family how to sail) then I think I have just found the right boat for this stage in my life.

So.. can it??

thanks in advance for all your thoughts.
Click to expand...

My mate has one.He was in a similar position to you and found it was as good a compromise as was possible.His wife is more than happy,and so harmony reigns!
 
Tranona said:
Think you have to forget any comparisons with your existing boat, otherwise your new boat will always be a let down. Just assess it for what it is and how closely it meets your perceived needs..
Click to expand...

A very sensible if a bit unrealistic a comment.

I have not owned a Moody Eclipse but I have owned a 336 bilge and sailed a lot on a 31 Bilge, but have moved in the opposite direction to you to my first fin keeler. The spur to change from the 336 to the present Starlight was windward performance when racing. The difference between the 336 bilge and a decent fin keeler is somewhere between 5 and 10% hard on the wind - and I would not expect the Eclipse to sail as well as the 336.

That's the downside. Everything else is good. The boats are well made, and well designed. Reasonably fleet of foot and ride the sea well. If anything the 336 rides a bit better than my current boat.

I doubt you will be able to sail from inside. Motorsail off the wind, maybe. But sailing requires more tweeking than you can do inside the boat.

Having sailed a 31 with in mast reefing I wouldnt go near such a setup. It crucifies performance unless the boat is fitted with a taller mast than the slab reefed version - loss of roach. And the boat I sailed had the vertical battens which didnt seem to work well to me.

Finally, another plus. Find yourself a suitable club and you can still have fun racing the Eclipse in PY.
 
Perhaps I can add a view here that might be helpful...

Until 2006 I owned a 33' 3/4 tonner... a full on racing machine with a big powerful rig, flat decks, and a shape designed to claw upwind.... a total blast to sail... huge fun in a breeze.... but wet, hard work, and not comfortable....

In 2006, I relented, and bought a Beneteau Oceanis 400... a completely different proposition.... incredibly comfortable, all the comforts to keep the family happy, and space to spread out...

I lost a great deal of sailing performance. Its not that the Oceanis doesn't sail well, she does, and in some conditions is superb... we had in 2009 a passage back across the north sea in 30 something knots pretty much downwind and it was a ball!... the boat surfing and me absolutely loving it.... but its balanced against the fact that in 25kts of wind, upwind becomes unpleasant, slamming starts, and helming becomes hard work rather than fun... in the end you divert, or stick the engine on to get it over and done with as soon as possible.

What I have ultimately realised is that I didn't need to just change the boat, but also to change the sailing I did... if its nice we go out... if it isn't we just do a small hop round the corner, or have a day on board playing games with the kids rather than going sailing.... a big compromise, but one that has meant the family have stayed keen and enthusiastic, and equally as importantly, willing to support the not insignificant costs of remaining a boat owner.... yes I miss the occasional chance to go out and get thoroughly soaked, and howl at the wind, but its not vanished for ever... I do the odd boys trip here and there, and intend to go off bluewater sailing in the future with my wife's full enthusastic support... would never have happened if i'd turned my other half against sailing through determination to sail at all costs.
 
Excuse me, I’ve been reading this out of sheer curiosity, never sailed an Eclipse but think I might guess the 34…

On paper, the Eclipse sounds ideal.

When my dad finally sold ‘our’ boat ( oddly I taught him when I was a boy, he provided the funds of course ) – a reasonably fast, seaworthy small cruiser, he bought a Centaur as that ticked all the boxes.

The only enjoyment he ever got out of it was tinkering with the rudder trying to get some feel; he detested the dead, neutral helm.

As we’re both from a fighter trials background, he tried every trick, vortex generators, the lot; in the end he gave up, saying ‘he’d been spoiled by my boat’.

Now 87, he seethes and almost kicks himself every time the Centaur is mentioned, wishing he’d gone for the Sadler 29 he really wanted.

My point being, I never met anyone – at least not a good sailor as you clearly are – who successfully bought a boat by sums – she needs to be rewarding to sail, that’s possible without being hairy - and windward ability is still a vital aid to safety today as always, and a boat which makes you smile as you row away at anchor, or look at her photo’ at ‘work’.

I think it’s a shame you let your wife see the Eclipse interior, but my tuppence is you both need to look elsewhere – snag being you may have to sell the wife on the next boats’ higher more expensive quality, to keep you all ( 3 ) happy !

Good luck whatever you go for.
 
Just by coincidence I received our Club newsletter in which there is an Eclipse33 for sale . (As it was described as an 'Ocean ' Eclipse 33 it may well be the same one I sailed years ago, the 'Ocean Eclipse' being her boat identity) give Mike Stevens a call on 02392 580245 for details.

No other connection

ianat182
 
I have sailed on an Excel 33 in fairly windy conditions and it certainly handled them well, but I do not recall what the windward performance was like, but they are pretty slow in light airs. May I recommend you research the back copies service ob YM and PBO as I am sure they will have test sailed these boats and would have an unbiased opinion.
 
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