Moody quality opinions

[Guest]

Hello all, this is just a general question to the forum for opinions on Moody yachts in general. Living in the US I hardly ever see any adverts or comments on Moodys. In your opinion, where would Moody yachts fall in the quality scale? High, medium, low?

Just curious. I own a 1967 Moody Halberdier which I love and feel is built like the proverbial tank but that's just my opinion. I'd love to hear from other Moody owners.

Regards

Craig Poole

 

[marklongstaff]

Craig

I own a 1990 Moody 376 which we keep in Southampton and have no problems with the quality or the weight of build. It is my opinion however that despite the fact that I like the new range of Moodys I can't help but feel some of the final finishing leave a little to be desired - that said if I had a spare £300k or so a New "BIG" Moody could very well be on the shortlist!!

Regards

Mark L.

 

[gunnarsilins]

I have a older....

....Moody 42, built 1977. I would say, in average the quality is good.
If I should critisize, I would say the attention to detail and extreme finish can be lacking sometimes:
A bit of rough glassfibre here and there in unseen places and the woodwork is not up to the absolutely highest standards.

But she seems to be strong and durable, so I´m not complaining really. I have not been able to have a closer look on the recent Moody´s but if they are of similar quality I wouldn´t hesitate to buy or recommend a new one.
Apart from the fact that I neither can afford it or have any longing for these sportier and "harbour-friendlier" yachts.

 

[JeremyF]

Even at the other end of the Moody range you get a build quality superior to the true mass market. The Moody 31 is a well-built boat, which is reflected in their resale values.

I think that it is a shame that Moody has failed to invest in production automation that would have enabled it to compete in the Ben/Bav/Jen +15% price position. Our Moody 31 is now going up for sale, but unfortunately there seems to be nothing between the mass-market models, and the premium bespoke models.



Jeremy Flynn

www.yacht-goldeneye.co.uk

 

[JamesS]

Just to endorse what has already been said. We own a Moody 31 mark 2 and if anything the workmanship on this 15 year old far exceeds what you will find on a recently built vessel.

Easy to handle, comfortable and confident in a blow. What imprest most when we first stepped on board was the feeling you were on a very sturdy and safe boat - unlike some modern day vessels (not Moodys') where you step up onto the gunwhale and the mast meets you half way!

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Have you seen the Moody Owners site
www.moodyowners.org.uk/

I took delivery of a new 28 in 1986
followed by a 336 in 1990
followed by a 38 last year.

The 336 & 28 were well but carefuly used and stood the test of time. The 38 looks promising.

I think they fit between the Bav/Jen/Ben boats and the HR & Najads. Medium weight and sail reasonably. I lilke them but I would say that being on my third!!!

Pete

 

[richardknight]

We own a 1978 Moody 30 which we keep down in Poole Harbour. The ironic thing is when we were looking a few years ago we really never thought we'd end up with a Moody as they seemed expensive to us. Only when we had a really good look around did we realise that wasn't really the case. Although a 1978 boat she's generally in really good condition and has stood the test of time well. That says something very positive for the build quality......and probably the previous owners too.

She's a sturdy boat and one which we feel very safe in. I'd also rate her as above the Beneteau/Jeanneau's of this world, but below the Hallberg Rassy for example. We're impressed enough to believe she'll be a long term boat for us.

 

[Twister_Ken]

No personal experience at all, but I do seem to remember some fuss and furore many years back about Moody rudders (delaminating?) and a suggestion that some models were rather osmosis prone.

I'm just going to duck to avoid the Revenge of the Moodiesta!

 

[Guest]

last year we bought a Moody 336 built in 1990 to replace our Westerley Fulmar. The boat is fantastic on a reach or run, but slams into a headwind and sea. Other problems have been a lack of storage space and less design considerations into producing a good sea going boat, unlike the fulmar.
Having said this, overall the boat build quality is good and far exceeds the french workmanship as one would expect. We also expect a good resale value in a couple of years.

 

[jamesjermain]

Just to put the cat among the pigeons, none of the previous posts refer to Moodys actually built by A H Moody, which yours was.

All the Moody's referred to were/are built by Marine Projects in Plymouth to Bill Dixon designs from briefs drawn up by the Moody board (David and John, in practice) and the MP key personnel of David King and SImon Limb. Moody Marketing handle the sales in the UK, MP distribute the boats overseas.

Marine Projects also builds the Princess range of power boats and has an extremely automated operation with all the usual computer controlled laser cutters etc but not, I believe, robots (a la Bavaria) as yet.

The Alan Hill-designed Halberdier and a range of others such as the Laurent Giles-designed Carbineer were fitted out at Moody's Swanwick yard although I believe the hulls were contract-moulded by Marine Construction.

Having wittered on about that, I can only confirm what others have said, which is that Moody/Marine Projects build boats which are one up on the general run of mass produced craft. The older ones such as yours are very stout and strong, with solid joinery inside massively over-engineered hulls. Moody stopped building their own boats for economic reasons and lack of space in the late seventies.

The MP Moodies are generally very good, middle-of-the-road designs, long on practicality and durability, short on flashy style and, as others have said, that little je ne sais quois which the French are so good at and which rocked the British boat building industry in the seventies and eighties. Moody's centre cockpit style has also helped them carve out a market of their own against the largely charter orientated Continental brands.

In an American context I would put them ahead of Hunters and Catalinas, perhaps more in line with Morris and Valiant, fror example

JJ

 

[castaway]

Hi Craig

Told u it was a good site didnt I? As you can see from the responses Moodys are still a quality yacht even if not quite so hand built as in the days when our Halberdiers first left the shed.

I think that most people would put Moodys at the very top end of the quality list. Back in the late 60s and early 70s it was even more so.

Regards Nick

 

[Guest]

Bilge or fin? My fin was fine...

 

[Guest]

err when ie how long ago?

 

[Guest]

I agree - good boats (although their modern incarnation are a little too boat show driven) and compared to the rest of the USA market they are a good cut above the most common boats.

I would always feel safer going to sea in a Moody vs a Hunter or a Catalina. I think this is because the Moody's are desinged for the English Channel and not for Florida and SoCal.

 

[Guest]

Also helped by the fact the designer used to and may well still sails his designs!!!!

 

[gunnarsilins]

Moodys from....

...the seventies designed by Angus Primrose, like mine Moody 42 ketch (and maybe the 30, 31 and 33) were moulded by a company called Robert Ives. But they were fitted out by Moodys, weren´t they?

 

[JeremyF]

Re: Moodys from....

The 31 was definitely built by Marine Projects. There's a metal plaque on mine to prove it!

Jeremy Flynn

www.yacht-goldeneye.co.uk

 

[jamesjermain]

Re: Moodys from....

You may be right that your Moody 42 was completed by A H Moody itself. They continued to build some of the bigger models longer than I may have implied - particularly the 471 and the 58. However, the Angus Primrose 33 was his first design for Moody and was the first to go to Marine Projects. The 333, 33S, 27, 29, 30, both 31s, 36, 39, 40 and 41 were all built by Marine Projects as were all subsequent designs such as the 34/346, 336, 376 etc drawn by Bill Dixon, Angus Primrose's protege, who continued to trade under the Primrose name for many years after the latter's tragic death.

The 42 was a little different from all of these and may well have stayed in house.



JJ

 

[paul]

I'm on my second moody (this time a 36) and like the boat a lot. We've had a few small niggles over the years but Moody have always been very good on the aftersales side and sorted things completely (even if they have taken a while some times!). The quality is nearly firts class - much better than the French and German boats - but not as good as the likes of Hallberg/Najad/ Malo etc. Very strongly built but a little slow in light winds. Stowage is superb and, to my tastes at least, nicely designed. Personally if you can't go to one of the Swedish or other really expensive boats I think they're the next best option.

 

[Twister_Ken]

maybe 12-15 years back, tho' I guess the boats concerned were older than that.

Severe test of an ageing memory!