Which Marina on the costa del sol would you recommend?

To be honest, having owned boats before (including a wooden one!), the maintenance is not the learning curve that is worrying me. What concerns me is whether I will enjoy the liveaboard life as much as I enjoyed life on board as a holiday maker.

As you are a glutton for punishment here is a question for you as a Moody owner. Do you know how the keel bolts engage the keel on a Moody? Is the iron keel itself threaded to take the "hidden end" of the keelbolt or is there some sort of captive nut in there. - It looks as though I should draw a bolt or two as a precaution and it would be nice to know what I am dealing before I start.

Another question I would like the answer to is why people seem to stop cruising in the Med over the winter? Having been out for visits in just about every month the weather seems OK - and yet everyone seems to treat it like a "proper winter" and hole up in a marina. Why is this? Do you acclimatise to the heat and start to feel the cold? Answers on a postcard please!!
 
The broker had told us that about your boat's very good condition from little use, but we had already decided we wanted Lechwe.

Its just odd how things work out in this small world, made smaller by this forum. It could quite easily been the other way around.

My tip would be to join the Moody Owners Association ( www.moodyowners.org.uk ) Its only £20 per year, and if nothing else you can access the technical pages on the website. There is stacks of info from other peoples experience, which you may find useful in doing whatever you have to do. You will see some familiar names there too, Faulkner for example /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Thanks for the advice I shalll be joining Moody owners for sure.


As you say the boat is in good condition because its hardly been used, but the downside to that is that some of the stuff that you don't use .......stops working. So some planned maintenance is required.... as soon as its warm enough!

It is a small world and I have been exchanging PMs with other peeps interested in Moodys whose path we have so nearly crossed. I look forward to sharing a nice cold beer and to swapping notes somewhere in the Med when we land at the same port.
 
Re: Holing up in the Med over Winter?

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Another question I would like the answer to is why people seem to stop cruising in the Med over the winter?

[/ QUOTE ] Because forecasting in lower latitudes is less reliable than in UK waters, and some truly vicious winds occasionally come in with little warning during unsettled weather, especially if there's a cold front around.

Having said that, periods of settled weather in winter are reasonably easy to identify (certainly in Greece), and there's no big reason why one shouldn't sail during such a window. Except that all the seasonal cafes and tavernas are closed!
 
In my first winter 5 years ago I did not understand why people huddled in marinas either. Then I set off in January from Palma for the four day cruise to Gib. Three weeks later I arrived!

Having said that, I now feel that winter and summer seem to be later arriving. Cruising is certainly feasible up to the end of December in many parts of the Med. January through to March can be less pleasant.

I think many people are in the summer sailing, winter lay up UK mindset and use this as their period for visiting home again. There is no reason why cruising cannot continue year round if you can take the rough with the smooth. This is particularly so if you end up somewhere like Malta where you can always find an anchorage in the lee of the land.

If I could afford it, I would choose to leave the boat secure in a marina during hot and crowded July and August. However, prices make that impossible.
 
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What concerns me is whether I will enjoy the liveaboard life as much as I enjoyed life on board as a holiday maker.

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Cant really comment as i dont live aboard yet. The plan is to do so from April.
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As you are a glutton for punishment here is a question for you as a Moody owner. Do you know how the keel bolts engage the keel on a Moody? Is the iron keel itself threaded to take the "hidden end" of the keelbolt or is there some sort of captive nut in there. - It looks as though I should draw a bolt or two as a precaution and it would be nice to know what I am dealing before I start.

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Glutton For Punishment??

No idea! <g> This would be a good question for Moody Owners, and I'm sure you can post wothout being a member, ( think you have to register... maybe you know that and already do?).

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Another question I would like the answer to is why people seem to stop cruising in the Med over the winter? Having been out for visits in just about every month the weather seems OK - and yet everyone seems to treat it like a "proper winter" and hole up in a marina. Why is this? Do you acclimatise to the heat and start to feel the cold? Answers on a postcard please!!

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The impression I get is that the weather can be a bit iffy, so setting off on a cruise of a few days has a stronger chance of turning into an unwanted challenge. We have done a few day sails, picking our window based on the weather when we wake up, combined with the forecast to a degree).

Not much help I'm afraid.
 
We've been in Duquesa for 15 months and love it. It's fairly small and peaceful, there's a great bunch of semi-permanent liveaboards and the showers etc are not bad. Although the marina is fairly Brit orientated, you can be in real Spain in a few minutes. There's a yard which is not the cheapest or best in the world, but there are also several good independent engineers, electricians etc. British owned sea school, lots of bars, restaurants and some shops in the port, with other, more Spanish versions within easy walking distance. Chandlery in the port is expensive, but there's another used by the Spanish a ten minute drive away. Good beach right next door.
Estepona (owned by same company) now has a problem with repairs etc as the repair yard has closed down, so it's Gib, Sotogrande or Duquesa (or a 40 mile trip to Smir in Morocco - very reasonable rates!).
 
Hi from a newbie to boating and this site. Ive had over a years experiance of Estapona marina. Ive a 12M Grand Banks moored there. The boatyard has shut so no more taking your boat out for maintenance. The toilets and showers are a disgrace and the fees are very high.
 
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