Which would you choose - Starlight 39, Typhoon 37, Moody S38?

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ds797

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Ok a bit of a hypothetical queston... too much time spent on yachtworld . co . uk!!!!

These three seem like quality fast cruisers, available today at reasonable prices.... does anyone have thoughts on which they would choose?

Without wishing to lead things, I'm thinking the Starlight will have the best performance, but it could be the S38.

Build quality - I don't know.... I guess it depends on which day of the week it was built!

Anyway I'd be interested in views from the floor! Cheers!
 
The Starlight 39 would be fastest as it is 2 feet longer than the Typhoon, but both are performance cruisers designed 1990/91. The Moody I would expect to be the slowest as it is more cruising orientated, but no slouch.

All 3 builders are rated as good, so it really comes down to your preference of layout and the budget and condition of what is for sale on the day.
 
Nothing worse for performance than sitting in dock planning a costly repair.

At the ages you are thinking about I suggest focusing on which examples for sale are likely not to suffer costly breakdowns. In car terms it seems to me that you are reading through old brochures for an Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford and debating a small difference in claimed 0-60 performance.

Time to get out there and kick some tyres, there is an accessible Starlight 39 for sale at Hamble Point through a knowledgeable broker.
 
About eight years ago I had a similar choice.. I went for the Moody s38.

Eight years later and I'm still very happy with the choice.

Took Jimi from this forum out for a sail when he was trying to choose.. He'll probably reply later with what he chose..
 
I would put them in alphabetical order, but agility is an issue if you keep it on a pontoon, my wife (who is 5' 7") absolutely vetoed an S38 because of the freeboard.
 
Maybe consider which would be easiest to sell on in future - is the Moody likely to be more mainstream and hence have greater appeal whatever sailing merits ? I would have thought choice will be heavily influenced though by age of components given the age of these models so I would be looking at when you next might have to replace engine/sails rigging etc on any available model plus proximity to your chosen sailing area . I believe there is a sea school Starlight at Haslar for sailing training so that might be a source of info in addition to a view of the one at Hamble Point if you are on south coast
 
Sailed a Typhoon and was mightly impressed but have no experience of the others. 2 aspects of the Typhoon I didn't like. There's not much room behind the wheel to the stern and I felt cramped. And the same at the chart table. The decks are wide and easy to get about but that impacts on the inside space and it hasn't the roomyness that Westerlys usually have.
If going on board, it might be an idea to see how "it fits" you.
Mike
 
I was in that bit of the market 2 years ago but also wanting moderate draft and seriously looking at the Dehler 37CR. Starlights were all asking very high prices. Ended up with a Scanyacht 391 which we had never heard of until we went to look at her. Boat looked and felt right, good condition and a good price. Moderate accommodation compared to modern 39 footers but sails beautifully.
 
I have the S38. There is a masthead shallower draft version and my fractional rigged 1.93m draft version. There are also 2 and 3 cabin versions.
The 2 cabin would be no good for us as we live aboard 5 months of the year and use the third cabin as the garage.

Other considerations for us when buying the S38 were:
Ability to walk around the wheel;
Semi sketch hung rudder;
Walk through transom (for when get get to where we can swim off the back!);
Quite good tankage (80 gallons water, 40 diesel);
Solid build.

We have no regrets whatever and she suits our needs perfectly. I cannot comment on how she compares with the others. The Starlight was on our radar, but we never actually looked at one in the flesh.
 
For what its worth cyca handicaps rate them as below , lower number means they reckon faster:

Starlight 39 standard. 12.75
". ". Shoal draft 13.75
". ". Wing keel. 15.75
Moody S38. 13.00
Westerly typhoon 13.75

They dont quote varients for moody or westerly , but hcaps will be for standard boats .


However from experience racing against them , typhoon and deep keel starlight 39 have similar performance , i have closely beaten and been beaten by both , well sailed by long term experienced owners .
 
Last edited:
Martin_J said:
About eight years ago I had a similar choice.. I went for the Moody s38.

Eight years later and I'm still very happy with the choice.

Took Jimi from this forum out for a sail when he was trying to choose.. He'll probably reply later with what he chose..
Click to expand...

I went for the Moody S38 when faced with a similar choice and after a sail with MartinJ. I sought out a fractional rigged deep keel version and I'm more than happy with its sailing and seakeeping performance.
 
The starlight is a quick boat but has a couple of problems which can be difficult to live with.
Depending on the age, the older 39's have a high bridge deck which can hamper older sailors from entering the cabin from the cockpit. I believe the mark 2 has reduced the bridgedeck considerably.

i don't know about the other two choices.
 
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