Moody sailboats for sale

Buying a used Moody: three different boats wearing one name

A used Moody isn't one kind of boat — it's boats built by at least three different manufacturers across three distinct eras, all carrying the same family name. The centre-cockpit cruisers that make up most of the used market were built entirely by Marine Projects (Plymouth) Ltd, not by Moody's own yard; the larger 49, 56, and 66 came from a later partnership with VT Halmatic; and, since 2007, the Decksaloon and Aft Cockpit ranges have been built in Germany under HanseYachts. That matters to a buyer because condition, systems, and construction detail track the builder and era behind a given hull more than they track the Moody name on the transom.

Which era to target

Boats from the roughly three-decade Marine Projects partnership, which began in 1973, make up the bulk of the used Moody fleet: centre-cockpit cruisers from 27 to 64 feet, designed chiefly by Angus Primrose and Bill Dixon, and built entirely by Marine Projects rather than by Moody itself. A shorter run of larger yachts, the Moody 49, 56, and 66, followed under a later partnership with VT Halmatic. Since 2007, the Moody name has covered a different kind of boat: the Decksaloon and Aft Cockpit ranges built in Greifswald, Germany, under HanseYachts, applying a one-level-living layout to raised-saloon monohulls. Buyers after a traditional English centre-cockpit cruiser should look to the Marine Projects decades; buyers after a modern raised-saloon layout should look to the Hanse-built range.

What to inspect across the range

A few problem areas recur across the Marine Projects-era centre-cockpit boats, independent of model. Yachting Monthly found delamination and bulging around the anchor locker drain on both the Moody S38 and the Moody 36 MkII — worth checking on any hull from this period. Rudder wear turns up in two different publications on two different models: Yachting Monthly flagged a leaking rudder stock housing as a common problem on the Moody 36 MkII, and Practical Sailor reported rudder post and bearing issues on the Moody 46 CC serious enough to require dropping the rudder for service. Keel hardware is a third recurring watch point — YACHT magazine found visibly corroding galvanised-steel keel bolts on the Moody Eclipse 33, while Practical Sailor reported mild-steel keel studs on the Moody 46 CC prone to cosmetic corrosion, and occasionally to more serious rusting and water intrusion at the keel joint.

Navigating the lineup

With three manufacturing eras and a size range running from under 30 feet to over 60, the practical starting point is era and hull size, not model name. Narrow first by builder and cabin layout — Marine Projects centre cockpit, VT Halmatic-era flagship, or Hanse-built deck saloon — then use the full model directory on this page to compare specific years and dimensions within that band.