Moody 33 Eclipse Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Dixon's hull lines give the Eclipse 33 a modern profile at 9.91 metres overall, 3.40 metres beam, and 8.54 metres on the waterline, with a displacement of roughly 5,910 kilograms and a lead-ballast share near 32 percent. Buyers could choose a 1.45-metre fin keel or a 1.12-metre twin-keel arrangement, the latter adding about 300 kilograms to the weight but buying shoal-water access. The hull and deck are solid fibreglass, and the builder produced drawings for a P-bracket installation and a transport cradle. One structural detail worth flagging: the mast step incorporates a laminated wooden block that can rot if moisture gets in and then lose both function and strength anchor.

Rig and Handling

As a masthead sloop the Eclipse 33 carries 448 square feet of sail area under a 13.56-metre mast, with aft-led halyards and control lines that testers credited for a sense of security moving forward. The deck-saloon version steers from inside as well as in the cockpit, though the inside station gives no access to the sheets. On the water she is not a sporty accelerator — pressure builds only once she is moving — yet in seven to nine knots of breeze she will reach five knots at 60 degrees off the wind, and stronger air leaves her safe and easy to control. A bilge-keel test boat tacked through 88 to 90 degrees and hove to impressively, showing no weather helm even in a 24-knot gust anchor. Off the wind her weight tells and she slows markedly, a deficit a cruising chute or spinnaker would readily offset.

Accommodations

Below, the raised saloon is the heart of the boat: large deckhouse windows flood the saloon, galley, and navigation areas with light, and the elevated seating gives a near-complete view of an anchorage while seating four to dine or six for drinks. Headroom runs to 1.80 metres in saloon, heads, and forepeak, rising to 2.09 in the galley and 2.00 in the aft cabin. Berths for six come from a big vee-berth forward (1.97 by 1.65 metres), a roomy aft double (1.80 by 1.50 metres), and a pull-out in the saloon. The wet room holds a sit-down shower, and owners praise a deep, cosy cockpit sheltered by the high saloon and made fully weatherproof by the sprayhood. Wide gangways along the superstructure make the path to the foredeck feel safe.

Known Issues

The galvanised-steel keel bolts are the headline inspection point: unlike nobler alloys they telegraph their condition by rusting, so corrosion is visible rather than hidden. Writing in YACHT, testers noted that the same survey points out railing supports tend to leak, and the engine compartment is quite cramped, complicating service anchor. The turbocharged Volvo option can become a problem over the boat's life, and YACHT found the original wheel-in-saloon layout gives a sticky, insensitive helm through long ropes and extra linkages — the later Mk-II dropped the inside wheel for an autopilot, freeing saloon space and improving feel with the pilot off anchor.

Refits and Ownership

The owners' association holds drawings for windlasses, wheel-steering systems, prop shafts, water-tank senders, and a shaft-change note covering the Perkins-engine variants shared with the 336 and 35, so spares research is well supported. The Mk-II's inside-autopilot conversion is the most consequential factory evolution, and the model remains highly sought-after on the used scene.

The Verdict

The Eclipse 33 is a thoughtfully laid-out deck-saloon cruiser that punches above its 33 feet for liveaboard comfort and all-weather cockpit protection, with predictable, well-mannered handling and an offshore rating. Its weak spots are concentrated, visible, and manageable: galvanised keel bolts, a leak-prone rail, and a cramped engine bay.

Pros