Design and Construction
The Moody 346 measures just under 10.5 meters overall, with an 8.50-meter waterline and a beam of more than 3.5 meters. Its solid fiberglass-reinforced plastic hull displaces 5,080 kg and carries 2,040 kg of ballast. Compared with the Moody 34, the transom was extended by 12 inches to create a small bathing platform, which makes transferring to a tender easier.
Two keel options were offered from the start. The fin keel draws 1.50 meters, while the bilge, or twin, keel version draws 1.14 meters and can stand upright when beached or moored in tidal areas. The deeper, more streamlined fin keel is more efficient underwater and faster, particularly upwind. The bilge keels, meanwhile, provide excellent stability in shallow water.
A well-designed cockpit and wide side decks complete a hull intended to make moving around the boat safe and easy.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The 346 has husky rigging, a good-sized mainsail, and a sizable genoa in a masthead-sloop arrangement. A slab-reefing mainsail and furled headsail were standard. The design was explicitly intended to make single-handed sailing possible, and the fin-keel version offers better speed and manoeuvrability.
The Moody 346 Sailboat review gives the boat a Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of around 16.2, a Ballast/Displacement Ratio near 39, and a Displacement/Length Ratio of about 239. Those figures place it firmly in moderate-performance cruiser territory. A Comfort Ratio of around 29.3 and a Capsize Screening Formula of 1.85 further characterize it as a steady, voyaging-oriented small yacht rather than a racer.
Accommodation
Below deck, the 346 has a more spacious and better-optimized layout than the Moody 34. A more compact chart table and repositioned galley free up living space, while the forward cabin gains more room and additional locker space.
The standard arrangement includes a saloon with seating; a galley with a cooker, refrigerator, and storage; two cabins; and a separate head. The master cabin has a double bed and private access to the head, while the secondary cabin provides two single berths. The boat can comfortably sleep up to six.
One notable feature is the large toilet and shower compartment aft on the port side, with optional access from the aft cabin. Some versions provide an additional third cabin. Compared with the later Moody 35, however, the 346 has the smaller aft cabin.
Engine, Ownership, and Community
The usual engine is a 35 HP Thornycroft diesel with direct drive. Period reviews described it as a taller-output engine used for better power.
A total of 254 Moody 346s were built, according to Practical Boat Owner’s production summary, and the design remains a common sight on the used centre-cockpit cruiser market. Owners also have the support of an active association at moodyowners.org.
Verdict
The Moody 346 is a thoughtfully developed small centre-cockpit cruiser. It trades outright speed for interior volume, stability, and easy handling. Its Bill Dixon-designed hull and extended transom helped create a best-selling formula in the 1980s, while the optional bilge keels remain a practical choice for tidal cruising.
The main compromise is an aft cabin smaller than that of the later Moody 35. Even so, the 346’s flexible accommodation and suitability for single-handed sailing continue to hold up well.
Pros
- Best-selling small centre-cockpit Moody of the 1980s, with an active owners’ community
- Optional bilge keels allow upright drying and shallow-water tidal mooring
- Layout improved over the Moody 34, with more locker space and a flexible third-cabin option
- Designed for single-handed sailing, with husky rigging and slab-reefing and furling sail controls
Cons
- Aft cabin is smaller than the one in the succeeding Moody 35
- Fin-keel performance is moderate, with an SA/D of around 16.2, compared with dedicated performance boats
- The extended transom provides a bathing platform but not the full walk-through aft-cabin volume
