Design and Provenance
Dixon’s hand is evident in a boat conceived as a serious offshore-capable cruiser rather than a weekend coastal toy. Moody Yachts built the 376 in the long era of its Plymouth production partnership, and the Swanwick facility delivered a vessel of conventional cruising form. She measured just under 38 feet overall with a 31-foot waterline, a 12.5-foot beam, and a moderate displacement of roughly 16,250 pounds carrying 6,500 pounds of lead ballast. She was offered in two keel configurations: the standard fin drew 5 feet 6 inches, while an optional shoal version reduced that to 4 feet 6 inches for thinner water. As an update of the Moody 37, her principal change was cosmetic and functional aft — the sugar-scoop and bathing platform — rather than a structural redesign.
Rig and Performance
Under sail the 376 presents balanced cruising numbers. Her ballast-displacement ratio of 40.0 confirms a heavily ballasted hull that stands up to wind well. The displacement-length ratio of 240 describes a comparatively heavy hull for her length, and the comfort ratio of 26.2 reinforces the sense of a stable, motion-dampened cruiser. A capsize screening figure of 2.0 sits at the threshold used to suggest bluewater suitability. These ratios, taken together, sketch a boat built to carry load and crew in settled comfort rather than to chase regatta fleets.
Accommodations and Layout
The headline change from the Moody 37 was the addition of a sugar-scoop stern and bathing platform, which reshaped the aft section of the deck and the swim-access experience without, per the source record, altering the interior difference between the two models. The center-cockpit arrangement that defines the class places the helming position amidships and reserves the aft end of the hull for a private owner’s cabin, a layout that privileges liveaboard privacy and protected passage-making over expansive cockpit lounging. Within the 12.5-foot beam the volume reads as generous for the era.
Construction
Moody built the 376 at Swanwick in fiberglass. The lead ballast of 6,500 pounds sits in a fin keel, and the skeg-hung rudder follows the conservative British cruiser template of the period. The build location and Dixon’s design authorship anchor the boat in a recognizable late-1980s Moody tradition of robust, practical cruising yachts.
The Verdict
The Moody 376 is a thoughtfully updated Moody 37 that trades a conventional transom for a sugar-scoop and bathing platform while preserving the comfortable, heavily ballasted cruising hull beneath. Her ratios describe a stable offshore-capable vessel with a private aft-cabin layout suited to couples who cruise long and live aboard. The optional shoal keel broadens her range into shallower cruising grounds.
Pros
- Bill Dixon design with a proven Moody 37 lineage updated for better water access
- Heavy 40-percent ballast ratio and 2.0 capsize screen suggest solid bluewater manners
- Center-cockpit layout with private aft cabin and bathing platform
Cons
- Moderate sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 16.2 limits light-air acceleration
- Displacement-length ratio of 240 implies a comparatively heavy, slow hull form
