Moody 44-2 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Dixon's hullform is essentially a canoe body with round bilges and full sections forward, paired with a modified fin keel and skeg-hung rudder that together give the 44-2 predictable directional behavior anchor. The MkII sits at a displacement of 23,631 pounds with ballast that sources differ on — 8,900 pounds per one account and 9,480 pounds per another, in a fin keel, a roughly 40 percent ballast-displacement ratio that lets her stand up to canvas in a moderate breeze before a reef becomes prudent. Her Displacement/Length ratio of 226 places her firmly in the moderate-displacement cruiser class, able to carry voyaging cargo without undue resistance, while a Comfort Ratio near 30 and a Capsize Screening Formula of 1.9 mark her as a sedate, ocean-passage-capable hull.

Structurally, the 44-2 is built of hand-laid fiberglass to BS 5750 and ISO 9002 standards, with isophthalic gelcoat and resins below the waterline to resist osmosis anchor. Top-hat members are glassed into the midships hull, with tray moldings bonded fore and aft, and the decks and coachroof are balsa-cored for strength without weight. A structural bulkhead at the after end of the chain locker anchors an inner forestay strongpoint, and the engine compartment is sound-insulated with an automatic extinguisher between the aft head and the port passage cabin.

Rig and Handling

The stock boat is a masthead sloop carrying about 1,000 square feet of sail, with silver-anodized Kemp spars, Furlex headsail reefing, and Selden in-mast furling available. Swept-back spreaders and double stainless cap- and intermediate shrouds anchor a rod vang that controls the boom. On the water she is stiff and quick: with staysail and a reefed main she boiled along at 10 to 12 knots in 30 knots on the quarter, and dropped to eight or nine with a 110 genoa when the wind fell to the teens. She tacks through about 100 degrees in a moderate breeze and hove-to for half a day during a gale while the crew rested. The Whitlock Constellation steering conduit drew unqualified praise for feel and precision.

Accommodations

Below, the MkII standard layout sleeps up to eight, with a large aft owner's cabin and en-suite head, a forward double with shared head, and two saloon singles; an alternative layout traded the forward double for two smaller cabins, lifting capacity to ten but cutting forward storage and headroom. The saloon has a U-shaped settee, dining table, forward-facing nav station with a fiddled chart table, and an L-shaped galley to starboard with double sinks and both fresh- and saltwater faucets. Cabinet doors use push-button positive locks that stayed shut during a two-week passage. The aft cabin, with opening ports both in the hull and cabin side, was the best ride in the house; the forward guest cabin, however, sits too far forward where motion is lively, and the aft upper/lower opposite the engine room suffers noise, heat, and fumes. The port passage cabin is a delight under sail with easy motion and ventilation.

Known Issues

A few faults surfaced in period use. The galley has no opening port to vent cooking fumes, and most of its counter is reefer lid, so the surface must be cleared before the fridge opens. Cockpit seat backs extended only 10 inches above the cushions, short of ideal. The gas-bottle locker was spec'd for butane and will not accept U.S. aluminum bottles, which are too fat or tall. The No. 8 reefing winch lacks the muscle for the genoa's working loads and is a candidate for upgrade to a self-tailing 30CST. Molded nonskid is excellent for grip but unforgiving on knees and elbows.

Refits and Ownership

The Moody Owners Association supports the class. The 50-horse Perkins or Volvo Penta auxiliary is reached through doors in the passage cabin and head bulkheads. A sugar-scoop transom, recessed Lewmar hatches, and flush deck plumbing including a saltwater shower forward and freshwater hose aft round out a thoughtful cruising spec that mostly needs only minor corrections.

The Verdict

The Moody 44-2 is a genuinely seaworthy, well-built Dixon design that delivers passagemaking composure, voluminous cruising accommodation, and a deck plan cleaned up for short-handed ocean work. She is not a light-air rocket and carries the usual forward-cabin motion and galley ventilation niggles of her era, but as a family bluewater cruiser she is difficult to fault.

Pros