Moody S38 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Hull Design and Sailing Character

Dixon answered the brief with a hull that is more moderate than extreme, which is both the S38's great virtue and its limiting factor when compared against the era's sportier Scandinavian alternatives. Her displacement-to-waterline-length ratio put her firmly in the moderate-performance class, as did her sail-area-to-displacement ratio — figures that sit a step below Sweden Yachts 390 and Finngulf 38 territory. What she trades away in raw pace she recovers in seakeeping: high topsides and a pronounced positive sheer allow her to carve through chop with a gentle nodding motion and little spray on deck. The maximum beam is carried well aft, which does double duty — boosting form stability and opening up an aft cabin that rivals anything a centre-cockpit boat of comparable length can offer.

The deep fin keel carries a healthy thirty-six percent ballast-to-displacement ratio, and the semi-balanced rudder is supported by a sturdy half-skeg — an arrangement that inspires confidence offshore without producing the woolly helm feel that blighted some of the yard's earlier cruisers. Shoal-keel buyers do exist, but the deeper-draft option is the one worth seeking out.

Rig Options and Sail Handling

The S38 was offered in two distinct rig configurations, and the choice matters considerably more than is sometimes appreciated. The standard masthead setup gives a workable cruising sail plan but leaves speed on the table in anything below a moderate breeze. The fractionally rigged Sport version carries a taller, double-spreader mast and an extra seven square metres of sail area, which genuinely shifts the character of the boat upwind and in light air. The trade-off, as owners discover quickly, is that the Sport model prefers an early first reef — around fifteen knots true wind speed for comfort — a perfectly manageable habit rather than a serious vice.

The standard furling genoa measured 130 percent, which provides enough drive to windward without making tacking cumbersome in crowded waters. The jib's foot is cut quite high, which improves forward visibility in marinas and busy anchorages — a thoughtful detail. All reefing controls and the kicker are led aft to coachroof winches and clutches, so the cockpit crew need not move forward in a blow. Primary winches sit well within reach of the helm, making genuine short-handed sailing achievable for a couple.

Accommodation and Interior

The accommodation layout was the S38's most persuasive selling point, and it remains impressive measured against modern production boats of comparable length. Two heads in a thirty-eight-footer is genuinely unusual, and the arrangement means that guests in the forecabin enjoy private facilities rather than sharing with the owners. Headroom in the main cabin runs to a healthy 1.90 metres, with numerous deckhead-mounted handrails to steady crew underway.

The U-shaped dinette to starboard converts to a double, while a straight 1.94-metre settee to port makes an excellent sea berth with a lee cloth clipped in place. The galley is serious equipment by cruising standards — a wrap-around layout with a full-size cooker, deep twin sinks, a deep fridge, a gash bin and substantial stowage. The chart table faces forward, which owners of leeward-facing stations will immediately appreciate. The aft owner's cabin is roomy enough that tall crew find it genuinely usable — a complaint that dogged the 336 this model replaced.

One caveat below: the bridge deck sits quite high and the companionway steps are steep enough to warrant descending facing aft, aided by the stout handholds fitted each side. It is not unusual, but worth knowing before committing.

Known Issues and Surveyor Warnings

The S38's build quality was generally consistent with Moody's reputation for robust construction, and every hull was built to Lloyd's specification. However, marine surveyor Nick Vass has documented a specific cluster of early-production defects that buyers must investigate. Some early examples suffered delamination, cracking and bulging on the coachroof above the forward heads compartment bulkhead, and again over the aft bulkheads where the bulkhead itself did not appear to fit the moulding correctly. Additionally, watch for delamination or bulging around the anchor locker drain and on the topsides below the stanchion bases. These problems were reportedly corrected during the production run, which means hull number and build date carry genuine relevance during a survey. The saildrive gearbox is another component that warrants close attention — at least one owner experienced a saildrive failure at sea, though the boat's sailing manners were sufficient to bring her home under sail without incident.

Refit Priorities and Upgrades

The S38 is a compact production boat, so refit priorities tend to concentrate rather than spread. The Volvo MD2040 freshwater-cooled diesel was a robust and adequately powerful unit for its era, but on any hull of this vintage the raw-water circuits, impellers, and heat exchangers warrant careful inspection as a matter of course. Owners who specified the standard masthead rig and wish they had the Sport version face a significant spar-replacement project; it is more practical to choose the fractional rig at purchase than to retrofit it.

Coachroof delamination repairs, if not already addressed, should be completed before any offshore passage — the structural significance of that bulkhead junction is not cosmetic. Stanchion-base areas flagged by surveyors on early hulls are straightforward to address with appropriate laminate repair, provided the osmotic picture underneath is clean.

The Verdict

The Moody S38 is what it was always intended to be: a composed, capable, family offshore cruiser that sails better than it looks on paper and lives better than most boats its length have any right to. It is not the fastest thirty-eight-footer of its generation, and buyers seeking genuine sports-cruiser performance should look at a Sweden Yachts 390 or similar Scandinavian contemporary. What the S38 offers instead is rare coherence — a yacht that sails comfortably short-handed, sleeps a family with two private heads, and handles offshore conditions without drama. Specify the tall fractional rig and deep fin at purchase, commission a thorough survey targeting the coachroof and stanchion bases on early hulls, and this is a rewarding boat to own for a long time.

Pros

Two en-suite heads compartments in a thirty-eight-footer
Tall fractional Sport rig adds meaningful performance without complexity
Wide side decks, well-placed primaries, and aft-led controls suit short-handed sailing
High topsides and positive sheer produce a genuinely dry offshore boat
Forward-facing chart table and serious wrap-around galley
Built to Lloyd's specification throughout production run

Cons