Yachting Monthly - November 2015

NOVEMBER 2015 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 81

USED BOAT TEST

OUR VERDICT ON THE BOAT

What’s she like to sail?

At fi rst glance you think she’s going to perform like a typical

motorsailer, dogged but slow. Take a more studied look at her

hull shape – waterline, stem entry, narrow shoulders and so on –

and you begin to wonder. Her hull has the lines of a reasonably

modern yacht, although a tad beamier than normal for her era.

Knowing she had bilge keels also made me doubt her

performance before we even left the quay, so it was a pleasant

surprise to fi nd she sailed considerably better than I had

anticipated. We set out in a 10-12 knot south-westerly breeze

and a fl attish sea. We unfurled full sail in minutes and were soon

comfortably reaching over Christchurch’s notorious bar, making a

leisurely 5-knots out to sea. She tacked through 88°-90° swiftly,

as we returned to the harbour entrance and hove to impressively.

The wind (and rain) increased through the day and, had I not

been putting her through her paces I might well have stayed at

the inside helm station, where the view forward is good until

heavily heeled to port. Both wheels gave a light but stiff feel, due

to the extra linkages, although she showed no signs of weather

helm – even when a 24-knot gust tried to round her up.

Off the wind her weight tells and she slows markedly, but

nothing a good cruising chute or spinnaker wouldn’t overcome.

What’s she like in port and at anchor?

At some point I believe we all start looking enviously at folk with

deck saloons – especially during a summer like the one we’ve

experienced this year! But what stops most of us from moving

over to a boat that offers a bit of protection from the elements is

usually the thought of a tubby yacht, sailing nowhere fast. Well,

I’m glad to say the Moody Eclipse 33 isn’t one of them.

Below decks, she offers a surprising amount of comfortable

living space. The raised saloon is a real boon, giving you a

fantastic all-round view of the anchorage as well as providing

enough seating for four to dine in comfort or six for cosy drinks.

The large deckhouse windows also make the entire saloon, galley

and navigation areas bright and cheery, whatever the weather.

She also has berths for six, comprising a big vee-berth forward,

a surprisingly roomy double aft and a pull-out double in the

saloon if you really want to pack them in. Her galley is also well-

equipped with stowage and worksurface aplenty. I’ve also seen a

smaller heads compartment in a 40ft boat!

Would she suit you and your crew?

There comes a time when comfort and warmth become more

important than getting out on the water regardless. Now just

past 60, I am starting to feel that way. You have three choices,

really – move you or the boat somewhere warm and sunny, buy

a deck saloon yacht, or give up sailing completely. I don’t intend

to do the latter until I can no longer climb aboard and I’ve done

the boat abroad bit. So that leaves the deckhouse option, which

actually has the added benefi t of stretching your sailing season.

You’re far more likely to go winter sailing if you can pop below

and warm up between tacks and dry your oilies out using hot air

from the heating system. They really do have so much going for

them, I can’t understand why they aren’t more popular.

FACTS AND FIGURES

■ Guide price £40,000-£55,000

■ LOA 9.91m (32ft 6in)

■ LWL 8.54m (28ft 0in)

■ Beam 3.40m (11ft 2in)

■ Draught (Fin) 1.45m (4ft 9in)

■ Draught (Bilge) 1.12m (3ft 8in)

■ Displacement

5,910kg (13,000 lb)

■ Ballast 1,884kg (4,154 lb)

■ Ballast ratio 32%

■ Sail area 51.78m^2 (525sq ft)

■ SA/D ratio 15.19

■ Diesel 182 litres (40 gal)

■ Water 295 litres (65 gal)

■ Engine 28hp Volvo 2003

■ Transmission Shaft drive

■ RCD category A-Ocean

■ Designer Bill Dixon

■ Builder Marine Projects,

Plymouth

■ Owners Association

http://www.moodyowners.net

Moody

Eclipse 33

Would she

suit your style

of sailing?

COASTAL

PORT-HOPPING

★★★★★

CREEK

CRAWLING

★★★★★

OFFSHORE

PASSAGE-MAKING

★★★★

TRADE WIND

VOYAGING

★★★★★

HIGH-LATITUDE

ADVENTURE

★ ★★★★

GRAPHICS: LIZA SAWYER

Her spacious heads has a

separate shower stall and is

worthy of a much larger boat

The galley has all

you need for

cruising and the

bulkhead behind

offers a safe

leaning post