The Sigma 33 can be
raced with six crew, or
cruised in comfort by twoSurprisingly spacious for a
27ft yacht, she also sails wellSarah and Andy wanted a boat shorter than 3 0ft,
but with an expressed interest in club racing, this
is too good to pass up! There are some smart
33 s out there at good prices. There are also
many that have spent most of their life chasing,
and being chased, round harbours and buoys
- and it shows. The latter are easy to spot and
should be avoided. As the Sigma is a popular
one-design racer, it’s possible any boat might
have been raced in her past. Inspecting the
chainplates and around the mast base is a good
place to look for any deformity or movement.
Also look under the floor – racers aren’t
renowned for keeping boats
dry and the keel bolts are
susceptible to corrosion.
She has a similar layout
as the previous two boats:
vee berth forward, followed
by the heads and saloon.The smallest yacht to bear the Moody name,
the Moody 27 , filled a niche in the early 1980s
when she was launched: she offered good
handling and a spacious, well-designed layout
in an attractive-looking yacht. Even by today’s
standards, the Moody 27 packs a lot into her
interior: there are five long berths – at a little
over 1m wide (3ft 4in), the quarter berth would
today be considered a spacious single rather
than a comfortable double.
In the saloon is a central table and stowage
outboard above the seat backs. To starboard,
the 1.9 3 m (6ft 4in) saloon seat disappears into
a trotter box while to port, the seating runs the
length of the saloon. The navigation space is
aft on this side and, on the 160-odd boats that
were built, many owners have made up many
ways of incorporating a chart table in this space.
Forward of the saloon, through a vertically
split door is a long, wide vee berth: it tapersThe saloon table is fixed, (with a leaf to starboard)
and L-shaped seating outboard to port, while
to starboard there’s a long seat, above which
is a narrow pilot berth;
this could be converted
to stowage if needed.
There’s a small L-
shaped galley at the base
of the companionway to
starboard. To port is a good-
sized chart table, forward of
a good, wide quarter berth.
As you’ll expect from
a David Thomas boat
designed for racing, she
can be tweaked for good
windward performance and although not as light
on the tiller as some boats, will give Sarah and
Andy a solidly built boat that won’t limit them to
one genre of boat ownership. Once they have
found what they enjoy the most, they could do
that or get a boat more tailored to their needs.
A 33 C cruiser has a shorter rig and a longer,
shorter fin keel. For racing, she’ll benefit from
a crew of seven, but can be cruised with just two.
I think the extra space offered by the Sigma
might be worth it, but I’m not the one paying
the extra costs of a larger boat.to a point, but at almost 2m long it will sleep
two adults comfortably, while still having stowage
for their kit. Headroom forward is a bit low (1.5 7 m)
but the payback for the gently inclined coachroof
has to be settled somehow. Sensibly (and
sociably), the heads is aft, to port of the steep
companionway steps, where the headroom
is good and the forward cabin occupants
need not be disturbed by any of the crew’s
midnight ablutions.
The L-shaped galley sits forward of the
quarter berth to starboard, making the access
a little tight to it, but handy if its occupant wants
to put the kettle on without getting out of their
sleeping bag. The galley doesn’t have a lot
of workspace, it’s basically the space made
by the lid of the coolbox.
On deck, the cockpit is long and with the
tiller – for the transom-hung rudder – aft and
the mainsheet traveller crossing the cockpit
just aft of the companionway, it’s clear too,
with plenty of space for Sarah, Andy and
their guests.
She has a masthead rig and if the wind
gets up, her small-yacht feel will inspire
confidence in her crew. This boat is a very
viable option for Sarah and Andy.Sigma 33
Moody 27
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA 9.91m (32ft 6in)
LWL 8.00m (26ft 2in)
BEAM 3.2m (10ft 6in)
DRAUGHT 1.75m (5ft 9in)
DISPLACEMENT
4173kg (9,200lb)
DESIGNER David Thomas
BUILDER Marine Projects
OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
http://www.sigma33.co.uk/
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA 8.43m (27ft 8in)
LWL 6.67m (21ft 10in)
BEAM 2.95m (9ft 8in)
DRAUGHT 1.42m (4ft 8in)
DISPLACEMENT
2,608kg (5,750lb)
DESIGNER Bill Dixon
BUILDER Marine Projects
OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
http://www.moodyowners.org
PRICE £10,000-£20,000 YEAR 1978-1991
PRICE £10,000-£18,000 YEAR 1981-1985
Try to find a Simgma 33
which hasn’t been raced hardFIND ME A...