Moody 28 Buying a Moody 28

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Yiannos Ragkousis

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Hi all and thanks for welcoming me in the forum.

I am looking at buying a sailboat max 33ft mainly for keeping the maintenace costs reasonable. I found a 1987 Moody 28 which I am going to see tomorrow and I am very keen on. Accommodation space looks sufficient and can be compared with modern cruisers. Seakeeping abilities? How does she compare to a more modern (2004) Jeanneau or a Beneteau 331 for example? Is she capable of offshore passages (not ocean) or is she mainly a coastal cruiser?

I would also like to ask what are the points that I need to pay attention at? I have experience with boats and can assess the condition of a sail for example, but I would like to know if there are any tell-tales that I should have in mind that will show anything that is not visible. Or are there any weak points or known issues on that model?

With a little reserch I've done on the web looks like they are strong builts with a good resistance in osmosis but since she is in the water at the moment it is not something that I can check this weekend but will do if I proceed with a survey. What abbout keelbolts though? Is that a thing to consider? Some say that they need to be changed every x years some say they should be replaced if they show marks of rust. Any experience on that aspect? Is that something visible, is it a survey thing or something done provisionaly?

Thanks for your answers and looking forward to tomorrow's visit
 
Welcome @Yiannos Ragkousis - and good luck on your search!

I have had my Moody 28 for 3 years now, and I'm very pleased with it. It is a sturdy boat for the size, and has impressed me in some unpleasant conditions on a couple of occasions. I am a relatively new boat owner, so will give some of my takes but much more experienced members may come along and add more!

I don't have direct experience of the larger yachts you've mentioned, but I think you'll find that Moodys in general will be comparable in seakeeping ability to slightly larger, but lighter boats like the Jeanneaus and Beneteaus may be.

Others may be able to give more qualified comparisons. As a very crude indication, you can see how some of the key stats compare on something like SailBoatData.com, which can give a clue to how seaworthy the Moodys can be.

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I have only done UK coastal sailing so far, but I know my Moody 28 was previously taken across to the Netherlands, across the Channel to France, and down to the Isles of Scilly. With the right choice of weather window, it is clearly capable of offshore sailing.

In terms of things to look out for:

  • Leaking cabin windows - this is common. Mine were done by previous owner just before I bought it.

  • Signs of weakness around the baby stay fixing on the foredeck. There have been reports of this needing strengthening, so you're looking for evidence of distortion or cracking of the deck.

  • Osmosis - unfortunately Moodys of that age are definitely vulnerable to this - mine had some early and very small osmotic blisters when I first got it. Interestingly the surveyor only identified 2, but I ended up having 26. I spent some money up front to get the hull properly sanded back and the blisters all cleaned and filled. So far nothing new has appeared over last 2 years. Importantly though - the impact of the osmosis is more likely on value of the boat than actual function. Good for you as a buyer, but worth considering if you were concerned about resale value.

  • Keel bolts are definitely worth checking. Mine are original as far as I am aware, and had clearly been looked after. However where some of the protective paint has been compromised, they look a bit nasty. I have started cleaning them up one by one, and it looks a lot worse than it is. There is often plenty of good steel underneath the nasty looking surface rust. If the bolts have not been looked after, or have been sitting in water for a long time, they may be in a much worse state. The other clue is rust leaking out from the keel joint when it's first lifted out of the water - but you won't be able to check for that tomorrow!

    Many have or will change the keel bolts once they're at this age, but I'm certainly not in a hurry to do it right now and I think that just shows that it varies from boat to boat. Here are before and after pics to provide some perspective.
IMG_0381.JPG IMG_3539.JPG
 
Welcome Yiannos,
There is a large number of articles on keel bolts. The best authority is provided by Peter Wright in his article in the technical library:
https://www.moodyowners.info/resources/rusty-keel-fastenings-comprehensive-guidance-and-advice.1548/

You can search the MOA site for many more articles, many are generic, as most of the Moodys had similar keel bolting arrangements.

Matthew is right in saying it all depends on how well the previous owner maintained them or if they were left lying in bilge water. Often they may look worse than they actually are, when cleaned up. Don't be afraid of a little surface rust. As Matthew says, look for any tell tale signs like rust marks or leakage on the hull to keel joint, when hauled out of the water.

Apart from Matthews suggestions, other areas to look for are signs of leaks around the rigging chain plates, see if you can see where they are attached to the bulkheads, looking for any rot in the plywood. Check for deck distortion around chain plate fixings and the mast step, using a metal ruler or similar straight edge.

Electrics and older engines can give problems.

Moodys were well built and it's likely that boats built around that time were stronger than more modern lighter yachts. Many have travelled many miles offshore, and probably the bigger limiting factor for offshore sailing is the crew?!

Good luck

Paul
 
Hi Yiannos,

All good advice from Matt and Paul.

The newest Moody 28 was built in July 1987, so is just coming up for 36 years old - given that age, how well she has been looked after by all her previous owners will be the key determinant of condition in all respects. The basic hulls and decks were strongly laid up, the hull in solid grp and the deck with an end grain balsa core giving a stiffness not found in most modern yachts without excessive weight. Where original deck gear was attached, the balsa was replaced with marine ply. This is a fairly common system for yacht construction but has a downside where owners have added new deck gear - if they mounted the new gear properly, no problem but if they simply filled a hole and screwed the new gear in place, the screws may well pull out and worse still, the mountings may leak, letting water into the balsa turning it into a soggy mess, thereby significantly weakening the deck, so any non standard deck fitti gs warrant a close look.

The carbon steel keel studs and nuts will almost certainly show some rust but, in most cases can be put right with a wire brush and a bit of paInt. Young surveyors, used to stainless steel all round for keel fastenings, tend to be alarmed by any rust in this area, but surface rust is not anything to worry about. If you get as far as a survey, try to be present when the boat is lifted out and put down on her keel. If this causes water to be squeezed out of the keel / hull joint, the joint is failing and allowing sea water access to the keel studs and probably ro the tapped holes in the cast iron keel. This will require the keel to be dropped to remake the joint before too long.

The beautiful cabinetry down below makes it difficult /impossible to see the part bulkheads to which the chainplate are bolted, but the dinky little stainless sealing plates screwed onto the deck around the chainplate are prone to leakage as the boat reaches 20 or more years of age. A careful owner will have lifted and rebedded these sealing plates before it gets to that point, to avoid leaks starting fot in either the part bulkheads to which the chainplate are bolted or the core of the deck which forms part of the structu|E holding the part bulkhead in place. The only non intrusive examination I know for this issue is to check the side deck for flatness around the chain plates with a steel rule, any bulges would be a cause for concern.

Happy hunting!

Peter
 
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Thank you all for the info.

I had a look at the boat, she is in need of some TLC, that means a lot of personal work, something that can be expected for a boat of this age, but also could, of course, be avoided if the boat is kept alright.

The most alarming issue to me though is that all shrouds chainplates and baby stay fitting show cracks on the gellcoat and a bit of distortion around the area, quite a bit of bulging on the side deck. That's a lot of work as I see it, added to the allready long "to do list".

The bildge is also paited so I coudn't see the keelbolts as they are covered which is not bad if they were ok before they've been paited I guess. She's going to be lifted out of the water soon so I might be able to see the joint from the outside.

So, we will see soon but I don't think it is worth a survey as a lot of things are obvious. I will have a look for blisters on the hull when she's out.
 
Hi Yiannos,

A bit of bulging around the babystay attachment is almost to be expected, if it has never been reinforced, but cracks, even there, are not encouraging. If she also has bulging and cracks around the shroud chainplate, it's likely that the chainplate have moved relative to the part bulkheads to which they are bolted. That is a fairly major task to rectify (furniture out, cut out some of part bulkheads, cut out underside of deck and damaged deck core, rebuild deck, making good cracks and replacing removed core with marine ply, replace whatever was cut out from part bulkheads, replace chainplate, replace furniture).

With the attention required to bring this boat back to a good standard, I would expect a very favourable price. You could ask a local yard to give you a budget price for these works.

Peter.
 
Hi Yiannos
If had my 28 for 17 years which was good for a young family but sadly the kids don't come out so much but I can still manage it by myself.
A couple of further things to mention are:
Engine mounts might need replacing. Can be done by yourself with a little technical know how.
If you view it again out of the water check the play in the play in the prop shaft in the cutlass bearing, if it is excessive it will need changing, again can be done by yourself.
Check the history of the gearbox drive, mine is still original and is ok but they may have had a conversion done which is not a bad thing.
Ask when the injectors were last cleaned and checked. The engine will last forever if looked after but the basic maintenance needs to be done.
Has the cooling system, which is sea water on most boats ever been flushed and winterised? If it's been converted to FW even better..
Happy sailing
Rgds
Bob
 
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