Moody 27 Moody 27 advice

[Brian Scott]

Having sold my Moody 34 after 15 years I am looking to buy a 26-27 feet shallow draft boat for East Coast family sailing. My shortlist is bilge keel Sadler 26 or Moody 27.
I have the usual conflict between sailing performance and accommodation. I've seen a Sadler but there are no Moody 27s for sale anywhere near my part of the country (based in Woodbridge, Suffolk).
Does anyone have any experience of the Moody 27 you could share. Of particular interest is:
1 sailing performance, especially pointing ability and ease of sailing single handed?
2 accommodation - I've seen the layout but is the quarter berth a viable double or a generous single? Also does the saloon berth convert to a double berth?
3 any generic problems with M27s to watch out for.
Any tips gratefully received.
Regards
Brian Scott

 

[Chris Rutt]

Hi, I’ve had an M27 for all of four days, so can only comment on the quarter berth. Definitely a generous single!
Chris

 

[Graham Allan]

Does your search have to stop at 27ft? The M28 is a lovely boat, generous rear cabin, and is only 27.6ft long

 

[Robert Mileham]

The 27 is a great boat. Juliet Jay “taught me to sail”. She points well, she was well balanced and very forgiving. If you have to have a 27 foot yacht then you can’t go wrong. The bilge keel also made her even more forgiving! I hate propwalk so I fitted a three bladed prop which also gave me an extra knot across Lyme Bay. Before buying her I had looked at Saddlers, Hunters, Westerlys too and found the Moody came out on top. I only sold her because I needed a larger boat to fit the growing family- now a M35.
We have converted the saloon on the 35 very simply to a double berth. It would not do in very rough weather but is adequate for most conditions. I see no reason why you couldn’t do something similar to the 27. See picture of result. However you might find passage from the fore berth to the heads a bit tricky in the middle of the night in an M27, the port side option might be a little bit too cosy for a double berth!

The cockpit sole can leak if it is not properly sealed each time you lift it. The rudder fixings can leak if not checked regularly. Look after the tiller and have a spare with extension.