Moody 30 Moody 30 Omega (1979)

  • Thread starter Graham Bradford
  • Start date
G

Graham Bradford

Hi everyone,

I am far from new to sailing but this will be my first Moody which I am paying in my opinion top price for under the current inflated markets. I am considering buying in the water and was interested if anyone has advice on any things to be especially careful to look out for when buying?

Things like keel bolts, has anyone found any serous issues, osmosis again serous issues, rudders, P brackets etc...

Any help and recommendations greatly appreciated please for a newbie, at 13.5k she would be an expensive mistake for me to make but haul out cost are also a lot and surveys have not been fruitful for me in the past. Last out of water survey was 2009.

Thanks all,

Graham
 
Graham,

you have to consider survey and lift out costs like insurance. I.e. you hope everything is 100% ok but.....

Also,
When you come to insure it, you are likely to find that the insurance company requires an out of water survey - so you would have the costs anyway, certainly worth checking with your insurance company.
regards,
Paul
 
Paul,

Thanks for your prompt reply, you are correct I have already approached my insurers GJW and they only need a full out of water survey every 10 years, that 2022 in my case. Obviously you need to exercise due diligence and check and inspect the boat regularly which of course I will have done for serval hours in my own pre-purchase afloat inspection.

I was wondering more generally if Moody's are more prone to certain issues that boats of that age in general?

I don't see many articles about 30's are they rare??
 
Hi Graham,

One thing about all Moodys which seems to exercise all surveyors less than about 50 years old is keel bolts or actually keel studs, their backing plates and nuts. These were all originally a mild or carbon steel, not stainless, a deliberate choice because of concerns about crevice corrosion in austenitic stainless steels. Because of the material choice, if sea water gets into the bilge (it does due to clearing the log, changing the raw water pump impeller etc,) these components get rusty and it looks quite ugly. It can nearly always be cured with a wire brush and a bit of paint. Many have drawn the studs and found everything below the nut in perfect condition, but it does concern younger folk brought up on stainless keel studs.

I would not describe the Moody 30 as rare; 162 of them were built between 1975 and 1979 so Omega is one of the later ones. Plenty is written about them on this website, join the association and you will get access to it all.

Peter.
 
Graham,

I'm not sure I understand your answer. If the last out of water survey was 2009, then surely the 10 year survey is already one year overdue? Am I missing something?
Regards,
Paul
 
Paul Mear said:
Graham,

I'm not sure I understand your answer. If the last out of water survey was 2009, then surely the 10 year survey is already one year overdue? Am I missing something?
Regards,
Paul
Click to expand...
No only me being an idiot - the survey was 2012 was getting confused with the engine replacement in 2009, sorry!
 
Graham,

OK, that makes sense, so you are due a survey in 2 years. Why not do the survey early?
Getting a pre-purchase survey would still be my recommendation although of course the choice is yours.
It will give you peace of mind and may also give you an opportunity to negotiate repairs or a discount prior to purchase if any defects are found and you will have a clear 10 years until the next survey?
Regards,
Paul
 
What are survey costs now for a 30 foot boat? I'd do it now and go into the purchase with eyes wide open than buy and find in two years time you have made an expensive mistake.

Depending on where you are located I'm sure people could suggest some names of surveyors you might think of instructing.
 
Barry Voysey said:
What are survey costs now for a 30 foot boat? I'd do it now and go into the purchase with eyes wide open than buy and find in two years time you have made an expensive mistake.

Depending on where you are located I'm sure people could suggest some names of surveyors you might think of instructing.
Click to expand...
Barry,

I do understand but this boat is only going for 13.5k and by the time its lifted (£500) and surveyed (£300) it going to be a significant cost rather than doing it when other work is being undertaken off lift out season (summer) when its less busy and cheaper for any works. The only serous risks I can see is keel bolts, saildrive legg and maybe rudder. I have already knock quiet a bit off the asking price, the only issue of concern really to me is saildrive legg.

Its at Titchmarsh Mariana in Essex btw if it had been closer to home it would have been a more attractive proposition. Not that it makes much difference but it is a private sale.

I am still thinking about it tbh
 
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Graham, I don't know Titmarsh Marina but the lift charge at £500 is more than double what I would have expected, who advised of that price? Did you speak to them yourself. All you need is it lifted out the water, an hour on the slipway and straight back in. I paid circa £200 for the lift when mine was surveyed including a jet wash and I think its about that where I am now.
 
Graham,

would the current owner sail it with you to the ramp/scrubbing area to dry out for a tide to allow a hull inspection? You won’t be able to get a hull moisture reading but you could check the condition of the saildrive and gaiter, keel joint, anodes etc. and if the owner agrees, scrape some small patches of anti foul off for a cursory check there are no osmotic blisters?

Paul
 
Hi Graham,

I would agree with Barry that the charge you quote sounds a bit much for that service. Winter lifts don't generally get as cheap as midsummer "lift & scrub" deals, because the winter usually puts a higher demand on boat lifting equipment and staff. However, recognising the need, some harbours offer a survey lift, e.g. "Survey lift (to include wash and relaunch): £29.60 per metre". By the time you add the dreaded VAT, that would still come to £325 for a Moody 30 (9.15 m.). Might be worth asking Titchmarsh if they offer anything like this.

Peter.
 
Peter Wright said:
Might be worth asking Titchmarsh if they offer anything like this.
Click to expand...
In addition, if you are thinking of keeping her there, you could ask for a deal on the lift out in return for becoming a berth holder. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking. They may be glad of the business just before Christmas.
 
I have been quoted £270 inc for a weekend in the lift cradle and scrub which I have decided reluctantly to go with. Getting a surveyor to do a check below the waterline at the same time, in water later (no rush), still waiting on his costs back, which I am sure will not be cheap. Its pricey overall but the saildrive legg is a big risk imho and if all goes to plan she gets new anodes and a quick coat of antifoul and I will know what’s needed over the next two years on the survey, I have the old one which is acceptable to my insurers still. On a boat of her age/value the rest is really lip service and it will doubtless be her last full survey
Thanks everyone for your help but I am still waiting to see if anyone on here has suffered keel bolt failure as they are steel it seems very unlikely, seriously damaged saildrive legg issues, a failed gaiter or rudder issues?
I am expecting some osmosis on an old boat even thought it was treated in the past.
I will keep you posted she is due out at the weekend
 
Hi Graham,

Has the vendor told you when the saildrive gaiter was last changed? If not, I would ask him! You're buying a 41 year old boat - she was built well at Marine Projects but her condition today has more to do with how she has been maintained over the past 40 years than how she was built. If her owner can't tell you when the gaiter was last changed, he doesn't think much about maintenance. Same goes for the standing rigging.

You will find plenty about Moody keel studs on the info exchange forum if you join the MOA. As I wrote above, they mostly remain in good condition below the nuts. The exceptions to this are where the hull / keel joint has failed allowing seawater penetration all the way to the studs - this starts corrosion on the loaded part of the studs which, if left unchecked, can weaken them. The best way of checking the joint is to watch as her weight is put down on her keel at haulout - if water squeezes out of the joint, it's in trouble. Another symptom is persistent rusting at the joint - once started the rust will migrate across the top of the keel detaching it from the compound. Eventually the sea will get at the studs.

as I say, it's all in the info exchange for MOA members. You can join as a temporary member for £22 and then transfer to full membership for free once you've bought a Moody. Thereafter $22 per year. I've been a member over 10 years - it helped me buy a sound Moody and has saved me many times £22 per year since then.

Peter.
 
I am a paid up temporary member Peter can’t yet find the info exchange yet.

The current owner knows little about the boat but luckily he did not have her long! Allegedly the previous owner was a sailer so hopefully kept her well founded. The gaiters are subjective with Volvo saying 7 years and numerous other options, I have yet to find a report of them actually failing yet or what saildrive model was fitted to the 30

I think you are saying the keel bolts are generally ok if the hull to keel seal appears sound as is generally the case

It is indeed very old but with a newish engine hopefully it will do a few more years
 
Hi Graham,

You're actually on the info exchange now and, as a member, you should be able to log in giving you access to all the different boards. The gold mine is Tech Info if you're on a computer, that should be one of the b=dark blue buttons across the top of the page. Keel bolts are best researched as a generic topic because Marine Projects used the same design for all models so just enter keel bolts in the search facility which you access using the extreme right dark blue button. To find other stuff that is M30 specific, on each board find a thread about M30's and just click on the yellow ground header that say Moody 30 - that will take you to all the M30 threads on that board. On this board this is the only M30 thread, but on the Tech info board, it should keep you reading for a while.

Peter.
 
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Just an update I have been quoted £450 for a full survey plus the yard fees of £270 - hence grand total of £720 the cost of replacement mainsail. This why I was somewhat hesitant to go this route without an urgent need but thanks to the comments received here she is at least getting lifted out and inspected. The survey will depend on what I actually find on initial lift out ofc will keep you all posted
 
Ouch, did you try a different Surveyor?
 
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