Hi Peter and welcome to the MOA,
As you say, the Eclipse 43 is a pretty rare beast and they are much sought after for sailing in the UK climate. Personally, I have never been aboard one, so I can't answer your question directly but many different models of Moody built in that era (late 1980's, - early 2000's) were all built by Marine Projects of Plymouth and they tended to use common techniques on all the models.
Issues noted on other models were:
- The layup of the hulls and decks was strong and done in a temperature and humidity controlled shop using isophthalic resin, which offers improved resistance to 0smosis over the previously used orthophthalic. The gel coat was thick enough to withstand a lot of polishing
- The hull was built with solid grp with some foam filler used to form any internal floors and stringers, but no core in the hull itself. The decks were mostly cored with end grain balsa for stiffness and lighter weight marine ply core being used in way of deck fittings. Take a close look at any deck fittings which are likely to have been fitted by previous owners - if not properly done, they may be a source of water ingress to the balsa core.
- Shroud chainplates secured to marine ply part bulkheads hidden behind cabinetry down below were sealed at the deck by little stainless plates. Over time, the sealant under the plate tends to break down, so water penetrates starting rot in the marine ply. Ultimately, the ply is weakened to the extent it breaks or the bolts pull through the wood. Not easy to detect, but use of a straight edge on the deck around the sealing plates will show any bulges which are a sign of problems.
- I don't know whether the Eclipse 43 has forward lower shrouds or a babystay. If a babystay, the way the chainplate is secured to the foredeck on other models was barely adequate in distributing the load into the deck. Again, checking the deck around the chainplate for bulges with a straight edge should reveal any imminent problems.
- keel studs, nuts and their backing plates were carbon steel (not stainless) because of fears about crevice corrosion. Unless owners have been diligent about keeping seawater out of the bilge (e.g. when cleaning the log impeller) they will be rusty. This tends to spook modern surveyors and it's often not as bad as it looks and can be fixed with a bit of wire brushing and painting. However, if the integrity of the nuts has been compromised, some action may be needed. The long, wide design of the keel top makes the keel / hull joint much less stressed than a modern short, deep keel.
- In my view, they made some strange material choices for tanks. The fuel tanks were carbon steel and suffered from rust, often from the inside where any water in the fuel tends to corrode pinholes through the welds. Fresh water tanks were often aluminium which corrosdes only slowly but leaves the inside of the tank looking like something you don't want to drink from. Ultimately, they do fail - usually at the welds.
- "Teak" in the cockpit and small pieces elsewhere was teak faced ply which tends to delaminate - visually obvious. Complete teak decks, if fitted tended to be solid teak. In a lot of these boats, the original teak faced ply has since been replaced with solid teak.
Hopefully, one of those rare beasts, an Eclipse 43 owner will be along soon to give you a more focussed answer. If you haven't found it yet, there is some basic data about each Moody model here:
moodyowners.org
If you do buy her, you will find that joining our association will give you help in understanding how to look after your Moody way beyond the modest cost of subscription, so I would recommend you join,
Happy boat hunting!
Peter.
