Moody 376 Purchase advice

[Marc Smith]

Hello, thanks for allowing a guest membership.

Looking at a 1989 Moody 376 scheel keel. The current owner is original owner, boat is located on the east coast USA, boat would stay on the east coast for the foreseeable future.

I have not put eyes on the boat yet, will do that this weekend.
what I know:
perkins power, and a generator(brand unknown) , roller furling foresail, no furling main, has been on land for the past 5-6 years, all sails and canvas have been stored off the boat in a home climate controlled. has been stored with the rig up.

I didn't see any similar questions regarding 37 376 I assume the only different between the two is the sugar scoop. if anyone has any particulars that I absolutely must look at, let me know. I;m going to browse the rest of the questions as I'm sure some of the build issues would translate from one hull to the next from the larger boats to the smaller ones.

thanks again for your wisdom...

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Marc,

As you surmise, the Moodys of that era share a lot of design features and construction techniques, so most of the advice on points to look out for are the same for different models.

The Moody 38 (circa 1990s) is covered here:

Moody 38 (90s) - What to look out for

Hi I'm thinking of buying a m38cc . Are their any bad points to look out for ?

moodyowners.info

And the Moody 35 here:

Moody 35 - Moody 35 - issues to watch out for?

I am looking at a 1994 moody 35, v impressed so far and if you have any advice on any issues specific to this model that I need to watch for, I intend sailing to Med. I noted some advice re: water ingress at chainplates - and would appreciate any other tips. Thanks. Pearce.

moodyowners.info

I think all the points in those threads applly equally to the Moody 376.

As always for Moodys, the hulls were well laid up at a generous thickness in a temperature and humidity controlled shop. The condition of all the bits screwed onto the hulls was good when new and now depends principally on how successive owners have cared for her.

Peter

 

[Marc Smith]

Peter,

thanks, yeah when its new, it a manufacture issue, when its old, its a maintenance/owner issue... the thing that worries me, but at the same time doesn't worry me is the fact that its been out of the water for so long.

not using equipment can be just as bad as using it and doing shoddy maintenance.

I noticed that you mentioned balsa core for the 35, was a balsa core the deck of choice for all moody's
looking at interior shots of 37 and 376's it appears that the shroud attachment points are well hidden and if i wanted to look, Id have to drill and see if I can scrounge up a borescope

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Marc,

Nearly all grp yachts have cored decks to achieve the desired rigidity without adding too much weight higher up and Moodys are no exception to this rule. Although in more recent years, some builders have started using more exotic core materials, from the sixties (the beginning of grp for yachts) to the end of the 20th century, end grain balsa was the material of choice and still is today for many manufacturers. In high stress areas, where deck gear like winches or clutches are mounted, marine ply (much heavier) is used to take the loads.

You're right in suspecting that the chainplate attachments are well hidden on all Moodys of that era by the beautiful cabinetry, making inspection difficult, if not impossible. Hence my suggestions in the first link above to question the current owner and do a straight edge check on the deck around the penetrations. Not all owners are happy for those inspecting their boats to attack them with a drill!

Peter.

 

[Marc Smith]

Thanks again Pete.. in less than 24 hours I'll be on the boat for the first time, hopefully I'll be grinning from ear to ear... As thats the second happiest day in a boat owners life. right?

 

[Marc Smith]

“What was I thinking?” Is probably the question I’ll be asking myself for the next several months....
That’s not me standing on the deck grinning....

 

[Marc Smith]

Sorry about the double pics.

Fixed - not double anymore - Admin

 

[Marc Smith]

Thanks admin... I think that I'm going to have to scrape down to original fiberglass. palm sized areas of paint have flaked off. since the boats been out of the water for so long, the hull won't be getting any drier. now be a good time to put on a barrier coat? Or should I even consider it, since there are not any blisters on the hull. IE leave well enough alone. sicne ive got some areas that are flaking off I worry about the rest of the paint and adhesion

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Marc,

The thorough way of dealing with everything below the waterline is to have it grit blasted, but only if yu can find a contractor who is experienced in blasting grp. A good blaster will get the cast iron as rust free as is possible and leave the grp looking as though it had been rubbed down with reasonably fine wet and dry. A bad blaster will go through the gel coat in some places! (where he pauses in his movement). Once theblasting is finished, wash the iron thoroughly with a pressure washer using fresh water to get any salts out of the pores as far as possible then, if the blaster is still around, have him give another quick blast over the iron to take off the gingering. Finally, apply the first coat of a good, rust and moisture tolerant epoxy primer (this will serve for both the iron and as a barrier coat over the gel coat, but you should give at least 3 coats to have a good barrier.

Once prepared like this, you can apply your antifouling of choice or, if you don't enjoy an annual blue hair day, go for Coppercoat. It seems to me that it's a waste to use Coppercoat if it's going to be falling off with rust, so good preparation is a necessary part of the job. Here's a photo of Wild Thyme taken earlier this year - she was blasted and the Coppercoat was applied in November 2011 and is holding up pretty well. The underside of the keel was not properly prepared so still rusts a bit, not improved by ploughing grooves in the bottom of Dutch canals a few years ago.

Maintenance of the Coppercoat is to haul her out, pressure wash and burnish with Scotchbrite or similar once per year.



Peter.

 

[Marc Smith]

peter,
port side near the bow the aft facing drain just above the water line. is that a relocation drain for the chain locker? so it doesn't drain into the bilge

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Marc,

Yes, it is. To be sure the cable locker would drain, rather than fill up, we had to raise the sole of the locker by a couple of inches - no real effect on the locker capacity.

Peter.