MOODY DS48

Can a boat built for long-term, long-distance cruising and offering one-level living still deliver an enjoyable sailing experience? Theo Stocker sets sail across the English Channel to find out

- Theo Stocker

High topsides, muscular bow sections and a formidable deck house make the Moody DS48 an imposing sight, even standing alongside her on the pontoon. Point her bows towards the open sea, set all 165m2 of her canvas and with 21 tonnes of boat in full motion, she becomes even more formidable. Most boats these days aim to be lighter, faster and more open, but that doesn’t necessarily result in better seaboats or more comfortable passage-making. Not the Moody, however. From the moment you scale her boarding ladder (there are steps which fold out from the solid guardrails to help surmount her deep bulwarks), and set foot on her recessed sidedecks, this is a boat that you are in, rather than on.

When it comes to boat tests, the Solent is normally an ideal test ground; sheltered enough to play in, but with strong tides and a decent fetch that can kick up a steep chop. I often find myself wishing, however, that we could just keep on sailing for the horizon.

When it came to testing the new Moody DS48, designed to be a long-distance voyage maker, we decided that nothing but a Channel crossing would do.

So it was that I found myself on the pontoon one Monday morning in July, climbing aboard with Phil and Adam from Inspiration Marine, Peter, Phil’s dad who had volunteered as navigator, and Richard our photographer. We’d decided that dinner in Alderney would be really rather jolly, and with a booking for 2000 at the Braye Beach Hotel, it was time to get going.

Now, with a length of 48ft and all but 3ft of that at the waterline, boat speed promised to be fairly good, though I wasn’t sure what to expect from her sailing performance. Moody has continued its long association with Bill Dixon, who has a reputation for drawing seaworthy, high volume hulls with a good turn of speed.