Moody S31 Wait for a Moody S31 or Moody 31mk1/mk2

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Erik Kelly

Registered Guest
Hi

New to Forum and would appreciate your experience/advice

Have been hovering around Apolloduck looking for a first yacht. Have sailed dinghies for years, completed RYA day skipper and crewed on Race yachts so this would be a first.

Looking for cruiser for family. Not really interested in racing. We have small kids so will be looking to be single-handed for most part

The S31 with Fin keel would be my ideal but these seem to come up rarely on apolloduck.

What are thoughts re 31MK1 or MK2 as entry singlehanded or best to just hold out till one comes up?

Advice appreciated

Thanks
 
Erik, our 31 Mk 2 was our first yacht and has proven to be perfect for us. We bought her 14 years ago with two kids 13 and 10. You know how brother and sister love to sit next to each other so the only solution was to put one in each cabin and we sleep in the saloon. Now they have grown up and flown the nest. However, the yacht remains perfect for the two of us and the dogs.

There is a real shortage of yachts available across Europe at the moment and with no real end to Covid in sight the demand looks to exceed supply for a while.

The S31 is slightly longer with a super rear cabin but slightly less storage. Both sail really well, if you keep them upright and light. Good sails and a clean hull make a huge difference. A folding prop also helps. Do check the length of the berths if you are tall. You may end up playing footsie at night in the v berth.

Single handed sailing is no problem, indeed the missus can steer but leaves the rest to me. A good autopilot or tiller pilot is essential if you want to put the sails up, or put the kettle on etc whilst sailing solo.

I would have no hesitations in recommending either yachts, but you might expand your search to include the Moody 333. Don't be put off by the slightly boxy shape, they can be very quick with good SA/D ratio. There is one in Scotland along with a S31 by the same broker. Would it be worth taking a short break north to view both? If not, there are a few 31s around to have a look over and test the size of the beds.

Moody 333 for sale UK, Moody boats for sale, Moody used boat sales, Moody Sailing Yachts For Sale 1982 Moody 333 - Apollo Duck

www.apolloduck.co.uk www.apolloduck.co.uk

Pete
 
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Hi Erik,

Firstly you need to extend your search base beyond Apolloduck, as Pete says, used yachts are much in demand since foreign holidays got more difficult, so you will need to search the whole market to find what you want. Also, provided the boat is in the UK, don't be put off too much by distance.

The S31 will always seem a bigger boat when you're aboard her and, if that's what you really want, I would stick out for one. In my view, boat ownership is a fairly long term affair, changing boats every two or three years gets expensive and itg generally takes that long to get a boat how you want her.

Family cruising is great, but you will be surprised how quickly your family grows. Assuming two young children, if you get the yachhting bug,they will probably be strapping teenagers by the time you look to upgrade to your next boat after this, so this boat will need to have enough space to get you there.

As Pete says, they're both great boats, but the S31 a generation more modern. The ideal would be to blag a ride on one of each model and see what you make of them.

Happy hunting.

Peter.
 
I spent a while searching for a BK S31 until I was recommended by a fellow club member to look for a M336. Basically a very similar boat but with a lot more space and even larger aft cabin. I am so pleased to have had this advice and now had 2 good seasons sailing.
 
Hi Erik,

Have hou seen this?

www.boatshed.com

Moody S31 For Sale, 9.72m, 1997

Moody S31 for sale | 9.72m | 1997 | 1x diesel 19hp | GRP Construction | Bilge keels underwater profile | 6 berths | Boat REF# 306343
www.boatshed.com www.boatshed.com

Peter
 
I was very happy with a M31 for 6 years but I moved to a bigger boat later. I echo Peters suggestion that families grow. My son was small enough to get around in a Moody 31 until he turned 19 and 6ft 1". We sailed in in fairly rough conditions including in 5m waves in the Bristol Channel. It was a very safe boat.

I had no problems sailing it single handed as its easy to reach a dock from the cockpit.

Frankly single handed sailing is not difficult on larger boats provided you have assistance when docking in Marinas.
 
Having been an owner of a M31 Mk 1 and now an S31, for me, the S31 seems a roomier boat. With a lot of the little niggles gone from my previous boat.
 
Thanks guys for the time you took to reply. I do appreciate the advice

I think for a variety of reasons am going to hold out for an S31- Space being the main one and hopefully only going to do this once (for now) while kids are small

Thanks Peter for flagging that S31. I did see it but hopefully a fin keel will appear

Hadn't considered a 333 but would definitely consider Pete

Found this forum great. Thanks again
 
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