Hi I’m currently looking for a Moody for my first yacht ownership. We’ve been to look at a 31 MkII and satisfied ourselves that it meets all of our needs in terms of space, size and our ability to afford the berthing and ongoing maintenance bills. However as the title I wonder if the newer Moody 31S should also be considered, is there a significant difference in their speed in the real world, how about onboard stowage from phot's it looks like the MkII wins that one. How about fuel and water capacity? Has anyone here owned or sailed both that could comment on these areas?
Many Thanks.
Martin
We owned an S31 (note, the name is S31, not 31S) for 12 years, thought it was a cracking boat. Ours was a bilge keeler and even so, was a very quick boat upwind if we set it up correctly.
Yes the stowage is better on the older 31 - indeed, the two are completely different designs with different hulls and rigs. If anything the S31 is a small version of the 336 in hull shape and rig design, with a double spreader rig. A few were built as a cruiser racer, with a taller fractional rig - however most were masthead.
The S31 had a newer engine, the Volvo 2020 rather than the 2002, and has a saildrive. (Some 31’s had the more powerful 2003). I would say that at times in our S31 I wished for a bit more horsepower.
Can’t comment on fuel/water tank capacity, but I imagine they are similar.
I’d suggest that if it’s just 2 of you on board, the reduced stowage if the S31 is not an issue and that’s what I’d go for (and tiller steered, not wheel, but then I was brought up as a dinghy sailor!), but if more people and for longer periods you would probably be better off in a 31.
Hope this helps.
