The missing link
I'm the next generation of yacht owner and I've got a confession to make: I have grown accustomed to push-button contrivances, the latest must-have contraptions and the very best in creature comforts afloat.
A manual yacht like the old Passage 33 we had moored out the front, with more strings than a harp, ageing rigging and flogged sails, basic 12V systems, a manual-pump head, scant water and few luxuries, no longer floats my boat.
Instead, I want ease of handling so I can sail shorthanded - things like electric winches, in-mast or in-boom furling and/or a self-tacking headsail - whiz-bang electronics including an autopilot to steer my course, and a lot more mod cons for liveaboard luxury.
This way, I can appease my lifelong crew and sail away for more than just a day. And usage is the single most important thing when buying any boat. You want to be out there, on the water, a comfortable and happy family afloat.
It's this very thinking - the mindset of a potential new generation of soft sailors at both ends of the age spectrum - that's behind the dashing new Moody 45 Deck Saloon that debuted at the Sydney International Boat Show in August. At the time of writing, four of the $900,000 yachts had been sold to people ranging from 38 to 70-plus years of age. And, dare I say, here's a wind-driven conveyance that could revolutionise the cruiser market and, expected
ly, at least one powerboater was among those shaping up to jump ship, offering his boat as a trade-in, and preparing to join the sailing fold, we're told. In this respect, the Moody 45 DS is way more powerful than under sail alone.
"We think she will capture sailors, catamaran owners accustomed to indoor-outdoor living areas and powerboaters equally," announces Peter Hrones from Windcraft, the Australian importer of Hanse and Moody yachts. The latter is an English yard acquired in recent years by the giant German, Hanse, and, I should add, much to the chagrin of some blueblood British sailors who flagged the end. But how wrong were they!
The change of ownership is directly responsible for creating this cutting-edge cruising yacht. Hanse's principal, Michael Schmidt, is a progressive businessman and savvy designer reshaping the sailing landscape with his thoroughly modern Hanse yachts. The story goes that Schmidt gave Moody's naval architect, Bill Dixon, carte blanche aka a white-sheet of paper. That was like waving a red rag to a British bulldog and Dixon jumped at the opportunity to build his ultimate cruising yacht. Even my powerboating crew approves. Five-star sailing all the way.
Meantime, as an aside, there's an absolute wealth of information out there concerning Moody Yachts, which began when a boat was built in the courtyard of a house at Swanwick on the River Hamble in the mid-1800s and which ramped up production from 1934 onwards. Similarly, long-standing Moody designer Dixon is a stalwart, with an impressive portfolio of production and custom power and sailboats to his credit. I guess this is why there's more than a whiff of the superyacht about the Moody 45 DS.
