Moody 41 Tips?

Aldo Bezzicheri

Aldo Bezzicheri

Member
Boat name
CLIO
Berth
Trapani, Italy
Boat type
Moody 41
Cruising area
Mediterranean
Good day everyone! I would love to become a part of the Moody family and in few days I will go and have a look at a M41. I saw in another post few things that you guys suggested to check (chain plates attachment, keel bolts and cockpit teak) but if you have other suggestion I'm here with open ears! Thanks in advance!
 
Aldo, Best of luck with your viewing. You mention the basics that need to be checked. Unfortunately there is no ready access to the chainplates themselves without removing woodwork but look carefully at the ss covers on deck and the sealant around & under these. Sealant should be in good condition and bonding well to both the chainplate and deck. Recommend renewing periodically. To make this easier I split the ss covers around the capshrouds when the mast was down so that plate can be fully removed.

Look for any slight lifting or bulging of the deck especially near areas where fittings are bolted. I had some slight bulging next to a granny bar fixing. Removed item, used bent nail in drill to grind out rotten inner wooden sandwich, piped dry warm air into the hole from underneath, then filled with epoxy + fillers, redrilled fixing hole and resecured granny bars. You may need to enlarge the underside of the fixing hole to get out the rotten wood. Fortunately the area involved was quite small. That was over 10 years ago and no sign of trouble since.

I had rust at the bottom of the mast compression tube. Managed to clean it all up, treat the rust then 3 layers of Hammerite alternating black-white-black so that it was easy to tell proper coverage. This is not easy to get at because of the location next to a bulkhead but have had no trouble since.

Previous owner had reported some rust in the steel fuel tank - said it was all sorted but I was far from happy and changed to a plastic one from TekTanks and placed the fuel filler inside the cockpit locker. The original position of fuel filler in cockpit floor is a disaster and I thoroughly recommend changing this. I had the original Thornycroft T108 engine when I purchased in 2000 and changed to a Beta 60 about 10 years ago.

I have also renewed my electrics panel at about the same time as upgrading electronics systems. Have done quite a few minor modifications. Good luck. Micky
 
Thanks you Micky for the detailed answer! Will keep you guys posted of any news, for now the first visit has been good, now we have to decide about an offer and a proper survey...
 
Just for a quick update...we will make an offer soon taking in the consideration the follows:
- the broker told us that in June few spots of possible osmosis were found when the boat was haul out for new antifoul painting
- engine is a Yanmar from 2007 with about 650hrs, heat exchanger replaced in 2017, fuel tank emptied and cleaned out in 2019
- Propeller is a Max Prop
- rudder stock (sorry if my technical english is not perfect) removed and the o-ring replaced in June
-the mainsail is from 2012, we couldn't raise it but it looks pretty old, with full battens and Rutgerson batten cars pretty worn...
-the boat has a removeable staysail stay, but no staysail on board as well no spinnaker or whisker pole
-no records if or when the stays, all of them, have been replaced, keep in mind that the actual owner is the second one since the boat was built (19830
-electric system...original one, few instruments all pretty old, no radar, but 1 solar panel in an arch and wind generator
-bow thruster!!!
So now convince me that I have to look somewhere else please!!!:):):)
 
Hi Aldo,

Only two previous owners is probably a positive but it really depends on how diligent each of those owners has been about maintenance. The 2007 Yanmar is a positive and it sounds like it is almost unused averaging 43 hours/year. Do they offer any evidence that the engine has been properly maintained? The bow thruster is another positive.

However, from what you write, there are 3 readily foreseeable costs of putting her into sound sailing condition:

New sails. If you can get the vendor to tell you the ages of the existing sails this should become clearer

Electronics refit. All the electronics sound to be past their sell by date

Standing rigging replacement - if the age of the rigging is either above 15 years or unknown, it's likely any insurer will be willing to insure against rig failure and I doubt you want to risk the mast falling on someone's head.

Finally, there is the issue of the "few spots of possible osmosis". This could be something or nothing - boats don't fall apart in the early stages of osmosis, but it certainly reduces a boat's value. Can the vendor clarify this vague description with a report from a surveyor or professional shipwright who saw the original evidence? If the osmosis requires treatment, that will be a fourth area of significant cost.

Whether the boat is acceptable with these needs, each of which will cost thousands of Euros, only you can decide. If the price reflects these needs fair enough. An alternative you could apply to the rigging and possible osmosis is to make an offer subject to the vendor rectifying these defects before the sale. I would not use this approach for the sails and electronics as you want these supplied to your specification to suit the sort of sailing you plan.

Hope this helps.

Peter.
 
Aldo, WIth fully battened mainsail you do need something like the Rutgerson slides to take the loads off the batten especially if the mainsail has increased roach. I have the Frederiksen recirculating ball slides which are excellent but expensive and you require the special track to be bolted over the top of the luff grove on the mast. I would certainly get the Rutgerson slides replaced if they are as bad as you say - that is the ones taking the battens. With me when the original mainsail needed changing I went for one with normal short battens which make the sail lighter and easier to hoist.

A "few spots of possible osmosis". I am with Peter regarding this. Only you can judge how bad this is also it depends how much of the time the boat spends in the water. If you plan to haulout for most of the winter then not so much of an immediate problem but need to keep this in mind regarding eventual selling. I bought my M41 in 2000 with one owner before me. Recent survey revealed one area where there was just a hint of blistering. Surveyor said there there was no immediate issue especially as I haulout for several months each winter.

Worth asking whether there is a smart charging system for the batteries. Installing one in my boat made a dramatic difference.

Removeable inner forestay is excellent. I have a working jib with one set of reefing points also a storm jib.
The spinnaker pole was rigged for end-for-end gybing which was a bit of a handful when at sea. Previous owner had replaced the baby stay with two foreward lowers so I changed to dip pole but these days (when short handed) it is used more for poling out the genoa with the cruising chute on the other side. rather than using the tri-radial spinnaker.

Best of luck, Micky
 
Last edited:
Peter Wright said:
Hi Aldo,

Only two previous owners is probably a positive but it really depends on how diligent each of those owners has been about maintenance. The 2007 Yanmar is a positive and it sounds like it is almost unused averaging 43 hours/year. Do they offer any evidence that the engine has been properly maintained? The bow thruster is another positive.

However, from what you write, there are 3 readily foreseeable costs of putting her into sound sailing condition:

New sails. If you can get the vendor to tell you the ages of the existing sails this should become clearer

Electronics refit. All the electronics sound to be past their sell by date

Standing rigging replacement - if the age of the rigging is either above 15 years or unknown, it's likely any insurer will be willing to insure against rig failure and I doubt you want to risk the mast falling on someone's head.

Finally, there is the issue of the "few spots of possible osmosis". This could be something or nothing - boats don't fall apart in the early stages of osmosis, but it certainly reduces a boat's value. Can the vendor clarify this vague description with a report from a surveyor or professional shipwright who saw the original evidence? If the osmosis requires treatment, that will be a fourth area of significant cost.

Whether the boat is acceptable with these needs, each of which will cost thousands of Euros, only you can decide. If the price reflects these needs fair enough. An alternative you could apply to the rigging and possible osmosis is to make an offer subject to the vendor rectifying these defects before the sale. I would not use this approach for the sails and electronics as you want these supplied to your specification to suit the sort of sailing you plan.

Hope this helps.

Peter.
Click to expand...
First of all thank you Peter for the useful answer, let me try to reply...

The actual owner it looks like he used the boat as a "floating apartment", not much sail or lenghty trip. The engine maintenance is well documented

We made an offer yesterday taking in consideration the issues and stating clearly that we will confirm/change our offer only after the boat has been surveyed by a professional surveyor, I already spoke with one...
 
Micky Barnes said:
Aldo, WIth fully battened mainsail you do need something like the Rutgerson slides to take the loads of the batten especuially if the mainsail has increased roach. I have the Frederiksen recirculating ball slides which are excellent but expensive and you require the special track to be bolted over the top of the luff grove on the mast. I would certainly get the Rutgerson slides replaced if they are as bad as you say - that is the ones taking the battens. With me when the original mainsail needed changing I went for one with normal short battens which make the sail lighter and easier to hoist.

A "few spots of possible osmosis". I am with Peter regarding this. Only you can judge how bad this is also it depends how much of the time the boat spends in the water. If you plan to haulout for most of the winter then not so much of an immediate problem but need to keep this in mind regarding eventual selling. I bought my M41 in 2000 with one owner before me. Recent survey revealed one area where there was just a hint of blistering. Surveyor said there there was no immediate issue especially as I haulout for several months each winter.

Worth asking whether there is a smart charging system for the batteries. Installing one in my boat made a dramatic difference.

Removeable inner forestay is excellent. I have a working jib with one set of reefing points also a storm jib.
The spinnaker pole was rigged for end-for-end gybing which was a bit of a handful when at sea. Previous owner had replaced the baby stay with two foreward lowers so I changed to dip pole but these days (when short handed) it is used more for poling out the genoa with the cruising chute on the other side. rather than using the tri-radial spinnaker.

Best of luck, Micky
Click to expand...
Thank you to you too Micky, very useful info...regarding the few spots of osmosis we have already talked with a surveyor, so we will decide only after we can inspect the hull how bad they are...the positive point is that because of our working commitment we are looking to move full time on board only by mid/end 2024 and the idea of keeping the boat in the hard especially during the warmer months until then can be useful to resolve the osmosis issue.
We were not 100% convinced of start to look for a boat so early, but then this one came to our attention and even if is not the perfect one, as our wish list can show you, we may spend the months before our transfer on board to slowly start to attend the problem we have noticed and to upgrade her, let's talk as a "project boat" in a small scale!!!
 
And no, no smart charging on board...actually the electric system (12V and 220V) is one of the issue we will definitely have to address; the boat as 1 solar panel mounted on an arch and a wind generator
 
Hi guys, a quick update...it looks like that maybe sooner than later I will have to change my Temporary Member to Full Time! :)
We have received a reply to our offer and the numbers are pretty good! We have now to finalize a couple of points and then will be survey time...let's keep our dream floating!!!;)
 
Hi Aldo,

Great news.

Peter.
 
Ok here another update and of course a question
This week we will do the official survey, in the water and out and after it we will decide if we will proceed (something that we really hope)!!!
The question is… the five battery that are installed are positioned in a compartment situated to the left of the small corridor that leads to the aft cabin, is this the normal/original place where the battery are stored? Is strange to see battery not in a lower position…but I can see the positive side (not the battery positive)
 
Aldo, That is the normal location for only 3 batteries connected to a 1-Both-2-Off switch mounted on the electrics panel. One for engine start the other 2 domestic.

I removed this battery box and mounted one as low as possible holding just 2 domestic batteries. Then mounted another battery box with 2 more domestic batteries under the navigators seat - at the same time as raising the seat as it was too low for me. The engine start battery is now in the cupboard (vanity unit) in the aft cabin with its own master switch mounted next to it. This makes for a shorter cable run to the starter but of course I have an emergency parallel switch to join the domestic batteries.

The 2 banks of domestic batteries are separately switched, monitored and charged. One bank is older than the other so that I am not changing all batteries at the same time also so that my complete domestic supply does not go down at the same time.
My charging system is a bit antiquated now so no point in giving details. I am contemplating go to lithium in due course.

Advantage of removing the large 3 battery box is that I now have useable space above the new 2 battery box for storm jib stowage, oilskins, etc
 
Last edited:
So, a week after a 2 day survey, I just received a 20 page report with 300+ pictures...guys if you ever need a survey to be done in the Med I will strongly suggest the guy who did this one!!! I'm going to dive myself head first on this survey and I hope I will came back with good news...stay tuned!
 
The unit number is N D2 026, it means it was the 26th built?
 
Ok...it looks like I will have to change my Temporary Member to Full Member!:cool::cool::cool:
We just received confirmation that our final offer, after the survey, has been accepted, now we have just to wire the money to the PREVIOUS owner!;)
I'm sorry for you guys...I will flood this forum with question!!!
 
Well done Aldo! Just in time for a fun summer!

Yes, I think D2 026 is the 26th built, although I have no evidence for this and have no idea what the D2 means. We are D2 018 so I have always thought we were the 18th.

Andrew
 
Aldo, congratulations. I just saw this thread, not super active, but have a 419 I purchased last year, so if you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm about to replace my 5 lead batteries in the aft hall Starboard side with 1 lead starter and 400ah of lithium so that should free up some space and weight. Not sure i need the 400ah but decided to go with it now vs trying to add more capacity in a second round. I also replaced the original windlass with a Maxwell HRC 10 which I like. I have an old Simpson Lawrence motor I posted on here last year free to a good home, but asked new owner to make a small donation to charity and pay for shipping, so if you need a replacement Simpson Lawrence motor, ask away.

Enjoy sailing the new boat.
 
Jeff, thanks for your kind words and even if it will be few months from now I’m really looking forward, together with my wife, to enjoy our new, for us, jewel! I will need all of the knowledge of Moody owners and I will ask question for sure! I will love to have more info regarding your battery project and I will keep you informed if I will need the motor, but I’m not sure if that model is mounted on board, I will have to go and check the specs later today.
Let’s keep in touch and thanks again!
 
Ladies and Gentlemen let me present you “Clio”!!!
In few days will post more pictures and I will start with the questions!!!
9D126D69-8A06-429A-B2BF-02BDC24C3BC0.jpeg
 
Congrats - she looks great -

Fire away :cool:
 
Congrats. I just replaced my house bank with Sok lithium and good so far. I removed 220w of old solar panels which were surprisingly heavy and replaced with a single 395w LG. Great production weeks in but too large to move into cabin if a storm coming so maybe get multiple 200w if you are upgrading and want portability.

Someone posted about the €12,000 they spent to fix osmosis and wishing they had that money back. I'm 50/50. I'm sure my boat has some somewhere, but in the water year round so need to schedule a long haul out to resolve if I do. Sounds like you have a window to remediate while on the hard, but again, I'd spend the money on sails and standing rigging before osmosis.


As far as electronics, it's hard to say. If in fog, get radar. I have radar and rarely use. I spend more time with navionics on phone and tablet then on my 2 chart plotters, one at helm and one at nav station. The one at nav station has a wifi connection that mirrors screen on a cheap android tablet via Garmin app, including radar overlay, so maybe spend more on phone/tablet charge ports and less on Garmin or B&G hardware that is obsolete in a few years.

Good solid drink holder at helm also important. My kids broke the nice teak one quickly by leaning on it, so I replaced with a white plastic one from Amazon that is much more sturdy.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your good information, very helpful! Regarding the osmosis I had a quotation made by a reliable shipyard in Sicily and is much cheaper than that, my plan is to bring the boat there by the end of June and let it to dry as long as needed, hopefully the southern Italian summer weather will help!
I will definitely start the 12 and 220V projects later on but the new rigging will have a priority!
Radar will be nice to have but for start I will buy a good AIS transceiver
Sails are good for a couple of years, will have to replace the cars (hope is the correct English word )
Jeff Lloyd said:
Congrats. I just replaced my house bank with Sok lithium and good so far. I removed 220w of old solar panels which were surprisingly heavy and replaced with a single 395w LG. Great production weeks in but too large to move into cabin if a storm coming so maybe get multiple 200w if you are upgrading and want portability.

Someone posted about the €12,000 they spent to fix osmosis and wishing they had that money back. I'm 50/50. I'm sure my boat has some somewhere, but in the water year round so need to schedule a long haul out to resolve if I do. Sounds like you have a window to remediate while on the hard, but again, I'd spend the money on sails and standing rigging before osmosis.


As far as electronics, it's hard to say. If in fog, get radar. I have radar and rarely use. I spend more time with navionics on phone and tablet then on my 2 chart plotters, one at helm and one at nav station. The one at nav station has a wifi connection that mirrors screen on a cheap android tablet via Garmin app, including radar overlay, so maybe spend more on phone/tablet charge ports and less on Garmin or B&G hardware that is obsolete in a few years.

Good solid drink holder at helm also important. My kids broke the nice teak one quickly by leaning on it, so I replaced with a white plastic one from Amazon that is much more sturdy.
Click to expand...
 
62E7EDDA-EBCC-460E-B242-F93E12C78631.jpeg

Can anyone able to tell me what are these ?
 
8B9E9A77-0FD0-42D6-9AF9-2FDE4FFCE8F6.jpeg

These are the cars I was talking about
 
FB92B3D6-ADC1-42EF-9A3F-FBF3F8283A3B.jpeg

Not sure if the water gauge works, is this the original one?
 

Attachments

  • D45A00DB-DE0C-4117-8245-2F7CC54869DE.jpeg
    D45A00DB-DE0C-4117-8245-2F7CC54869DE.jpeg
    38.9 KB · Views: 138
6ABDAB80-9C3E-4EA9-8119-ACE817FF210D.jpeg

And this is one of the issues…the engine is a Yanmar, and look how close to the tank bulkhead is…was the original engine shorter?
 
Aldo Bezzicheri said:
View attachment 30673
Can anyone able to tell me what are these ?
Click to expand...
Hi Aldo
These look like breathers for fuel and / or water tanks.
Moody had a habit of fitting them at the same level or only just above, the filler point so they can have a tendency to spurt liquid out as you are filling. Not normally a problem with water but hugely annoying when it's diesel
Regards
Peter
 
Aldo, Do check that the hoses from those two vents go up to an inverted U otherwise you will get water into your fuel tank and dirty water from scrubbing the cockpit into your fresh water. Look inside the cockpit locker immediately forward of the vents to see these pipes.
The water vent is only for the port water tank; the original starboard tank vent on mine was in the anchor locker high on starboard side. Previous owner had this blocked off and fitted a vent that ended in the heads just above the sink.
If you still have the fuel filler in the cockpit sole then do check that the seal is in perfect condition, I moved my filler to just inside the cockpit locker so that it is well protected.
Notice that you have a bolt to prevent the cockpit locker lid from sliding - very sensible. I achieved the same result by adding some wood to the underside.
Original Thornycroft engine was also mounted quite well forward so changing seawater impeller was a bit of a fiddle - home made puller makes life easier. With new Beta engine I bought a Jabsco made puller but had to modify it slightly.
 
Thanks for your reply guys, will check next time I will be on board…in a couple of months unfortunately
 
Hi all, Thursday I'm going to visit for the second time a M419 1985, Thornycroft 5600 hours. What to carefully evaluate? If Commander Aldo reads me I would like to ask him for suggestions as I saw that it is fresh from the purchase. A thousand thanks
M
 
Ciao Enrico, I'm travelling at this moment will try to reply later today or tomorrow...where is the boat located?
 
Aldo Bezzicheri said:
Ciao Enrico, I'm travelling at this moment will try to reply later today or tomorrow...where is the boat located?
Click to expand...
Salve Aldo, grazie per la celere risposta La barca si trova a Fiumicino. Bella barca, sembra sia a posto, non sembra che ci siano cedimenti strani però non sono un esperto di quella barca. Io provengo da due Ferretti Altura, un 33 e un 422 e di quelli conosco morte vita e miracoli. Mi ha risposto Micky che gentilmente mi ha dato alcune dritte. Se anche tu hai qualcosa da aggiungere non sarebbe male. La barca già fatto una traversata oceanica 10 anni fa . Sono stati sostituiti i prigionieri del del bulbo lo scorso anno tirando giù il bulbo completamente, rifacendo anche la sigillatura. Non sembra siano presenti segnali di osmosi, ma la farò misurare. I legni interni sono quelli un po' più messi male nel senso sono un po' trascurati ecco. La mia preoccupazione più grande è eventuale presenza di marciume agli attacchi delle lande che non riesco a verificare lo skeg ,però sembra sia a posto ,i cedimenti sull'appoggio dell'albero. In pratica i guai che vengono segnalati qui nel forum. Motore con 5600 ore , un bel po', ma se va lo tengo .Grazie aspetto tue notizie
 
Enrico Molinari said:
Salve Aldo, grazie per la celere risposta La barca si trova a Fiumicino. Bella barca, sembra sia a posto, non sembra che ci siano cedimenti strani però non sono un esperto di quella barca. Io provengo da due Ferretti Altura, un 33 e un 422 e di quelli conosco morte vita e miracoli. Mi ha risposto Micky che gentilmente mi ha dato alcune dritte. Se anche tu hai qualcosa da aggiungere non sarebbe male. La barca già fatto una traversata oceanica 10 anni fa . Sono stati sostituiti i prigionieri del del bulbo lo scorso anno tirando giù il bulbo completamente, rifacendo anche la sigillatura. Non sembra siano presenti segnali di osmosi, ma la farò misurare. I legni interni sono quelli un po' più messi male nel senso sono un po' trascurati ecco. La mia preoccupazione più grande è eventuale presenza di marciume agli attacchi delle lande che non riesco a verificare lo skeg ,però sembra sia a posto ,i cedimenti sull'appoggio dell'albero. In pratica i guai che vengono segnalati qui nel forum. Motore con 5600 ore , un bel po', ma se va lo tengo .Grazie aspetto tue notizie
Click to expand...
Sent you a private message!
 
Aldo, You asked some time ago aboat my twin domestic battery banks and their location.

See the attached which I hope shows you enough - also a little but useful opening up some space under the nav table.

Micky
 

Attachments

  • M41 Liesel battery banks.docx
    31.7 MB · Views: 124
Thanks Micky! Much appreciated
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top