13 Jun
There’s nothing like a delivery to get to know your boat, and the Moody DS48 scored highly in all departments on its maiden offshore passage.
As a rule, boat reviewers want to spend as much time as possible on their test subjects.
Unfortunately, as Windshift knows only too well from previously being the Editor of a sailing magazine, the reality is you often only have a few hours to put a boat through its paces. That includes all the sails up and down, mastering the sailing handling controls such as in-mast and jib furlers, checking the rig, engine, electrical and battery systems, gauging the comfort and user friendliness of the cabins and interior and assessing the boat’s overall suitability – how well it fulfills its stated purpose be it family cruiser, performance cruiser or in the case of the Moody DS48, luxury bluewater cruiser.
So with that in mind, Windshift readily accepted an invitation to join the crew of Pauline, the stunning Moody DS48 slated for its Asia-Pacific Premiere at the 2025 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show.
In all, the trip up and back along a large chunk of New South Wales’ coast, in and out through the Gold Coast Seaway with runs up and down the Coomera River, was 800 nautical miles, plenty of distance to get an appreciation of the big Moody’s strengths and vices.
The major takeaways were: the Moody DS48 is a supremely comfortable and assured cruising yacht that will transport its crew in a level of refined luxury that will be the envy of the vast majority of fellow sailors, and an internal helm station is an absolute game-changer on long bluewater passages.
Of course, our cousins of the motor yacht fraternity know all too well the benefits of being able to steer with a casual push of the autohelm, snugly insulated from the biting wind and insistent spray that makes long stints in an exposed cockpit an inevitable endurance test, with nothing but a damp sleeping bag or sea-rug to look forward to at the end of your watch.
Such is the level of our conditioning as predominantly race sailors that it’s accepted to shiver out in the weather consuming the odd snake and cup of tea with benefits, that it took us nearly to Newcastle on the first outing from Pittwater to venture inside and take full advantage of the warm and inviting new world inside the Moody DS48 saloon.
For a start, the DS48’s layout makes internal driving of this powerful sailing yacht not only possible, but pleasurable. The dedicated nav station to port with its 12” Raymarine Axion Pro screen, autopilot, and electric engine throttle means you can sit at the nav table and have all the critical functions within easy reach.
I thought I needed to feel exactly where the wind was coming from and scrutinise each wave pattern as it loomed into view. But except for a few occasions, which I’ll get to, on a delivery, especially one with driving rain squalls, you don’t need to be glued to the wheel.
The saloon’s panoramic curved front window grants more than adequate forward visibility. If you have sails up, which we did in the form of the self-tacker to stabilise the motion in a bumpy following sea, then the sail can be adjusted from the winches in the protected cockpit, ensuring you stay nice and dry.
Indeed, as noted by Yachting Monthly’s Theo Stocker in his review of the Moody, the functionality of the saloon layout has multiple benefits:
“The saloon, not really ‘below decks’, remained light, warm and supremely comfortable, while offering all-round views to make watch-keeping in shelter entirely feasible.
This, combined with the boat’s steady motion, made a potentially gruelling Channel crossing into an exciting but entirely manageable day-sail. The impressive new Moody DS48 is a boat that takes the brunt of the weather so you don’t have to, making rough conditions feel much more pleasant.”
See the latest video of the Moody DS48 here:
The Moody’s singe-level ‘monomaran’ configuration connecting the saloon to the cockpit with the galley just inside proved ideal, able to provide snacks for those in the saloon and an easy place to prepare our happy hour charcuterie board, which became a highlight, weather permitting.
More substantial hot offerings involved the microwave, as it was just easier and cleaner to eat ready meals in their own containers rather than try, and cook in some of the conditions we experienced.
Sleeping amenities were also a revelation. Used to the cramped conditions aboard racing yachts and smaller cruisers, due to rotating watches, I probably had the pick of the three cabins. I enjoyed the starboard VIP cabin to myself with its two generous singles, large en-suite toilet and separate shower, hull window and ventilation hatch in the sidedeck.
During the day, I simply dimmed the slat blinds on the stylish rectangular window for an hour or two and quickly fell asleep thanks to the quietness of the 150 hp Yanmar and comforting rhythm of the progress of the DS48, which at 21 tonnes shouldered aberrant swells aside. At night, when it wasn’t raining, the ambient moon and starlight flowed into the cabin for one of those surreal experiences only possible aboard a yacht at sea.
The engine didn’t miss a beat and exhibited a definite sweet spot around 2400 rpm – 2500 rpm where it burbled happily away, consuming around 12.5 litres-per-hour and clocking around 8.2 knots boat speed.
The only time we felt compelled to hand steer was when we exited the Gold Coast Seaway straight into a 25-knot south-east headwind that kicked up a 2 to 2.5 metre head sea. The boat and the autopilot handled it well enough, but it was better to dodge the bigger swells on the wheel. It was still messy off Byron Bay later that evening, but the Moody was largely untroubled by it all.
The trip did uncover an oversight common to a lot of yachts these days – a lack of handholds. There are substantial grab rails outside on the cockpit roof, and the solid stainless steel rails topping the deep walk-around decks are as safe as you can get, but there needs to be a few more at the end of the cockpit roof, in the saloon, and especially in the bathrooms. The DS48’s Owner is planning to install a number of extra handholds that will help with moving around the boat underway.
Unfortunately, due to the time constraints of getting the Moody to Sanctuary Cove and then back again to finish Commissioning for handover to its Owner, we had limited opportunity to adequately test the sail plan combination of reacher, self-tacker, and main with Selden in-mast furling. I am really looking forward to doing this, as I anticipate this stately long-distance cruising yacht will deliver an equally enjoyable sailing experience.
For more information on the Moody DS48
