Yanula Blue isn’t perfect as she’s a working boat with real miles under her keel, even before we bought her – but she is our home, our passage‑maker, and has been our safe place in some very big seas! During our Atlantic Crossing we saw waves of over six metres – wow!
What we love most about her isn’t one single feature, but the way everything comes together into a boat that simply looks after you.
Her motion at sea
She has that classic Moody solidity. A gentle, predictable movement that makes long passages feel calm and safe, rather than eratic and troublesome. Even in the big swells of the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay, she felt safe and trustworthy.
The Moody 42 isn’t flashy, but she’s strong, sensible, and her designer, Bill Dixon, understood long‑distance sailing. Everything feels over‑engineered in the best way. The hull at the saildrive is more than 50mm thick and the standing rigging is oversized and strong.
She is big enough to cross oceans comfortably, yet small enough to handle as a couple. That balance is perfect. We’ve manoeuvred her in to some tight spots, and got her out again.
She doesn’t slam, she doesn’t broach, she doesn’t feel twitchy. She’s the kind of boat that gives you confidence, even when conditions get lively.
Her layout below
We’ve cooked, worked, lived, and crossed oceans without ever feeling cramped.
We’ve sailed an ocean with an extra crew, and had friends onboard for a week or more.
The wrap around layout means you can always access the aft cabin, whether someone is cooking or working on the engine. It also aids air flow and keeps the space cool!
The engine is very accessible with two large doors enabling full access from one side and one and a half the other side.
The aft cabin is one of the best we’ve seen on any boat and has been made better by the work we did on storage and the headboard – some days it is hard to get out of bed, especially with the luxurious new mattresses!! The aft opening hatch catches any breeze and keeps us cool at night – we love it!
The day-bed we created on the sofa gives a comfortable place to curl up and watch movies, and also a great sea berth when the lee cloth is up and we are underway.
The space just works, at anchor or at sea.
Her rig and deck
She’s not a racer, but she’s steady, balanced, and forgiving.
Her moderate sail plan means we don’t need to reef as early as others and is easy to manage single or double handed.
She doesn’t punish you for small mistakes – she just keeps going, mile after mile.
The centre cockpit and wraparound decks make it easy to move around when needed, with plenty of space and storage and the extra jackstays we’ve installed make her very safe.
The large lazarettes fit so much in to them – even the kayak and dinghy when deflated and we are under way!!
Her reliability and pace
She has carried us safely from the UK to Madeira, the Canaries, Cape Verde, across the Atlantic, and through the Caribbean.
She has never once let us down when it mattered and in fact has exceeded expectations!
She comes alive in bigger seas and thrives in the open water – our biggest surprise was her speed on the longer passages! Our average speed across the Atlantic was 6.35 knots.
Her character
There’s something about this generation of Moodys – she’s not quite as dated as some of the older versions, but yet not quite as sterile as the new ones (now really Hanses!).
The warm wood, the curves, the sense of being in a proper boat – it just works!
In short: she’s the boat that made our adventures possible whilst keeping us safe, and that’s why we love her.
If you are researching Moody 42s and want to chat about the design or our experience, feel free to get in touch with us!
