Class CHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

Moody 34

MARINE PROJECTS · Bill Dixon · 1983

Updated

The Moody 34 is a 10.50 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Bill Dixon and built by MARINE PROJECTS, first launched in 1983. It races in Class C.

Moody 34 - Bill Dixon - MARINE PROJECTSP 10.76 mLOA 10.50 m

Length

10.50 m

34′ 5″

Beam

3.50 m

Draft

1.61 m

Displacement

6.5 t

Sail area

57 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Moody 34 finishes when she goes racing.

On the podium

1%

of 81 starts by 3 boats

Wins

0%

Wins0%0
Seconds1%1
Thirds0%0
Off the podium99%80

Read from 81 starts by 3 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Moody 34 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

  • Greece9ο Κυπελλο Καλλιθεας2026
  • Greece"Αγκιστρι 2026"2026
  • Greece43ος Ιστιοπλοικος Αγωνας Κορφος ΄262026
  • Greece"Επιδαυρος 2024"2026
  • Greece¨16ο Athens Trophy 2026¨2026

Raced one we are missing?

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Round the buoys, or offshore

A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.

Round the buoys

—

Not enough data yet: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

1%

of these races end on the podium

77 races over 10 NM

Who she races against

The designs a Moody 34 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

This design aheadRival ahead
Discovery 30029%ahead in 25 of 87 meetings, 63 races
Atlantic 3130%ahead in 36 of 121 meetings, 60 races
Nereis 3027%ahead in 17 of 63 meetings, 58 races
Dufour 34 (Dufour)36%ahead in 27 of 74 meetings, 58 races
Dufour 32516%ahead in 9 of 57 meetings, 55 racesalmost always behind
Dufour 3019%ahead in 17 of 89 meetings, 54 racesalmost always behind
First 35 (Berret)17%ahead in 9 of 53 meetings, 47 racesalmost always behind
Bavaria Holiday 3526%ahead in 19 of 74 meetings, 44 races
Oceanis 39320%ahead in 11 of 54 meetings, 43 racesalmost always behind
First 31.711%ahead in 5 of 47 meetings, 42 racesalmost always behind
Sun Shine 3620%ahead in 8 of 41 meetings, 39 racesalmost always behind
First 30 (Berret)9%ahead in 4 of 44 meetings, 38 racesalmost always behind
Hanse 31522%ahead in 9 of 40 meetings, 35 races
Bavaria 3614%ahead in 5 of 35 meetings, 35 racesalmost always behind
Gin Fizz47%ahead in 24 of 51 meetings, 35 racestoo close to call
Carter 3711%ahead in 4 of 37 meetings, 34 racesalmost always behind
Oceanis 38128%ahead in 11 of 40 meetings, 32 races
First 45 (Farr)24%ahead in 8 of 33 meetings, 31 races
Sun Odyssey 45.123%ahead in 7 of 31 meetings, 31 races
Sun Odyssey 4030%ahead in 10 of 33 meetings, 29 races
Feeling 92015%ahead in 5 of 33 meetings, 28 racesalmost always behind
Sun Fast 370%ahead in 0 of 33 meetings, 28 racesalmost always behind
Triton 4856%ahead in 18 of 32 meetings, 26 races
First 2815%ahead in 4 of 26 meetings, 26 racesalmost always behind
Grand Soleil 34 (Finot)7%ahead in 2 of 30 meetings, 25 racesalmost always behind
Elan 4522%ahead in 6 of 27 meetings, 25 races
Dromor 2618%ahead in 7 of 39 meetings, 25 racesalmost always behind
Bavaria 3117%ahead in 4 of 24 meetings, 24 racesalmost always behind
Feeling 10929%ahead in 7 of 24 meetings, 24 races
First 3817%ahead in 7 of 41 meetings, 24 racesalmost always behind
Elan 3411%ahead in 3 of 28 meetings, 23 racesalmost always behind
Grand Soleil 37 (Design)4%ahead in 1 of 27 meetings, 22 racesalmost always behind
Dufour 3900%ahead in 0 of 21 meetings, 21 racesalmost always behind
Catalina 32019%ahead in 5 of 26 meetings, 21 racesalmost always behind
Sun Odyssey 33 (Andrieu)0%ahead in 0 of 20 meetings, 20 racesalmost always behind
Feeling 395%ahead in 1 of 20 meetings, 20 racesalmost always behind
Cyclades 43.415%ahead in 3 of 20 meetings, 20 racesalmost always behind
Carter 3350%ahead in 13 of 26 meetings, 20 racestoo close to call
Dufour 3511%ahead in 2 of 18 meetings, 18 racesalmost always behind
Oceanis 3719%ahead in 4 of 21 meetings, 18 racesalmost always behind

Some of the boats it races against

How the Moody 34 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.

Moody 34 vs Atlantic 31ahead 30% of 121 head-to-heads
Moody 34 vs Dufour 30ahead 19% of 89 head-to-heads
Moody 34 vs Discovery 300ahead 29% of 87 head-to-heads
Moody 34 vs Dufour 34 (Dufour)ahead 36% of 74 head-to-heads
Moody 34 vs Bavaria Holiday 35ahead 26% of 74 head-to-heads

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND8.3

Upwind VMG

4.65

41°

Beam reach

7.49

90°

Broad reach

8.11

135°

Downwind VMG

7.02

170°

Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.

Where it wins and where it pays

Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.

There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.

Where it gains

Its best ground is on a reach in a working breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on a broad reach as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

It falls short upwind in the light stuff, giving away time it never gets back.

Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.

True wind
Upwind-0.22 kn
Beam reach+0.28 kn
Broad reach+0.25 kn
Downwind+0.09 kn

Full width is 0.6 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.

How fast is a Moody 34

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG2.673.744.384.65
52°4.215.716.476.79
60°4.526.006.697.01
75°4.716.226.887.31
90°4.776.497.137.49
110°4.926.657.368.09
120°4.776.567.328.25
135°4.296.217.148.11
150°3.675.576.757.64
Run VMG3.184.836.007.02

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail24 m² – 25 m²
Headsail32 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 490 kg.

Rigging

Moody 34 rig and sail dimensions

A Moody 34 carries 10.86 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.90 m boom, a forestay 12.61 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP10.86 m10.76 – 10.96
Boom lengthE3.90 m3.83 – 3.96
Forestay heightIG12.61 m12.61 – 12.62
Fore triangle baseJ4.18 m4.18 – 4.18
Spinnaker hoistISP12.61 m12.58 – 12.63
Boom above deckBAS1.55 m1.55 – 1.55

Sails

Mainsail24.4 m²23.9 – 24.9
Headsail32.3 m²32.0 – 32.6