Welcome to the Web site of Wooden Ships.

We have been traditional wooden boat brokers since 1975 and are based in beautiful Dartmouth. With a good variety of brokerage boats and sensible pricing, we are the first place to come. In the event that you are coming from Europe, we also speak French.

Featured Boat 39' Moody Salar 40 1965 £53,000   Moody Salar 40. Length on deck                            39' Lwl                                              31' Beam                                          11'6" Draft                                             5' ThamesTonnage                           19TM Designed by Jack Laurent Giles,built by Moody on the Hamble,1965, launched1966. This yacht was the first of the class and was displayed at the London Boat Show in 1966 where she won the prize for the Boat of the Show. The yacht has many features typical of Laurent Giles and is effectively a small version of his much larger Dorus Mohr design as seen on this web site. She has a conventional long keel, a wonderful flare to the bow with that slight chine worked into the sheer strake, a positive sheer and a long, over-hanging transom stern, this cut-off counter design also found in some of his rule-cheater designs. Add a  generous beam which gives so much space on deck and volume in the cabin and we have a design which has endured until very recent times. The sheltered midships helm position, all on the main deck level with no step down into the cock-pit is a huge advantage with the open-backed dog-house protected by the aft cabin coach-roof. The sloop rig carries a very effective sail area and although no round-the-cans racer she is far from being a motor sailer despite appearances. As of December 2011 she has a brand new engine sited in the engine bay under the helm position with excellent all-round access. The accommodation gives her a sleeping cabin at the back  and a sleeping cabin at the front, both en-suite with a good-sized midships saloon cabin. The galley is sited down the stbd side of the saloon cabin with a dinette arrangement opposite which can be converted into a double berth. This is the perfect arrangement for a family cruising yacht for a couple with occasional guests. She would also make a good live-aboard yacht. She is not so big as to be expensive to keep or a handful to sail but she does give the comfort in harbour and at sea usually only found in larger yachts.   Construction. Planked in mahogany, all copper fastened with copper nails and rooves to steam bent oak timber on an oak back-bone with laminated mahogany stem. The hull is very fair, painted white.                                                                  4 years ago softness in the bow hood ends                                                                   necessitated replacement of some planking forward                                                                   up to the stem. Long iron ballast keel.                                  Iron keel bolts replaced in present ownership                                                                   Stainless steel shoe to the heel of the after                                                                    dead-wood. Galvanised steel strap floors with several oak floors aft. Hydraulic steering with steel wheel in the dog-house Sheathed ply deck, painted light blue. Deep toe rail/bulwark all round with varnished mahogany capping. The lower edge of the bulwark plank is cut away clear of the deck to allow free flow of water off the deck and to avoid water traps.                                                                           Stainless steel bulwark support brackets fitted                                                                            in present ownership. The plough anchor is self-stowing over the stem. SL 24v windlass and a pair of small cleats on the otherwise uncluttered fore deck. Stainless steel pulpit, push-pit and stanchions with guard wires all round with a gate each side.   Masthead Bermudian sloop rig sets 550sq' sail on varnished mast stepped in a galvanised shoe on the coach-roof with a steel compression post under in the cabin. Single spreaders. Twin lowers and cap shrouds, twin side-by-side fore stays to the stemhead, twin standing back-stays to the quarters. 2009 stainless steel rigging with swaged terminals and stainless rigging screws. Chain plate attachments formed by stainless steel U-bolts through to a heavy galvanised steel girder under the beam-shelf very effectively spreading the loads. Varnished boom fitted with bronze roller reefing gear mounted on a bronze mast slide with a tackle down-haul tensioner. Double tailed main sheet with two point attachment to the after corners of the aft coach-roof, the tails led forward to cleats on the coach-roof and easily reached from the shelter of the helm.   Sails. Mainsail Working genoa Light genoa Cruising chute Small heavy jib Storm trysail.   Winches. Mast:                       2 x Lewmar 30ST                                 Original bronze snubber winch for the boom down-haul Sheet:                       2 x Lewmar 42ST on the coamings alongside the helm                                  1 x Lewmar 30ST on the after coach-roof takes the mizzen sheet.   Machinery Perkins Sabre M92HP 4-cylinder naturally aspirated diesel engine installed new in November 2012 The engine is flexibly mounted in the bay under the wheel shelter, twin lifting panels and step down  to find very good all round access. Fuel Tanks:             120 galls in 2 steel tanks. These tanks either side of the engine steel with                                 GRP coating to protect from corrosion. Electrics:                  2 x 12v batteries on engine start                                 3 x 12v batteries on domestic supply.     Accommodation.        8 berths. Forward cabin with V-berths.  Fwd bulkhead wirth removeable panel to access fwd locker. Chain chute to chain locker below between the V-berths. Varnished mahogany joinery with lockers and drawers under the berths. White painted deck-head, exposed ship's sides, varnished sole boards. 6'2" head-room under the coach-roof above with glazed fore hatch over. Bulkhead door with oval top and bottom, trimmed in varnished mahogany, to the passageway aft. Heads compartment to port with SL sea toilet, hand basin in a unit and cupboards under the side decks. Shower tray fitted but disconnected. Hanging lockers opposite to stbd. Saloon cabin with galley down the stbd side and dinette opposite to port. Voyageur 2000 stainless steel gimballed cooker at the forward end, very generous work surfaces with recessed stainless steel sink. Lockers and plate racks under the side decks, lockers and drawers below. 12v Shoreline fridge under the work surface. H&C pressurised water supply with two taps. Vertical action manual tap fresh water supply. Fresh water tanks over-flow into the sink. Grab rail above the sink and two opening port holes in the coaming. Dinette table drops to make a double berth. Lockers under the seats and under the side decks. Steel compression post alongside the table under the mast step forms a useful hand hold. Varnished mahogany joinery and cabin sole, white painted bulkheads, coamings and deck-head. Flag locker on the bulkhead 6'3" head-room. Port off-set steps to the deck hatch, twin doors and sliding hatch.     After coach-roof over the aft cabin, fwd stbd corner entrance with varnished mahogany twin doors and sliding hatch. Port and stbd berths, lockers under. Dressing table between against the after bullkhead with inset hand basin and mirror above. Heads compartment in the forward port corner with sea toilet, hand-basin and shower tray. Hanging locker alongside the entrance steps in the forward stbd corner. Varnished mahogany joinery, white painted deckhead, coamings and bulkheads. Access to the shaft below under the cabin sole boards. Opening port holes in the coamings. 5'8" head-room.   Fresh water. 2 x 30 gall steel tanks in the saloon cabin bilge. 40 gall reserve tank in the engine bay. Pressurised water supply. Hot water from calorifier tank in the engine bay on 240v immersion heater when on shore power connection.   Equipment: Compass. Raymarine sounder, VHF radio, new 2010 JRC 1000 Mk 2 radar Cetrek auto-pilot Furuno Navigator GPS B&G wind speed, direction and close haul. Intercom to the fore deck. Avon 6-man life raft,in-date. 24v windlass, CQR anchor and 30 fthms chain + Danforth + kedge   Inflatable dinghy New beaching legs Canvas tilt encloses the dog-house Warps and fenders.     History The keel was laid in 1965 and the yacht launched in 1966. She won the Boat of the Show prize at the 1966 London Boat Show. In the 1988 the present owner took the yacht over from his father in law who had bought her from the first owner around 1978. The yacht has been a tremendous family yacht, cruising the Channel Islands, Scilly Isles, UK and French Channel coasts, frequently with two families aboard and small children in every locker. The sheltered helm position on the flush deck has proved to be a huge advantage together with the ample deck space. The rig is simple and easily handled with the new self tailing winches. The yacht is occasionally sailed using the emergency tiller which attaches to the rudder stock on the aft deck. In the spring of 2011 the yacht was launched and motored out to her summer berth. No sooner had she picked up her mooring than the engine seized through total oil loss by a fractured pipe. The decision was made to replace with a new engine rather than rebuild the old Perkins so the next owner will have the benefit of a brand new engine and installation. The yacht remains almost exactly as built which by modern standards may be considered simple and unsophisticated. However this very simplicity makes management uncomplicated and reduces maintenance. This is a very practical, functioinal yacht, an excellent passage maker and ideal for longer periods on the water. She has been sensibly maintained and upgraded in present ownership, the regular maintenance done by the owner, all other work done professionally.