You are probably either going to like this boat immediately, or not. I do like it. It's called a Moody but it's built by Hanse and design credit is given to Bill Dixon, the Hanse design team and Design Unlimited Watervision. This design represents a complex and clever combination of design features used to produce a well-thought-out cruising yacht.

The two-dimensional profile shows snubbed off ends of the boat used to max out the DWL while providing maximum deck space. Maybe some sheer spring and some clever striping would have added some eye candy to the look of this boat. The hull itself is very interesting. It has a fine entry and a chine shows up aft. The D/L is 175. The transom face is vertical so you get max deck space and max sailing length. The boat is quite wide with an L/B of 2.88 and that beam is carried almost straight back from beam max. It's an awkward look, but I have a picture of the boat zooming along and it looks quite happy in a breeze. Draft is 6 feet, 6 inches. Twin rudders ensure that with all that beam aft one rudder will stay in the water when the boat heels. I suspect this Dixon design is a good all-round performer.

There are four different layouts available for the area forward of the pilothouse. Two of the layouts have three staterooms and the two other layouts have two staterooms. There are also four different pilothouse arrangements. There are so many variations available to this interior I have to think that one would strike your fancy. The aft bulkhead of the pilothouse is all glass, powerboat style. From the drawings it appears to me that cockpit and pilothouse are on the same level. This is convenient. Clearly these are unconventional layouts for an unconventional boat, but to my eye they all work well.

The SA/D of the 45DS is 18. The drawings show a Park Avenue-style boom for easy furling. The triple spreaders are swept 22 degrees. There is a raised boss on the foredeck to take a self-tacking traveler for the jib. Short tacking this boat in a channel will be a piece of cake. The mainsheet is a bridle type on top of the pilothouse.

The cockpit is in two levels. Forward you sit down and are pretty well included in the life of the pilothouse. Aft you sit up, with no seat backs, and steer at two exposed wheels. The entire width of the transom is open. The tricky part is that the sole level between the two wheels hinges up so that you can walk straight through the cockpit at the lower level to access a large boarding platform that hinges out of the transom. With these deck panels up access to either wheel is totally blocked off. But I'm not sure what harm that does. It's just odd. There are very deep bulwarks running full length and there is another hinged panel that allows access through the bulwark so you can step to the dock.

I like looking at designs that show an original approach to the age-old challenges facing cruising yacht designers. I think this yacht could be considered a hybrid, a sailing yacht, catamaran, powerboat blend, and if you maintain an open mind it looks fine considering the benefits it offers.

This would be a fun boat to cruise and you'd be a standout in any harbor.

LOA 45'; LWL 42'5"; Beam 15'; Draft 6'6"; Displacement 29,982 lbs.; Ballast 9,479 lbs.;
Sail area 1,114 sq. ft.; SA/D 18; D/L 175; L/B 2.88; Auxiliary Yanmar 75-hp; Fuel 156 gals.; Water 208 gals.
Moody Yachts, Salinensrabe 22, 17489 Greifswald, Germany, 49 3834-57920, www.moodyboats.com. In the U.S., contact Hanse Yachts US, 1 Chelsea Court, Annapolis, MD 21403, (410) 626-1493, www.hanseyachts.com

OBE: $798,000

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