If there is a yacht you would want to host a party aboard, it’s the Moody 54DS. Step aboard and you’ll see why. The hull is high enough to create capacious accommodation on the lower level, leaving a one-level living area through cockpit and decksaloon unmatched by any monohull of this size. The 54DS takes the decksaloon concept to a new level – it is comparable, in fact, to a motor sailer, motor boat or cruising catamaran.

The space generated below is similar to that of a monohull 10ft longer, so she provides unparalleled comfort for her size. You can understand then, that if I had to choose a boat to sail in Germany in December, this new Moody ticked all the right boxes. But how did such a bulky, high-sided yacht fare at sea?

See Toby’s full report in the April 2015 issue – out now and available digitally here