Mason 54 Aft Cockpit, MOONDANCE OF LYMINGTON

Broker’s Comments

It is rare to step aboard a yacht and immediately say “wow,” but that was certainly my reaction when I first stepped aboard MOONDANCE. From the moment you arrive on deck, her exceptional build quality and reassuring stability are evident. A strikingly good-looking yacht with elegant, purposeful lines, she leaves no doubt that she was designed and built for serious offshore passage-making.

In true American style, MOONDANCE benefits from practical, low-maintenance moulded GRP decks rather than teak, complemented by a substantial teak toerail and robust stainless steel deck fittings throughout. Since the current owners purchased her in 2021, she has undergone a continuous programme of upgrades and improvements. Most notable is the installation of a new mast and sails in 2022, together with an impressive furling boom that makes sail handling remarkably straightforward and efficient.

Below decks, the accommodation is both practical and inviting. The traditional navigation station and well-equipped seagoing galley, while the beautifully crafted saloon provides a comfortable and elegant living space. She offers two double cabins and two heads with separate showers, while the forepeak has been thoughtfully configured to provide laundry facilities, extensive stowage, workshop space, and an additional berth. The quality of the joinery is everything you would expect from a yacht of this calibre, creating a warm and timeless interior.

Exceptionally well maintained and comprehensively upgraded, MOONDANCE is ready to set off on her next bluewater adventure, offering comfort, capability, and style in equal measure.

Builder’s Comments

Few boats can boast the bluewater accomplishments of the Mason 54. Her beautiful, functional hull form accommodates large inventories of supplies, fuel, and water capacities, while ensuring fast comfortable passages. As the wind picks up, her heel increases her waterline length, and she easily exceeds her theoretical speed. Exquisitely handcrafted, she is the epitome of what a fine yacht should be.

Owner’s Comments

We hung up our double-handed racing boots after the 2019 Fastnet Race and looked for a replacement that would comfortably and safely take us anywhere in the world. We had a particular ambition to reach the Caribbean and sail up the NE seaboard. We looked at Oysters, Discoveries, and similar yachts, but nothing was quite right – and quite a lot was wrong. Then Berthon suggested we look at JOAN, a Mason 54 that had been laid up for several years. Very quickly, we realized that here was a truly unique opportunity to own a modern classic and restore her to our own specification. And so, in August 2021, JOAN became ours and was renamed MOONDANCE.

In turn, a massive schedule of work was commissioned: replacing all seacocks, the propeller, and the shaft; installing a bow thruster, new instruments, Coppercoat, and numerous smaller upgrades such as new pumps and a 240V shorepower system. The mast was replaced with a conventional alloy section featuring electric in-boom reefing, and we added electric furling to the forestay. Peter Sanders, our sailmaker of choice, provided a fully battened main and genoa.

The result is a boat that is a joy to sail. The two of us can easily control the sails from in front of the wheel – indeed, once off the dock, the self-steering can handle most conditions. In 18 knots of wind, we can achieve 6.8 knots upwind at 38 degrees apparent, which is considerably better than we ever expected! Adding the staysail on a reach makes a very noticeable difference, and she is surprisingly stable under spinnaker. After years on race boats, moving around the deck is a pleasure with plenty to hold onto, and Ta-Shing’s practice of over-specifying stainless steel fittings provides real peace of mind.

Sadly, life and illness have compromised our plans, and we have reluctantly come to the realization that we will not be able to use Moondance as we had hoped. However, we believe the extensive work done to bring her back to the standard of a go-anywhere blue-water cruising yacht will serve her next owners well for whatever adventures they desire.

MOONDANCE is hull 10 of only 11 Mason 54s constructed in Taiwan during the ’80s and ’90s, making her a rare beast indeed. We have received many admiring comments wherever we have taken her; she isn’t flash, but she looks “proper” and exceptionally well-found. As for disadvantages? Ta-Shing clearly employed small shipwrights – while not impossible, there are a few tight spaces to negotiate. She is also heavy, but it is hard to consider being solidly built a negative. She is pretty much ready to go anywhere you want to take her.