Freedom 32 sailors?

[afelgate]

Hi, I'm considering purchasing a Freedom 32 and was curious if anyone on this forum owns or has sailed one.

The F32 is a "cat sloop" with unstayed mast so no standing rigging. The small jib is self-tending, and the spinnaker launches from the cockpit with a patented system.

Freedom has a reputation as a solid blue water boat in addition to being easy to single-hand. They're also very spacious below as they're beamy like other cat boats.

My questions are below - any & all feedback is appreciated!

Thanks,

Alan

Capsizing- how is the mast stepped to the keel? How does the carbon fiber mast hold up in a knockdown? Has anyone on the forum actually capsized an F32?
Heaving to - is this possible with a self-tending jib which is much smaller than the mainsail? If not, how else can an F32 sit tight during a storm?
Reefing - has anyone had - or heard of - issues with the in-boom reefing system? How does it actually work? Does it work well?
Standard vs. deep keel - any comments/feedback/experience other than the obvious 1’1” draft difference?
Jib - is it possible to adjust at all for better performance? Note: I *do* realize this is a self-tending jib!
Halyards - can you raise & lower all sails from the cockpit?

[Wireless1]

Originally Posted by afelgate

Hi, I'm considering purchasing a Freedom 32 and was curious if anyone on this forum owns or has sailed one.

The F32 is a "cat sloop" with unstayed mast so no standing rigging. The small jib is self-tending, and the spinnaker launches from the cockpit with a patented system.

Freedom has a reputation as a solid blue water boat in addition to being easy to single-hand. They're also very spacious below as they're beamy like other cat boats.

My questions are below - any & all feedback is appreciated!

Thanks,

Alan

Capsizing- how is the mast stepped to the keel? How does the carbon fiber mast hold up in a knockdown? Has anyone on the forum actually capsized an F32?
Heaving to - is this possible with a self-tending jib which is much smaller than the mainsail? If not, how else can an F32 sit tight during a storm?
Reefing - has anyone had - or heard of - issues with the in-boom reefing system? How does it actually work? Does it work well?
Standard vs. deep keel - any comments/feedback/experience other than the obvious 1’1” draft difference?
Jib - is it possible to adjust at all for better performance? Note: I *do* realize this is a self-tending jib!
Halyards - can you raise & lower all sails from the cockpit?

Hi Alan,

First, there are some great F32 sailors over on the Freedom website and there is some great info over there. There is a guy there that is right now cruising his F32 through Indonesia (from Australia).

Yes, I sail a Freedom 32 (Hoyt design), though you are asking questions that on offshore cruiser would be better able to answer than I can. I absolutely love the Freedom 32. It's quite unusual in that topside it looks like a 32 foot boat, and down below like a 38 footer, or more. With her 12 foot beam she's nearly as roomy in the main salon as my center cockpit Morgan 41 Classic, that I owned for ten years---I'm not kidding. Also, you will be surprised that the aft cabin is surprisingly useful and not just a large quarter berth.

As for the questions that I can answer, here goes:
The round based carbon mast is stepped thru-deck on a massive block bonded to the hull just forward of the main bulkhead in the forward cabin. The mast does not interfere with the room in the forward cabin at all. The cabin sole around the base of the mast has access floorboards, that allow access to inspect mast step, wiring, etc. There you will also see a large "L" bracket that bolts to the side of the mast and bolts to the mast step so it cannot turn or jump off the round "hat" that it fits tightly over.

I sail out of San Diego, so knockdowns, and heaving to have not yet been experienced and I hope never will. However, were I to heave to with the self-tacking jib, I would think a spare sheet attached to the jib clew then to a toe rail snatch block on the leeward side and lead aft would hold the jib in place and keep it back-winded nicely. Other than that it would just be a matter of putting helm back to windward and tuning your mainsheet in or out depending on how you wanted to sit to the waves. I have heaved to in all my other boats, just not my Freedom 32.

As far as adjusting the camberspar jib for performance? It's not a performance sail at all, but just functions to give a little 'slot' effect and add a little sail area forward. This boat will not outpoint a conventional rig, but it's not too bad. You just sail it for speed, not for pointing, and you'll be surprised at the weather mark. You can womp them on the reaching leg! Ha! I have found it important to use the traveler a LOT with this big of a mainsail. You'll figure it out. It's not a sail where you just leave the traveler amidships. It needs to be off a bit on each tack---even with the companionway opening on each tack is a starting point.

Oh, almost forgot; yes, all halyards, sheets and reefing lines are lead to the cockpit. There are two speed winches on each side of the companionway and the various lines go through sheet stoppers to these winches. The only thing you will have to do is go forward to initially take off your sail covers, and also to put your sail ties on the main and camberspar jib.

Does the boat you are considering come with a spinnaker and the Hoyt "Gun Mount" spinnaker pole setup? It's a pretty amazing system that allows one person to raise, lower, and jib the chute. If you haven't seen this in action here is a YouTube clip of it on the baby sister Freedom 21. (This video clip is pretty funny and made from an old VHS video tape). You won't believe the spinnaker maneuvers this hot dog does in the F21. The gun mount functions exactly the same on the Freedom 32. Check it out here starting at about 1:45 in... >>

Freedom Gun Mount

I noticed there is a Freedom 32 for sale now up in Marina del Rey. (Los Angeles). Is that the one you are considering? I thought I was the only F32 on the West Coast! If you buy that one there will be two of us. We can start class racing!

So go on over to the Freedom website and let the questions flow. You'll get some great answers over there.

[gamayun]

Great info, Wireless! In late 2012/early 2013, I had been in the market and was looking at F32s, F36s and F38s (chose the latter). The main difference between the 32 and 36/38 is the storage space available. There was an F32 for sale in San Francisco Bay last year, which I think is still around. I haven't tried to hove to yet, but I plan to do this by running a preventor to the jib to backwind it as Wireless describes. The cambarspar can be "adjusted" at the hooky thing that connects at the leech of the sail. They can be moved in the holes depending on wind intensity to sorta improve sail shape. It's not something you can do while you're sailing and depending on how your sail is cut, it may not be possible to do by hand so once it's set, it's set. As to your question about reefing, these boats can be reefed easily and quickly from the cockpit. The only issue I have right now with mine is that one of the "butterfly blocks" (I think that's what they're called) inside the boom seems to be snagged on the outhaul line somehow. I had a rigger in San Diego put new sheets and lines on the boat when I bought it so maybe the reef line got wrapped around the outhaul, but more than likely one of the POs had gotten it snarled up. To fix this, I will need to remove the rivets from the end cap and figure out what is going on inside. I believe this is called a single-line reefing system and if you plan to do a lot of offshore or single-handed sailing, this is not a good system because it can't be easily fixed if something goes wrong. However, I haven't yet found someone to advise me on how to replace it with a double-line system that leads back to the cockpit. Despite this, I don't think you'll be disappointed in the boat.

You definitely should read through the postings on the Freedom website. You won't get a huge number of responses to questions because this is a niche boat, but you would have the benefit of some tremendously helpful and knowledgeable Freedom sailors.

[afelgate]

Thank you both so much for your feedback!

Wireless, I really appreciate the detailed responses to all of my questions. I actually *did* visit and post on the Freedom site. 57 views and no replies yet, which is why I jumped to CruisersForum.

I do understand there is a lot more traffic here, but still was hoping some of the Freedom folks would chime in - and here you are! So thanks again for all of your help.

The boat I'm looking at includes the Freedom Gun Mount. This would be a great feature to make spinnaker use easy. And the video was fantastic - narrated by Gary Hoyt himself no less. I especially like it when the F21 sails around in circles with the spinnaker up.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm in Connecticut. You definitely picked the better coast for year-round sailing