The cored
hull thing gets tiresome. Lots of high quality boats have cored hulls. Yes it could get wet if owners do stupid things, but
wood, rots,
steel rusts, foam can delaminate, solid glass can get
osmosis etc etc. My point is all boats have problems and potential problems. TPI built a good boat. Can the mast break? Of course it can, but its unlikely. A very large percentage of freedoms have their original masts. And if the mast breaks it can.be repaired, it didn't necessarily mean a new mast! In regards to mast steps, they are built very solidly and not difficult to
repair if their is a problem.
Most that make comments have never been on a Freedom let alone owned one. Ive owned my freedom for 7years and all I can say is its been a great boat. Also ive done more miles than most in that time (20,000+) in all sorts of places and conditions and she has been nothing but a solid , good performing cruising boat.
You may find reasonably extensive gel coat cracking, fairly common on feedoms of that age, generally cosmetic and not a problem. You may see cracking on the mast, once again almost always cosmetic, Spondberg has written a good article about that. Check out port holes in hull, often not sealed well and you may find some wet balsa. A little wet balsa isnt a disaster, it dosent generally wick that far and secondly more often than not its from
salt water, therefore no
rot. Hull strength I doubt very much would be compromised. The lay up is quite thick. Check the bulk
head behind the mast, its almost impossible to stop
water running down the mast into the boat, this is generally fresh
water (rain) therefore if it dosent drain properly it can
rot the bulkhead.
Freedoms are well built, strong fast cruising boats. Im about to put mine on the market. I intend to
purchase a larger more modern boat. And the truth is I worry (and know) that my next boat won't be as strong as Freeform , both in hull, rig and
rudder. Unfortunately I cant afford a modern (under 10year old) boat that is built as strongly and has a stayless carbon fiber rig.
I do worry about the
lightning strike theory.
Btw I think the cat
ketch is an awesome cruising rig, self tacking upwind and wing to wing downwind, cruising is meant to be relaxed. I have the the
sloop, I think the
ketch from a cruising perspective is better.
So, in IMHO if you find a 39ketch in good condition at the right
price, then why not? Great quality boat that
sails very well.
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