Freedom Yachts?

[Roniszoro]

Can anyone give me their thoughts/experiences on Freedom Yachts? I'm in the market for a new (to me) sloop and have seen some Freedom boats for sale. While the ability to sail them so easily is not a great benefit to me at the moment, it certainly will be at some time in the not to distant future as I am in my mid 70s.

Your input is very much appreciated.

[skipmac]

Have not sailed one but have read extensively about the Freedoms. From what I've read they are quite easy to handle but like all things boaty, there are tradeoffs. In the case of the Freedom I have heard they give up a little in upwind performance.

One of the forum members, Gamayun has a Freedom that she recently singlehanded to Hawaii. Maybe she will chime in with some comments based on real world experience with the rig.

[MartinR]

I love these boats. Especially the older ones that look a little bit "shippy". Fast downwind, easy to handle, well thought out interiors, big cockpits, centreboards, low draft, comfortable motion, built like a tank.

For me the downside is the balsa cored hull. If the hull is undamaged, no problem, but if there is water ingress, expensive to repair. On the other hand, balsa core makes for a tough hull. And when these were built, lot more fibreglass was used than in modern cored hulls.

[skipmac]

The Freedoms, if I recall, were built by Tillotson-Pearson and I guess have a balsa cored hull like my boat. Agree that could be a problem if the hull is damaged or if someone installed a new thru-hull without proper sealing. However I would speculate that if a hull was damaged enough to expose the balsa one might have more serious problems than wet core.

My hull is 24 years old and seems perfect. I peeled the gel coat and could clearly see all the thru-hull areas and Pearson had made them all solid glass.

[gamayun]

Well now, do I have an opinion about Freedoms! I love mine (F38) but there are some cons and upgrades you'll need to be aware of. How timely your question is, too. Where are you located? We are having a sail-in to Oakland Nov 10-11 with 7 Freedoms confirmed. You could get more feedback about all the flavors than you could ever process at one time (F33, F30, F38, F39). And if that's not enough, Ronc-O-Matic will throw in another 5 Singlehanded TransPac vets, 2 of whom solo'ed to Kauai on their Freedoms (one did it twice). Y'all come and check em out PM me for details or go to the Freedom Forum (www.freedomyachts.com).

[gamayun]

"Shippy". Now that's funny. Must be pre-88 version. Gary Mull (he of Ranger, Santana and Newport designs, and some J-boats, I think) also designed the later Freedoms. TPI built them like a brick house. Except for whoever cut the templates of the port lights. I want a word with that guy....

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Have not sailed one but have read extensively about the Freedoms. From what I've read they are quite easy to handle but like all things boaty, there are tradeoffs. In the case of the Freedom I have heard they give up a little in upwind performance.

One of the forum members, Gamayun has a Freedom that she recently singlehanded to Hawaii. Maybe she will chime in with some comments based on real world experience with the rig.

True they won't point as well upwind with a comparable boat with a jib that's 5 times as large, but crack off a little and she flies. Can't touch her on a beam reach. So, if your goal is to win around the buoys on a windward/leeward course, especially in light wind, I'd say get another boat! Otherwise, you'll likely not notice the slight diminshment when hard on the wind.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by gamayun

True they won't point as well upwind with a comparable boat with a jib that's 5 times as large, but crack off a little and she flies. Can't touch her on a beam reach. So, if your goal is to win around the buoys on a windward/leeward course, especially in light wind, I'd say get another boat! Otherwise, you'll likely not notice the slight diminshment when hard on the wind.

Confirms that my reading that indicated only a little loss upwind.

Bit of Freedom trivia, 1980 in St Thomas I ran into Donald Sutherland on his Freedom 40 Black Duck

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Confirms that my reading that indicated only a little loss upwind.

Bit of Freedom trivia, 1980 in St Thomas I ran into Donald Sutherland on his Freedom 40 Black Duck

Now that is a cool bit of Trivia..."name a famous Freedom sailing actor." I'm going to try to remember that!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Now that is a cool bit of Trivia..."name a famous Freedom sailing actor." I'm going to try to remember that!

Sure. Next time you run into Donald you can talk about sailing.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Bit of Freedom trivia, 1980 in St Thomas I ran into Donald Sutherland on his Freedom 40 Black Duck

We saw him in 1986 at Cane Garden Bay.



Great boats.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

We saw him in 1986 at Cane Garden Bay.



Great boats.

Still the same black hulled Freedom 40?

[flyingfin]

Just be careful if you are looking at one with carbon fibre mast. The sun can be brutal on that material

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Just be careful if you are looking at one with carbon fibre mast. The sun can be brutal on that material

Actualy they're all CF masts, to my knowledge, and later ones were laid up better than earlier ones, and also with very thick gelcoat. Someone who makes CF masts in the Bay area for the high end race boats said mine was built solid (overbuilt, actually). So none of this building masts for certain wind speeds, like they do now, just to watch them break in a gust

[dangerfield55]

I bought a 1984 Freedom 32 in 2001 and sold her in 2016. The build by TPI was it’s strength. NEVER any issues. Sailed her on northern Lake Michigan. Had her out in all conditions and felt safe. Carbon fiber mast was never an issue. Sailed much better than my current Catalina 36.