...is a huge, complex topic and much of it doesn't hinge exclusively on the choice of yacht. IOW a suitable design, well built but poorly maintained and not properly prep'd or navigated, is doing to produce disappointing results. In a similar vein, just about any boat can eventually be moved from Point A to B with enough patience,
weather watching,
fuel and sailing ability. Now...having said that, it's unfair to declare 'your' Freeport 41 as 'unsuitable' in some kind of absolute sense. OTOH its suitability is going to depend a great deal on just which routes you end up choosing.
E.g. Sailing down the Central American
west coast and out into the Pacific, in season, is just about exclusively across- and down-wind and in relatively moderate conditions. Presuming the boat is otherwise well prepared, a F41 should be fine on this run...as was the Kon Tiki raft. The more pertinent question is what do you do next? If you plan to spend your $15K and ship her home, again no problem. Similarly, sliding down to the
Canal shouldn't present too many problems...but then you'll be doing some windward
work as you exit and, once again, you will find that challenging.
Your issues with the F41 are that she has a wide sheeting angle, a long
keel with a very large wetted surface, a low-powered & not weatherly sail plan, a huge prop to drag thru the
water and she's least suited to the sailing conditions an
ocean crossing in the temperate latitudes most often present: lighter winds. That doesn't mean she will sink on you but you will most likely burn a lot of
fuel and wonder about your limited options when your fuel supply is low and/or you have to make some longer runs.
Good luck on the
shopping...
Jack