[k7el]

I've been looking to move up from my trailer sailor to a keel boat as I ease into retirement. My sailing plans would be coastal cruising in the San Juan and Gulf Islands, with a home base in Port Angeles. Probably a lot of day sailing and weekend outings as well. I've been thinking 30 - 34 ft range.

A fairly salty sailor friend pointed out a 1989 Freedom 30 that is for sale. It has the original camber spar self-tacking jib and a "gun-mount" spinnaker, that I'm not familiar with. Asking price is about $30k. Since I'll probably be doing some single-handed sailing (or would like to at least), the self-tacking jib is appealing and the simplicity of the unstayed carbon mast is another plus.

My single biggest concern is the cored hull. I have a major phobia on these. Can a good surveyor reliably find wet sections of the hull? Would you rule out a boat of this age with a cored hull?

I await further education - thanks.

Dave

 

[gamayun]

I have a 1988 Freedom 38. I don't know about the F30, but I am a little familiar with the F32, which is practically the same as the F38. The gunmount spinnaker is pretty cool though mine did not come with one. Check out YouTube and Freedomyachts.org for more info on it. My boat is extremely easy to single-hand and once I got a good mainsail solid vang, I found it points well, too. Getting it dialed in right is really important. As to the cored deck, it is my understanding that TPI built these boats extremely well and they've generally not had problems, but aftermarket changes to the deck can create problems, if they were not done right. There's more info on Freedomyachts about this issue, too.

There were lots of Freedom owners in the PNW area when I was looking a couple years ago. You could ask around.

Happy boat search!

 

[gamayun]

Ahh, maybe the F30 is the F32 without the platform. Same as the F38, which is registered as a F36, but has the sugar scoop.

 

[Faster]

For sailing in the GI and Georgia Straight area, up towards Desolation Sound I'd be a bit worried about the windward ability of that rig vs a conventional stayed rig - if you're concerned about that. Any trips up and down the coast are likely to be runs or beats.. in our case most often beats, it seems

However Gary Mull never drew a bad boat, and the interiors look pretty nice. Personally I would not let a (happily surveyed) cored hull be a deal breaker.

 

[Larryc]

As the 8 year former owner of this boat I would highly recommend her. Traded her in on a larger boat as my kids grew up.... The spinnaker rig is a blast and she is a relatively fast boat on even a reach with this rig up. I single handed her from Seattle to the San Juans a couple times and the lines to the cockpit, easily in reach, combined with the self tending jib made her easy to sail on my own (and that also works when my wife is reading a book!). The interior feels more like a 34ft boat. She is well equipped for a boat in this size and price range. FYI I have no vested interest at this point as I've completed my purchase...

Good luck and happy sailing.

 

[wristwister]

Just out of curiosity, why Port Angeles? If your goal is the San Juans and the Gulfs, it seems like quite a slog to get there from Port Angeles. I keep my boat in Anacortes, great marina and the islands are at my fingertips.

 

[k7el]

Thanks for all the comments. I have read some reviews indicating that the unstayed mast would not point as high as a stayed mast. The jib is pretty small as well, so I'm guessing these boats are not super fast. But speed isn't too high on my list of priorities.

It's a nice looking boat and the interior looks pretty roomy for a 30' boat. I just have to get past the cored hull, I think.

Larry - thanks for the response. Nice to hear from a former owner. From the photos, the interior looks to be well cared for.

Regarding Port Angeles - we've bought a house there. Considered Anacortes as well, but we liked the Olympic Peninsula area. It will be close enough.

Thanks again.

Dave

 

[Larryc]

I never had any issues with the hull when I owned her. The boat dealer did a carful survey before taking her on trade and discovered a small area of damage above the water line around the exhaust of a an after market diesel heater installed by a former owner. This was repaired by CRS boat yard in Seattle. All the original trough hulls are still tight.

Interior is nice.

She points better than you might expect. Did ok in the Thurs night beer can races at Elliot bay. At least against similar size cruising boats. And tacking up wind is just turning the wheel. (Or maybe moving the traveller in light air)

She's worth going to look at for sure.

 

[k7el]

Sounds like a road trip may be in my future.

 

[hotdogs]

A fairly salty sailor friend pointed out a 1989 Freedom 30 that is for sale. It has the original camber spar self-tacking jib and a "gun-mount" spinnaker, that I'm not familiar with.

Regarding the gun mount spinnaker, it was previously discussed here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gener...ated/18182-what-hoyt-gun-mount-spinnaker.html

 

[k7el]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I was a little late - the boat is sold. 8-(

 

[tanzertom]

I've been looking to move up from my trailer sailor to a keel boat as I ease into retirement. My sailing plans would be coastal cruising in the San Juan and Gulf Islands, with a home base in Port Angeles. Probably a lot of day sailing and weekend outings as well. I've been thinking 30 - 34 ft range.

A fairly salty sailor friend pointed out a 1989 Freedom 30 that is for sale. It has the original camber spar self-tacking jib and a "gun-mount" spinnaker, that I'm not familiar with. Asking price is about $30k. Since I'll probably be doing some single-handed sailing (or would like to at least), the self-tacking jib is appealing and the simplicity of the unstayed carbon mast is another plus.

My single biggest concern is the cored hull. I have a major phobia on these. Can a good surveyor reliably find wet sections of the hull? Would you rule out a boat of this age with a cored hull?

I await further education - thanks.

Dave

I,, too, am looking at Freedoms and finding much useful information has been frustrating. The Freedom forums offer little of use to me. Anyone asking about which boats to consider gets the warning on cored hull and decks. ALL BUT A FEW BOATS ON THE MARKET HAVE BOTH. Alternatives seem to not exist or are not affordable to most. Get what appeals and get a well qualified surveyor to identify issues with your specific choice.

 

[k7el]

Everything I've read indicates that Freedoms have cored hulls. The amount of coring seems to vary somewhat. The deck is cored I'm sure. Good luck in your search.

 

[ereiss]

great freedom info on freedomyachts.org