freedom yachts

  • 24 Oct 2019 00:27
    Reply # 8074286 on 8066749

    I had a look at the advert.  Seems to be a nicely built boat and a good price.  Hard to know if the photos of its condition are current though. My experience is that they are frequently not, and boat interiors suffer in the heat and humidity of Asia, especially if closed up for any time.  It looks like the motor will be used often in coastal sailing, but downwind around the world it should be a steady performer and comfortable.

    It should be easy to design a balanced junk rig for this boat, assuming the original rig was balanced.  The sails will overlap the masts, so the luffs will be further forward, but there is more sail area at the leach (because of the yard) on a junk sail to compensate.  The masts rake aft, which is not recommended usually.  Vertical or slightly forward raked masts are preferred because theoretically it helps the sails to stay winged out in light winds.  But I find this is mostly an advantage only in smooth seas.  In a developed swell, yards and battens swing around anyway.  All sailors curse in those conditions, no matter what rig they sail under.

    So, if the boat is is good condition then it looks like a nice cruiser, provided you like heavy displacement boats.  If it were possible to have a test sail under the old sails it would tell you a lot.  It seems unusual that it has no sails at all.  I assume it sailed from Europe.

    Whatever you do, do not buy it without a close inspection.  Despite a lifetime of experience (but alas, also a lifetime of rash decisions) I did just that recently, because the boat belonged to someone I knew, and had done some extensive coastal sailing.  Now I am having to do a lot of work on it and it will never be a great boat.

    Good luck!

  • 24 Oct 2019 00:17
    Reply # 8074279 on 8066749
    Deleted user

    the masts are tilting back, i have noticed on the colvins the forward mast tilts fwd


    if i buy should i tilt masts forward, and at what angle and why?


    ta

  • 24 Oct 2019 00:15
    Reply # 8074278 on 8069158
    Deleted user
    Anonymous wrote:

    Which is why a number of Freedoms have been converted to JR.


    can you link me to your design please. ta
  • 24 Oct 2019 00:14
    Reply # 8074277 on 8074233
    Deleted user
    Anonymous wrote:

    So this is a Freedom by rig name only.  I say go for it as long as you are happy with the hull.


    Lose the wishbone booms and go junk.


    U are correct .....if she comes with no sails, GO FOT IT!


    are the masts ok?
  • 23 Oct 2019 23:46
    Reply # 8074233 on 8066749
    Deleted user

    So this is a Freedom by rig name only.  I say go for it as long as you are happy with the hull.


    Lose the wishbone booms and go junk.


    U are correct .....if she comes with no sails, GO FOT IT!

  • 23 Oct 2019 18:44
    Reply # 8073722 on 8066749
    Deleted user

    ok so here is a boat i am considering, it has no sails at the moment so begging to be converted, its a strong aluminum version of a freedom built by a german. has a swing keel, nice cargo hatch, good motor, gravity fed fuel, all systems are as simple as can be as per design. 37' not too big... good price. if you all think its junk material ill grab it.

    dont look at sporty paint stripes!

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/183990939760?ul_noapp=true

    2 files
    Last modified: 23 Oct 2019 18:46 | Deleted user
  • 23 Oct 2019 18:40
    Reply # 8073702 on 8066749
    Deleted user

    thanks for reply's; so you think the mast on these are useful for a junk rig?

  • 21 Oct 2019 10:09
    Reply # 8069158 on 8066749

    The wraparound sails of the Freedoms were good for performance. Years ago, I made a sail which was a hybrid with a wraparound luff and stiff sheeted junk-style battens, and it was fast, but the downsides were too great. It needed to be dragged up and dragged down, and the sail became crumpled and dirty (that's why I hold the sail away from the mast in my wingsail designs, to give it room to flake down).

    Which is why Freedom Yachts changed over to conventional luff tracks and a boom in lieu of the wishbone. Easier to sail with, but markedly worse windward performance (according to a Freedom 39 owner I once met).

    Which is why a number of Freedoms have been converted to JR.

    Last modified: 21 Oct 2019 10:11 | Anonymous member
  • 21 Oct 2019 05:16
    Reply # 8068930 on 8066749
    Anonymous wrote:

    does anyone have opinions on the freedom design, they seem to be similar to a junk rig being free standing masts, and I know its not a junk rig, but I was just curious if anyone had sailed one, or had any thoughts on the matter. they seem to be a hybrid, but prob closer to a windsurfer rig than a junk rig?

    I seriously considered a 39 at one stage. If I had gone for it I would have converted to JR.
  • 20 Oct 2019 13:48
    Reply # 8066946 on 8066749

    hi andrew

    i never sailed a freedom, but i learned a lot about the freedom rig in theory. it's an interesting solution, but it is neither near a junk rig nor near the one of the windsurfers.

    the similarity with a junk sail lies by the free standing masts. but it is sheeted like a bermuda rig. (with a strong twist and/or heavy loads on a downhaul line when sailed free…)

    with a windsurf rig it shares the wishbone boom – but not the free standing mast!
    a windsurf mast has 'dynamic stays' – the body of the person on the board. and that's an essential difference, as the board is guided by shifting the center of effort fore and aft instead of the use of a rudder.

    the stresses on mast, hull and lines are not the same as with a bermuda rig, but i would consider the freedom rig as a high stress rig.

    ueli

       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
                                                               - the Chinese Water Rat

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