In the text about Freelance, Boat of the Month, June 2023, she is described as a Freedom 30. However, the JR sailplan surely shows that she is the 28’ model. Apart from that, I think she is a great boat.

As for fitting electric propulsion, I am sceptical. Unless the shore power is emission-free, one does not save much on CO2 emission. Solar and wind power alone will only allow short dashes under power, so quite good sailing performance would be needed.

I would rather focus on improving the rig. The owner mentions that the boat lacks windward ability. I notice that her SA/disp. is not higher than 17, and probably a good deal lower in cruising trim. The rig’s bendy battens probably produce too little camber in light winds for decent progress from a beam reach and up to a close-hauled course.

The quickest fix would be to install hinged battens, giving a constant 8 or10% camber. The next step could be to make some quite baggy, cambered panel sails, at say 10% camber. The improved sailing performance would no doubt make the boat greener, as a bigger part of the distances could be covered under sail.

This last factor is a big argument for me for not skimping on sail area, and for making the sails with a decent and reliable camber. Freelance’s  JR with bendy battens does not play in that league.

It would be too expensive to fit a bigger rig on new and taller masts, but adding camber would surely help  -  but now I see on the photo of Freelance that there is plenty of spare mast length available, so maybe a moderate increase of SA could be made.

Cheers,
Arne

PS:  How is Freelance’s helm’s balance with the current JR?