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Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 3:50 pm
by lee
I am going to be having a survey done on a 1987 Freedom 30 in the next couple of weeks. I've been given some great info on boats cored below the waterline (I would take more). What else should I look for?
Thanks

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 5:37 am
by Robinho
If they are cored like the Freedom 39s, they should be cored to about a foot from the keel, and the thru hulls should be in an area which is only thick glass.

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:49 pm
by lee
Thanks

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2022 6:48 pm
by The Brain of Pooh
I'm also looking at purchasing a Freedom 30. Any guidance on what to look would be really appreciated. For one, I'm curious how best to assess the carbon fiber mast. Also, there is no indicator for engine hours, which I haven't come across before. Is this common to Freedom 30s? Thank you in advance!

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:15 pm
by mike cunningham
Check the hull and deck for moisture. Deck in particular, FYI made a few boo boos with the hardware bedding - on my boat at least.. That is probably the biggest unknown. Almost all other defects will be visible or feelable.

Lots of discussions on masts over the years, you should search the forum re mast condition checks.

My 30 does not have an engine hour meter either. I keep track of hours in my log and just extrapolated hours for the years before I owned the boat because the PO did not keep a log. For what it is worth I have 2100 hours on my engine. Boat built mid 1986 so annual use around 58 hours. Which seems low to me but it is what it is. I am pretty religious about tracking use.
Assume the motor has 100 hrs per year - 3600 hrs +/-. Still young for a yanmar 2gm which has been maintained (I assume you have the original Yanmar). I would rely on physical examination of the engine and engine space. By this time almost all of the bolt ons have been replaced or upgraded: Alternator, fuel filter(s), fresh and raw water pumps, starter and so on. You may see some of this. I think a well maintained engine will be easy to spot. A dumpster fire should also be pretty obvious. Go out and run hard (3000+ RPM) for 15 minutes. See what happens. When I bot my boat she would overheat above 2000 RPMs. Turned out the heat exchanger cylinder bundle was mostly blocked. Resolved with a good cleaning. But I think a hard run at 3000 RPM will tell the story. Maybe you can glean some info re frequency/duration of PO's engine use and update the extrapolated number accordingly. I bet you can get close to reality.

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:24 pm
by mike cunningham
One more thing, see if you can get into the fuel tank. Check for pitting and water in there. I had a leaking tank when I bot the boat. First thing I had to do was replace the tank which was a PIA, not to mention costly.... And that was after I got the overheating sorted out. Water in my tank has impacted my injectors, so you don't want that.

If you buy, first action is replace o rings in fuel inlet port on the weather deck, fresh water port too.

Welcome to old sailboats.

Re: Freedom 30 Survey

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:26 am
by The Brain of Pooh
Mike - I was just reading about your 2018 single-handed Transpac, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear from you! It sounds like you had a hell of a trip!

Your advice is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. I heard that the 30 can be a bit sluggish in low wind conditions. Are there any other sailing attributes you found surprising after you purchased Jacqueline? I'll be sailing mostly around the Santa Monica Bay and Channel Islands in Southern California with a small family. The 30 seems like an ideal boat for this purpose, but I'm trying to be thorough with my diligence. I do have bigger aspirations for the future, so it's good to know that the boat can handle a Transpac.