Tom, right at this time I’m working with designer Steve Marshall from Oz to design a fixed dodger for the F44. He’s specialised in this work and has a way to make good looking dodgers from flat plate material (foam, honeycomb, ply). He’s making 3D CAD designs that he then unwraps into flat plate, so that you don’t need to make a mold first. He’s built quite a few hard dodgers himself, so he also knows how to attach flanges, make window rebates and other details. The roof will be foam sandwich to make it strong enough the stand on. For ventilation, the mid-front window could be a hatch, but I think I will have one or two shell vents (openings forward) on the roof. A white, foam sandwiched roof will keep my head cool enough I hope. He’s still in the sketch phase. My dodger will hopefully look like the doghouse on the Falmouth Freeway 45 (see brochure I uploaded, Freetrader), but a bit smaller.
Jackrabbit is sitting on a mooring right now in Lake Ogleton, in Annapolis Roads, near the end of Forest Drive. I lived in downtown Annapolis in the late 1980s. My old boating partner Angus Phillips still lives on Lake Ogleton, and the two of us used to keep a Cal 40 there.
I’m planning to sail Jackrabbit home to Bermuda around the second week of November.
Tom
Hey great Tom, We will still be here and we should hook up. Kerri took a few extra jobs that will keep us here till after the 20th of Nov now. I’m picking up a new outboard motor tomorrow and want to break it in before we shove off so maybe I’ll run over there and have a look.
Emma, I got the magazine. Thanks very much but you forgot to put a return address in there somewhere. Don’t force me to hunt you down, I have friends in low places and I believe we still have an Air Farce presence in the UK… 
Still haven’t decided how to respond, but now I have all the emails for the staff of the magazine.
George
Hi George,
Great - glad you got it. I thought I put a covering note in with the mag with my details on it, but will email you as you insist!
BTW - letter of complaint about Freedoms has gone to YM now. It had to be quite ‘to the point’ as you are only allowed 200 words which isnt really enough. I did get a reply from YM saying its been passed to the editor for consideration and if it gets published, I will post if for all to see!
Emma
F33 Cat Sloop - Crossjack - Southampton, UK
November 09 Update
Well my letter did get published as did the photo of Kritter Lady II in November 2009 Yachting Monthly - UK
However think I naffed of the YM editor as the letter was right in the corner (and I didn’t notice it for ages) and the wording had been changed (in my view making it not the most readable letter in the world and making it sound a bit sarcastic…).
In addition, the same month, they finished the A-Z of 2nd hand boats on the letter F! (note: it had taken them about 15 months to get to the letter F as well). Not sure if my letter was the reason for this or whether so many people had complained about them missing out their boats as well that they couldnt stand the verbal us owners were giving them!
Still see attached for the published letter and photo…
See below for my original letter to them (the unedited version).
Dear YM,
YM’s article about Freedom Yachts (Sept A-Z 2nd hand boats) was disappointing. The range of Freedoms published was incomplete and only mentioned 5 types (F21, F33, F33/35 and F40) with a footnote to say other types are available. Those you wrote about lacked detail and your 5 line summary of the ‘original’ F40 with the description of its interior being described as ‘somewhat American in its layout’ nearly caused a diplomatic incident with some American owners!
Our 1989 Freedom is a 33ft Cat Sloop built by Western Yachts, Cornwall. As YM published an in-depth 4 page article in April 1986 describing the F33 as ‘A sloop-rigged cat with sparkling performance and good accommodation’ we were surprised that YM didn’t even think that it was worthy enough of a picture and description this time round!
YM also failed to mention the: - F25, F29, F32, F36, F39 (Pilothouse schooner & Express Ketch), F44, F46 and even the F70, Kritter Lady II, a three masted Schooner that raced, but didn’t finish the Two-Handed Trans-Atlantic race in 1981. Many Freedoms have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific and several have proven themselves admirably on some of the world’s best known racing circuits.
Another point to mention is that Freedom Yachts are no longer in business, though there is a thriving and friendly web forum at http://www.freedomyachts.org
So YM, please represent Freedom Yachts correctly and put the record straight so others can learn about these unique, amazing and innovative yachts!
E. Dansie – Crossjack F33, Southampton
FreedomArticle.pdf (61 KB)
Emma,
Well done, and some PR for our forum too!
Michel
Good job Emma,
Thanks for going to bat for us.
George
LK2 was built for the whitbread to be sailed by Naomi James. Unfortunately, she had an appendicitis just before the race and LK2 was pulled at the last minute
She was built by Freedom and Fairways Marine in the Hamble and Freedom and remained at the Hamble for some time.
My father ran fairways at the time and is very proud of the yacht and especially the mast. If you think back to the early eighties the only time you could find CF was in space and on LK2
Nice to see this bumped. I found our copy of YM (thanks again Emma) and it now resides in a special magazine rack made of teak in our somewhat American main cabin.
George
She still is in California. New engine and a winged keel.
Hasn’t sailed for a long time. Still in amazing condition though.
Trying to make her sail again.
Cheers
For all those who may be interested…
Kriter Lady II is now in long Beach, California undergoing extensive interior and rigging upgrades -
Much has been learned about freestanding rigs since the early eighties!
The contemporary trend seems to be towards full-batten, large roach mainsails with conventional booms that can reef easily (although the word ‘easily’ may not apply to 900 s.f. mainsails)
She is actually 70 feet LOA by 17 feet nine inches in beam, the confusion with people thinking she was 65 feet long stems, I think, from her Whitbread racing entry number ‘65’ painted large on both sides of the hull amidships, and on the foredeck as well (numbers still present)
She has on board a large tanbark sailcloth banner, with ‘Freedom 70’ and the Fairways Marine logo stitched on in white sailcloth, also the large sailcloth pennant with the number ‘65’ (black on white)
Legend has it that she did in fact participate in the 1981 Whitbread first leg, during which the mast step issue surfaced, but set a monohull record East to West for that leg of the race.
Cheers!
This is definitely a little late, but I was delighted to see a photo of the Falmouth 45 as she is mine! I was lucky enough to meet the man who developed her from the Freedom, Chris Freer and he explained a little of the philosophy behind the design. The hull is, I believe, taken not from the Freedom 44 but from the Freedom 40 and has been extended aft. The rig is a simple bermudan sloop with a substantial mast and rigging, a large (Flying Dutchman style) genoa and a short boom. The idea was to make the occupants in the wheel/pilothouse (you can only steer with the auto pilot from within, although there are dual engine controls) feel very much a part of the action with those in the cockpit. There are only two short steps down onto the wheelhouse floor. There are double full length doors and two windows aft facing. The other great thing is that you can sit and look out of the windows. To go down into the galley and forward into the saloon and forecabin, there are a further two steps. There were apparently three Falmouth 45s built, one went off on one of the round the world races and the other somewhere South. I think Incorrigible is the only one in the UK. Diarmid