Posted by cpamba (dalligood@…>)
Hello all,
My wife and I purchased a 1985 Freedom 32, Hoyt I believe, complete with the
spinnaker
gun mount, about 8 months ago or so. Interior was in fairly nice condition,
engine
appears well-cared for, and the exterior was ok, but certainly had some (as I
found out)
expensive issues.
A few projects completed so far was the installation of a brand new Harken
traveler
system, replacing the old Kenyon track and cars which were in dire need of
repair anyway.
I replaced all the lines, including two high tech halyards for the main and jib
halyards. Did
my own tune-up of the engine, learned a lot along the way, and IMMENSELY enjoyed
the
sailing aspects!!
I have three boys, 6, 4 and 2, and the idea of “steering” with just one hand is
something
that my wife and I both love! No jibs sheets to release, no screaming at
passengers to “get
off the lines,” no worrying (at least not a lot) about little fingers playing
with lines under
load, and the interior space is actually phenomenal for a boat this size. I’m
sure these are
all things you long-time Freedom owners already know about.
Anyway, my previous boat was a Catalina 25, great for a while, but certainly too
small for
the family. The Freedom is quite a different boat, quite a step up in virtually
all aspect of
sailing.
Just wanted to say hi, and perhaps pose a small question: The mainsheet, when
the
traveler cars are in the middle, comes directly over the middle of the
companionway. This
sometimes gets in the way of folks heading into the cabin and out into the
cockpit. I
guess I could put the cars towards one side or the other, but wanted to ask
others their
opinions as well.
Thanks for any insights!
Jeff