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(Bob Whitaker) wrote: Frank Maier wrote:

I'm a big fan of the Freedom line; so, my recommendation
would be an early 80s Freedom 32, with a sugarscoop added
to make it a 34.

Hello Frank,

Thanks for the input. What are the features you like most about them?
Is it their sailing characteristics? Is it your familiarity with them
and loyalty to your first love? (a perfectly valid reason ) Is it
their strength? Workmanship? Have you been caught in nasty weather in
one? How did it handle? I know that this is a question without a
single answer. There's probably as many answers to this question as
there are 34 foot models out there. But it would be fun compiling a
list of the top 10, and the reasons why their owners felt that way. I
may try to post another thread one of these days, seeing as the
original post quickly turned to a mud-slinging festival.

Thanks,

Bob Whitaker
"Free Spirit"

Without doing a Ph.D. dissertation length post, I'll state that, as a
class, I don't like heavy displacement cruisers. In your subject line
you allude to "blue water cruisers." That's what got you and Doug King
at loggerheads. From reading his posts over the years, I find that I
tend to agree with Doug much of the time. You also meantioned the
Crealock 34, a boat which, IMHO, falls into this category, a boat
which I would *hate* to sail on. So, those are my prejudices for you
to factor into my comments.

Also like Doug, the idea of a "project boat" is anathema to me; but I
understand that we're all different; and if it's something you enjoy,
then good for you.

The boat which owns my heart, my "Platonic ideal" best boat, is the
Freedom 38. I fell in love with Freedoms after about 20 years of
sailing, both racing and cruising. When Garry Hoyt/Freedom/TPI
produced these boats, it was, for me, an epiphany. Holy ****! Why
hasn't this been done before? Well, it sorta had been. Catboats have
been around for quite a while. Just materials, like carbonfiber masts,
and specifics of design were the innovations which Hoyt gave us with
the Freedom line. To give you a "sales pitch" for the idea of buying a
Freedom 32...

The single "best" feature of Freedoms is their single-handing ability.
Even the 'chute can be flown by one person, launched and doused from
the cockpit. Their construction is second to none (built by TPI). They
have no standing rigging, which means no holes through your deck to
admit water, nothing to break, and nothing to replace every decade or
so. I've never sailed a 32 specifically. I've been in pretty nasty
squally weather on a 30 and a 36 (which is the 38 without the
sugarscoop). Thye use single-line reefing, which again speaks to
convenience for a single-hander and makes it easy to respond swiftly
to deteriorating conditions. (Or easy to catch up if you kinda stay
overcanvassed too long and get behind. Something which I have a
tendency to be guilty of.)

There are a lot of fine boats out there; but Freedom is at/near the
top of my personal list. However, like I said, given my prejudices,
the Crealock, Cape Dory, et al. are boats which are nowhere near my
list, not even at the bottom, although you and many others find them
attractive.

Good luck,

Frank