Design and Construction
The Freedom 35 measures 34ft 9in overall, with a 30ft waterline and an 11ft beam. She displaces 12,000 lb and carries 3,800 lb of ballast. Her 198.4 displacement-to-length ratio and 31 percent ballast ratio place her firmly in the moderate-displacement cruiser class.
Draught ranges from 3ft 6in to 6ft 0in, depending on the position of the centreboard. A sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.99 suggests a lively turn of speed for a boat of this type.
Hoyt discarded the backstay-and-shrouds complexity of a conventional sloop in favor of two freestanding masts with wishbone booms. Western Yachts finished the boat to RCD Category A (Ocean) standard, a classification that reflects the design’s offshore intent rather than mere coastal pottering.
Rig and Handling
The Freedom 35’s defining virtue is a rig that reduces the athletic demands of conventional sail trimming. Both the main and mizzen are self-tacking on long tracks. Each has a 3:1 sheet tackle that is more than enough to allow the sails to be handled manually, without a winch.
Although the cockpit has 14 rope clutches, the arrangement comes down to seven control lines for each sail. These are duplicated for simplicity rather than redundancy. The boat was built around the idea that one person should be able to sail her without leaving the helm for long.
The main operational drawback is the heavy, ballasted centreplate. Testers found that raising it after returning to the mooring took 120 turns of the winch. That laborious job directly affects how the boat is handled in shoal water and at anchor.
Accommodation and Cockpit
Below decks, the Freedom 35 takes some adjustment for sailors accustomed to conventional layouts. She isn’t the biggest 33-footer on the market, and the centreboard box dominates the saloon. It intrudes into the living space in a way that a fin keel never would.
One tester classed the accommodation as a 2+2 layout: comfortable for a couple with occasional guests, but not a full four-berth cruiser. The galley can cope with cooking for more than two, and there’s plenty of room to entertain over a drink. With everyone aboard, however, the sleeping and washing arrangements become tight.
Above deck, the U-shaped cockpit seating isn’t well suited to socializing because one side must remain clear for access below. A large lump of extended coachroof occupies the middle of the cockpit, with the binnacle and wheel behind it, further restricting movement.
Machinery, Tankage, and Ownership
The Freedom 35’s simplicity is also its refit strategy. With no standing rigging to replace and manual sail handling throughout, many of the recurring costs associated with stayed rigs are largely absent.
The Perkins Perama 29hp diesel and shaft drive form a straightforward installation. Fuel capacity is 22 gallons, while the water tank holds 44 gallons. These capacities suit coastal and moderate offshore use without requiring constant tank management.
The Verdict
The Freedom 35 suits sailors who value independence from complex rigging more than maximum upwind efficiency. Her self-tacking cat-ketch layout provides genuine single-handed capability, while her ocean-category construction lends quiet confidence.
The centreboard box compromises the saloon, and the centreplate’s weight makes retrieval in shallow water a chore. Those are the trade-offs of a design that succeeds on its own unconventional terms.
Pros
- Self-tacking wishbone cat-ketch rig that can be handled manually without winches
- Simple cockpit control layout with duplicated sail lines
- RCD Category A (Ocean) construction
- Low ongoing rig maintenance, with no standing rigging
Cons
- Centreboard box dominates the saloon; accommodation is compact for a 33-footer
- Cockpit seating and the coachroof lump restrict movement and socializing
- Heavy, ballasted centreplate takes 120 winch turns to raise
