Freedom 36 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Mull's hull is a fat, beamy section — 12 feet 6 inches of beam on 36 feet 5 inches overall, with a 30-foot-7-inch waterline — and the underbody is flat-bottomed, carrying a fin keel and spade rudder rather than the older style. Buyers could choose a deep fin with an external lead casting bolted on, or a shoal-draft fin that is encapsulated and glassed in, the shoal drawing 4 feet 6 inches and the deep 6 feet anchor. The structure itself is fiberglass with a Contourkore balsa core throughout both hull and deck, the laminate blending E-glass mat and stitched unidirectional fiberglass with vinylester barrier resins in the exterior hull layer below the waterline and an isophthalic gelcoat outside. Hull and deck are laid up separately and joined on an inward-turning flange with adhesive caulk and 1/4-inch stainless bolts through an external aluminum toerail. Freedom backed the hull with a 10-year warranty against gelcoat blisters and gave the first owner a lifetime spar warranty.

Rig and Handling

The defining feature is the convenience-oriented rig built around that tall, unstayed carbon fiber mast — 55 feet 6 inches above the waterline. The 36 was offered as a sloop or a cat-ketch, and the sail-area totals for both are about the same, roughly 685 square feet for the sloop and 682 for the cat-ketch. The sloop is effectively a big catboat with the mast well forward and a vestigial, self-tacking jib on a sprit that sleeves into the sail; Mull noted the sloop would be closer winded while the ketch might hold an off-wind advantage. The mainsheet is a four-part mid-boom tackle to a Harken traveler ahead of the companionway, and halyards run aft through stoppers to self-tailing winches. With an SA/D of 19.34 anchor and a PHRF of 150, the boat is an easy-handling coastal cruiser rather than a racer.

Accommodations

Below, the 36 is a big, well-laid-out boat with no tricks. The forward cabin holds a V-berth convertible to a double with an insert, and headroom runs 6 feet 1 inch at the door. The main cabin is large, with an L-shaped settee around a table that folds up against the forward bulkhead, and true 6-foot-4 headroom. The U-shaped galley has deep sinks, a gimbaled stove with oven, an adequate icebox, and a garbage trap to the cockpit locker. Opposite sits a navigation table with a swing-out seat, the chart table running fore and aft with a wet locker aft of it. A two-door head serves the saloon, and the aft cabin tucked under the starboard cockpit seat has a bureau, hanging locker, and decent headroom. Finish is teak veneer with ash battens as ceiling, and vinyl overhead panels.

Engine and Systems

A three-cylinder 27 hp Yanmar diesel is standard, mounted slightly off-center so the shaft angles to the centerline, in a small compartment lined with lead/foam sound deadener. Access is from the front via the companionway steps and from the port cockpit locker through a panel. The boat comes with a solid two-bladed propeller that most owners will want to replace, and wheel steering is standard. The cockpit carries a propane tank locker and a cavernous portside locker that needs subdivision to be useful.

Known Issues

The Yanmar's dipstick is hard to reach on the engine's starboard side, and only a tiny threaded access port from the aft cabin gives limited reach to it. At least one carbon fiber mast has been damaged by a lightning strike, a real consideration for an unstayed composite spar.

The Verdict

The Freedom 36 is a thoughtfully modern cruiser that traded the eccentric look of early Freedoms for Mull's clean volume-driven hull while keeping the low-effort unstayed rig. It is a straightforward, roomy coastal boat with a well-built balsa-cored shell and a genuinely easy sail plan.

Pros

Unstayed carbon fiber mast with self-tacking jib for short-handed ease
Beam-forward hull with generous, well-arranged interior volume
Balsa-cored fiberglass construction with barrier resins and 10-year blister warranty

Cons