Freedom 36 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Freedom 36 means looking at the first of Gary Mull's designs for Freedom Yachts, built from 1985 and went out of production in 1989 with the unstayed carbon fiber mast that defined the later marque. These are balsa-cored fiberglass cruisers with a convenience rig and a roomy interior, and the brokerage population sits almost entirely in the United States.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Freedom 36 carries its volume in a fat 12 foot 6 inch beam hull with a flat bottom underbody, fin keel, and spade rudder, offered in deep fin or shoal draft fin form. Below, the boat presents a large forward cabin with a V-berth convertible to a double, a main cabin with an L-shaped settee around a folding table, a U-shaped galley opposite a nav table with swing-out seat, and an aft cabin mostly under the starboard cockpit seat. The head has two doors, and a wet locker sits aft of the fore-and-aft chart table. Cockpit layouts include a propane tank locker and a cavernous portside locker.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, Freedom 36 boats commonly carry heating, a self-tacking jib, electric winches, a dodger, autopilot, chartplotter, short-handed setup, solar, bimini, and radar, with wheel steering standard from the factory. Inverter and spinnaker are often seen, as is hot water; watermaker, air conditioning, asymmetric spinnaker, and freezer appear as less common owner upgrades. The factory standard three-cylinder 27 hp Yanmar diesel and solid two-bladed propeller are frequently supplemented by owner changes to the drivetrain.
What to Inspect
Documented issues center on the engine and spar. The Yanmar's dipstick on the starboard side is hard to access, with only a small screw-out port from the aft cabin for reach. The standard solid two-bladed prop is widely regarded as disposable by owners. At least one carbon fiber mast was damaged in a lightning strike, so any unstayed spar should be checked for strike history. The hull and deck joint uses an inward-turning flange with adhesive caulk and through-bolts, and the vinyl overhead panels can complicate inspection of deck-hardware fastenings.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical market for the Freedom 36 is the United States. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm keel type (deep or shoal fin), verify mast lightning history, test dipstick access, and budget for a propeller upgrade.
- United States market concentration
- Check carbon fiber mast for strike damage
- Verify starboard-side dipstick access
- Expect propeller replacement
- Confirm deep versus shoal draft configuration
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Freedom 36. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 11 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $ 49,900 | — |
| Mar 25 | 1 | $ 45,000 | -9.8% |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $ 49,400 | +9.8% |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $ 46,500 | -5.9% |
| Aug 25 | 1 | $ 49,500 | +6.5% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $ 39,900 | -19.4% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $ 25,000 | -37.3% |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $ 39,900 | +59.6% |
| Mar 26 | 2 | $ 49,999 | +25.3% |
| Apr 26 | 2 | $ 39,950 | -20.1% |
| May 26 | 1 | $ 40,000 | +0.1% |
Where they're listed
Freedom 36 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 10.
Country view
10 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 43,250 | 10 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 36 | 39.33' | $ 399,000 | 27 | 8 |
| Sabre 36 | 36' | $ 48,700 | 24 | 8 |
| Freedom 38 | 37.92' | $ 69,996 | 18 | 8 |
| Freedom 45 AC | 45' | $ 89,000 | 17 | 2 |
| Beneteau First 36 S7 | 35.75' | $ 58,000 | 12 | 8 |
| Tillotson-Pearson 36You are here | — | $ 43,250 | 10 | 1 |