Review of Freedom 40
Basic specs.
Looking for a new boat? Find a Freedom 40 or similar boat for sale
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with a galley and toilet facility.
The Freedom 40 is equipped with a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.
The Freedom 40 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Full keel
One option is a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.22 - 1.32 meter (4.00 - 4.30 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
CentreBoard
Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
Freedom 40 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.37 - 1.47 meter (4.49 - 4.79 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Freedom 40 is 1.77, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Freedom 40 is about 299 kg/cm, alternatively 1675 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 299 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1675 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Freedom 40 is 3.33.
SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 17.23
Maintenance
Dimensions of sail for ketch rig.
Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 33.7 m | (110.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 33.7 m | (110.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 33.7 m | (110.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 12.2 m | (40.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 12.2 m | (40.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 30.5 m | (100.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 26.8 m | (88.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.0 m | (13.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 8.1 m | (26.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 8.1 m | (26.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.
Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Freedom 40 it would be a great help.
If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.