The Freedom 25 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Garry Hoyt John Garrison "Garry" Hoyt (April 7, 1931 – March 31, 2025) was an American and Puerto Rican sailor, Sailing Designer and author. He competed in the Finn at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and in the Tempest at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 ...

as a single-handed racer-cruiser and first built in 1980.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 174-175. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

The design was built by Tillotson Pearson for

Freedom Yachts Freedom Yachts was the maker of the Freedom (sail) and Legacy (power) yacht brands. The Freedom sailboats have Unstayed mast, unstayed rigs, meaning that the Mast (sailing), mast is freestanding and not supported by the normal set of wires call ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Freedom 25 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a

catboat A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are f ...

rig or optional fractional sloop rig with a

staysail A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast. Description Most staysails a ...

, a spooned

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. It carries of lead ballast. The spars are

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

. The mast is unstayed, and on earlier models, has a rotating

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

cross-section shape. The

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...

is fully battened and lowers into lazy jacks. A

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a Point of sail#Reaching, reach (wind at 90° to the course) to Point of sail#Running downwind, downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinna ...

is used, flown from an unusual pole that extends though a "gun mount" sleeve mounted to the steel framed pulpit and is not attached to the mast unlike the usual

spinnaker pole A spinnaker pole is a spar used in sailboats (both dinghies and yachts) to help support and control a variety of headsails, particularly the spinnaker. It is also used with other sails, such as genoas and jibs, when sailing downwind with no s ...

. This arrangement means that spinnaker winches are not needed and the spinnaker can be raised from the cockpit. The spinnaker pole retracts when not in use, stowing along the lifeline. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat is fitted with an optional

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

or a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The accommodations consist of two cabin berths that are partly under the cockpit and a forward "V"-berth. There is a small

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

fitted, with a two-burner alcohol stove, portable cooler and a private

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. The cabin sole is

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

and

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, while the bulkheads and other trim are painted white or made from ash. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "Garry Hoyt, main designer and marketer of the Freedom line of sailboats, is known as a free thinker when it comes to sailboat design. The Freedom 25, with her full-battened mainsail, small 'staysail' jib, 'gunmount' spinnaker handling gear, and unstayed mast, is a good example of the fruition of Hoyt's thinking. Hoyt says full-length battens have several advantages, the main one being ease of reefing, 'A sailor wants a sail he can get up and get down quickly, a sail that is easy to handle, can be reefed easily, and provides acceptable performance.' The fully battened sails are quieter too. The little jib, which was an option on new boats, improves upwind performance in light air. The gunmount makes using a spinnaker a singlehanded job: one sailor can hoist, jibe, and douse the spinnaker without ever leaving the cockpit. The unstayed mast simplifies the rig and makes getting underway faster. Best features: Besides the above, the cockpit is deep and comfortable, with good back support. Worst features: The wing mast and sail sleeves on early boats didn't work out. Consequently, a conventional sailtrack on a round mast was used on most production."Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 291.

International Marine McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 2010.

Variants

;Freedom 25 Staysail :This model was introduced in 1980. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 213 with a high of 198 and low of 228. ;Freedom 25 :This model was introduced in 1981. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 210 with a high of 237 and low of 201.

References

{{Pearson Yachts Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Gary Hoyt Sailboat types built by Pearson Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

Variants

See also

References