Help me out please

Wavey

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With nothing better to do while I’m waiting for the rain to stop I’ve found one example of a 33 Sport for sale in France. Sadly looking very sorry for itself. Seems to be the only one at the moment.

Here
 

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Rather unsurprisingly, that one has been on the market for a while

I know a guy who’s intending to downsize this year.
I can put you in touch if you’re interested in a look before it goes on a brokerage?

There’s a bit more to the conversion that lifting off the hardtop and putting a canopy on though. There is some cutting and shutting to do
 
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ianc1200

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There were two Freeman 33’s built specifically for the Thames, the one you’re thinking of is Drum Beat, Four Ferrets is the other one and resides above Radcot at the Anchor boat club.

Mine has been modified in the way described above, it involved a chainsaw

The 26 is still a solid boat and if it’s been looked after, holds its price well.
For example Freeman - 26 for sale in Suffolk, Eastern, United Kingdom | Boatshop24
Drum Beat was the name, thanks.
 

Wavey

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Rather unsurprisingly, that one has been on the market for a while

I know a guy who’s intending to downsize this year.
I can put you in touch if you’re interested in a look before it goes on a brokerage?

There’s a bit more to the conversion that lifting off the hardtop and putting a canopy on though. There is some cutting and shutting to do
I would be interested in having a look if the owner is okay with that. I’ll PM you my email address.

I appreciate the removal of the hard top is the easy bit. The main problems are the screens and the arch. It’s doable though and fortunately my engineer has done this sort of thing before.
 

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No problem at all

This is the standard roof, it separates at the arrow (is also the boat mentioned above) The top section of arch, and the brown part of the roof are one bit.
5EC9EE33-F356-47DA-A49D-217DDE7904A4.jpeg

This is my boat
1BDCEA1E-EB91-4BD7-BDCE-CB2D28F3E4FB.jpeg

Note the new split in the arch, level with the rails on the rear cabin roof
8F3E7A75-FA88-4F98-979B-9D71E14D85C5.jpeg

To get under Osney, you need it to do this
816A25CE-4C79-43BE-BFDA-48DC3B0AE1DA.jpeg

Or wait for Drum Beat or Four Ferretts s to appear on the market

Disclaimer....not my work, I bought her this way having admired her for a number of years
 
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Wavey

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Thanks for the information which is really helpful.

I'd also forgotten how scary Osney can be :eek:.

From the picture it seems the boat in question may well not have the rails around the aft cabin in which case perhaps the arch could be hinged. When I see the boat I'll obviously get a much better idea. I'm not adverse to producing detailed drawings of what's required as I did with my Cobra years ago. I did this for Toughs when she went back for a refit and they fabricated and fitted the folding arch and screens which came out like this:

Cobra.jpg

I must admit I'm a bit anal when it comes to boats. No matter how badly I want something I won't do it unless it looks right. I'd originally designed a fully enclosed wheelhouse with a fly bridge on top. It never went ahead because the boat was fitted with the upright Perkins 6354s rather than the usual horizontal ones so I couldn't get the profile right. With Four Ferretts I'm not sure the profile really works and perhaps folding screens would have been a better option (for me anyway).

I've had an email from the owner of the Sport and I'll drop him a reply. I have a few concerns over the engine(s) she's fitted with, whether they're sufficient for the Solent and what use they've had other than pottering around on the Thames. I know from experience moving a boat to the coast and needing the engines to work hard for a change has the potential to produce all sorts of problems. My engineer feels I need to factor in possible replacements which I'm not adverse to doing as the next boat will be the last, hence the reason why it needs to tick so many boxes.
 

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I was thinking about adding hinges, but it would trap you in the cockpit, unless you climb over the aft cabin, so I’ve pushed that down my to do list for now.

My boat spent the first half of its life on the Solent, it has smaller engines than the 120’s in that boat.
Personally I do think mine is better suited to the rivers :)
 

Wavey

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I’ve been pondering the best way to hinge the arch which is a bit daft considering I haven’t even seen the boat yet. Given the weather today it was either that or housework :).

Your engines are perfect for the river. I’m curious what it would cruise at with the 120s, and whether anyone opted for the Sabre 212s mentioned on the Freeman website :)
 

The Glassman

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There were two Freeman 33’s built specifically for the Thames, the one you’re thinking of is Drum Beat, Four Ferrets is the other one and resides above Radcot at the Anchor boat club.

Mine has been modified in the way described above, it involved a chainsaw

The 26 is still a solid boat and if it’s been looked after, holds its price well.
For example Freeman - 26 for sale in Suffolk, Eastern, United Kingdom | Boatshop24
Hi... Drumbeat is my boat, we’ve owned her for 23 years now. Has been across the Channel (under previous owners) several times. Original engines were Leyland 2.5litre (very agricultural) diesels from the FX3/4 taxis. Re-engined in 2010 with a pair of 50hp Nanni’s plus PRM350gearboxes. Will do 10kts tops. The low headroom which gets us under Osney would probably limit the seas you would go out in as the cockpit is not self-draining and the top of the screen is less than 84” above the waterline. The hull would handle it beautifully - having been designed for a pair of very much larger engines. On the Tideway or anywhere else on the Thames she’s perfect. We have en-suite (shower/loo/double bunk) cabins each end and all mod cons, but generally, it’s a ‘sleeps 2, drinks 10, feeds 6’ type of boat and we spend several weeks on board each year. With her wide, flat all-round decks., low windage and very steady handling she’s dead easy to run single-handed too. If you could find a really nice hardtop F33 with the 150hp+ engines it could be worth getting out the chainsaw - but Freemans stopped production in the early ’80’s. BTW, with the larger engines, they’re bl***y noisy - esp. after a Broom flybridge!
All the best with your quest...
 

Wavey

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Hi... Drumbeat is my boat, we’ve owned her for 23 years now. Has been across the Channel (under previous owners) several times. Original engines were Leyland 2.5litre (very agricultural) diesels from the FX3/4 taxis. Re-engined in 2010 with a pair of 50hp Nanni’s plus PRM350gearboxes. Will do 10kts tops. The low headroom which gets us under Osney would probably limit the seas you would go out in as the cockpit is not self-draining and the top of the screen is less than 84” above the waterline. The hull would handle it beautifully - having been designed for a pair of very much larger engines. On the Tideway or anywhere else on the Thames she’s perfect. We have en-suite (shower/loo/double bunk) cabins each end and all mod cons, but generally, it’s a ‘sleeps 2, drinks 10, feeds 6’ type of boat and we spend several weeks on board each year. With her wide, flat all-round decks., low windage and very steady handling she’s dead easy to run single-handed too. If you could find a really nice hardtop F33 with the 150hp+ engines it could be worth getting out the chainsaw - but Freemans stopped production in the early ’80’s. BTW, with the larger engines, they’re bl***y noisy - esp. after a Broom flybridge!
All the best with your quest...
Interesting information. Many thanks. If yours will do 10 knots with twin 50s, what will one do with twin 120s? I presume comfortably cruise at10 knots or so?

I don’t mind the noise. My Cobra had twin 6354s under your feet and no soundproofing. Sign language works well enough when you need another beer ?.
 

Actionmat

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No problem at all

This is the standard roof, it separates at the arrow (is also the boat mentioned above) The top section of arch, and the brown part of the roof are one bit.
View attachment 85453

This is my boat
View attachment 85454

Note the new split in the arch, level with the rails on the rear cabin roof
View attachment 85457

To get under Osney, you need it to do this
View attachment 85458

Or wait for Drum Beat or Four Ferretts s to appear on the market

Disclaimer....not my work, I bought her this way having admired her for a number of years
Congratulations Pat, she's a lovely looking boat?
 
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