Freeman 33 Sedan

[oldgit]

Been asked to comment on the possible purchase of a Freeman 33 Sedan , know nothing other than they seemed a much better put together boat than my old Princess 33 of the same vintage .
Pair of 150 HP Ford Sabres assume these are the upright 6 cylinder jobs and with the Velvet Drive gearbox.
The quality of the alloy used in the windows was far better for a start.

Did explain that for boats of this vintage how it had been looked after over the last 50 years was now of far more importance than who assembled the bits.

Any observations ?, there only appears to be one on the market at the mo, possibly end up going to look at it at some point if any others are on the market ?

On unlocking the door.
A sniff test of any saloon speaks volumes, a pleasant dry aroma suggesting a loved cared for boat a bit musty allowed ?
A whiff of damp and diesel due to marinated upholstery and interior suggests otherwise.
Lift the carpets and inspect the bilges, nice and dry ? perhaps with little clear water in the bottom .OK.
Engine compartment , please no 6 inches of filthy oily water or worse build up of sludge hiding old nuts/bolts and even tools! ,with tangles of wiring and a rust ball of an engine.

 

[Chris_d]

Sheridan marine good source of info for Freemans, agree with all the above now very old boats so condition is everything but they were extremely well built in their day.
Sheridan Marine - Boat Spares, River Thames Boatyard & Chandlery
Freeman Cruisers - Home Page

 

[The Glassman]

Hi, OG. I bought my Freeman 33 (Sportsman) in '97 - and it had all the issues that you mention - and some! Osmosis, clapped-out engines, dead heating system, dodgy old batteries etc., etc. I did want a project, but even I feared occasionally that I'd overdone it! However, it was the boat we wanted - able to cross the Channel or go through Osney Bridge on the Thames. They were well built, solid (mine goes 7+tonnes) and beautifully trimmed and finished. Their flaws were the gelcoat quality, the osmosis and the (then trendy) angular windows. We had the osmosis dealt with and all windows out & re-built in '98 and over the years have brought her up-to-date generally. The normally beautiful Freeman interior woodwork had been badly mucked about by previous owner(s) and they'd used Elm - as Dutch Elm disease was then rampant. This did make repairs and additions a bit more difficult as Elm is hard to find nowadays. There you go! We paid c£25k for her and an equivalent new boat today would, I expect, be north of £200K. We've had our moments with her, but now she's a lovely, '70,s classic but with all mod cons: New Nanni engines, gearboxes and shafts; LED lighting throughout, double cabins with en-suite at both ends, new Eberspacher heating, new galley etc. In '21 I re-wired the main battery systems and fitted LiFePo4 batteries etc (transformative, btw). All in all, we've probably spent north of £100k on the boat, but she's a joy to use and much admired too. Probably worth c£40k now, so over 27 years, we'll have 'dropped' about ££k/pa in maintenance etc. I'll let others do any math on this vis-a-vis a new or newer boat. Even a really well-presented 'original' one now is a 50+ year old boat, so there are bound to be costs, seen and unforeseen. You pays yer money and takes yer chances.......

 

[oldgit]

Thanks for comments, all posts welcome.
We did have couple of these in the club at one point , however both boats and owners have gone on to pastures new.

 

[harvey38]

We've had two Freemans and nearly purchased a third, a 32 mkII but ended up with an Aquastar 38!

Fabulous boats that have stood the test of time, very well supported by Andrew @ Sheridan marine who carries pretty much every possible spare, some specially manufactured to keep them going.

All Freemans suffer from osmosis but none have ever sunk as a result, some ignore it, some fill the blisters, others peel the gel and re-gel. First boat we had stripped and re-gel, the second we just ignored it with no issues. The windows will leak unless new seals have been fitted, not a big job but time consuming.

There is a super active Freeman Owners forum on FB, another great source of information, they will quite likely know the history of your potential purchase. The engines will smoke on start up but should soon clear after a few minutes.

 

[The Glassman]

Yes, good reference book, that. My F33 is a different model, but basically same mechanically etc.
Pic herewith...

 

[Chris_d]

Yes, good reference book, that. My F33 is a different model, but basically same mechanically etc.
Pic herewith...View attachment 167603

Great boat that, always admired it and its ability to go coastal and above Osney bridge, not many out there can do that.

 

[thamesS23]

Yes, good reference book, that. My F33 is a different model, but basically same mechanically etc.
Pic herewith...View attachment 167603

Hopefully will get to see you and Drumbeat next year. we only caught a glimse of you this year, as we were heading downstream from Abingdon and waiting to enter Culham lock, when you exited.

 

[The Glassman]

Yes indeed, mate. No doubt we'll haul up together somewhere next season. Look forward to it. Cheers

 

[Time Out]

In other news i bumped into Jake K author of that book in Amsterdam today ( METS) and if you look hard enough you may even see my name in it too I’m not sure a 33 is 50 years old ?

 

[The Glassman]

Hi - and, yes you are correct. They started making them in about 1978 I believe. My only defence is that my grey matter is (very) considerably older! We celebrated Drumbeat's 40th birthday in July last year, so 40+ years old.
Mea culpa.....

 

[Flynnbarr]

Friends of my parents bought a 33 sedan way back in the early eighties……didn’t own it long as they found it too noisy basically sat on the engines inside plus in the summer it was hot for the helmsman and lonely as everybody else was outside in the sun……sold it and bought a P32 as it was more sociable and quieter……but the OP wouldn’t have approved as it was on outdrives !!

 

[oldgit]

In other news i bumped into Jake K author of that book in Amsterdam today ( METS) and if you look hard enough you may even see my name in it too I’m not sure a 33 is 50 years old ?

Suspect an update on that little book might well sell a few copies ?
Think might probably got the last of the print run.

 

[Time Out]

Hi - and, yes you are correct. They started making them in about 1978 I believe. My only defence is that my grey matter is (very) considerably older! We celebrated Drumbeat's 40th birthday in July last year, so 40+ years old.
Mea culpa.....

I’m 1974 so I guess it’s not too far off although I always saw them as big shiny new boats as a kid. My uncle had a white 27.