Freeman22 gearbox arrangement

[Andya]

My brother has a very nice Freeman 22 that has an offset behinds the gearbox taking the shaft centre over about 6” to the port side I have never seen this in my 65 years of boat ownership cann anyone enlighten me on this and was it normal on this cruiser as we want to change the engine to a small deisel an maybe send photos later ,

 

[scottie]

Could be a way of incorporating a reduction gear and keeping overall height down or reduce depth
or even allow twin engines to have altered centrelines
it maybe possible to alter rotation
modern engines often have a variety of gearbox / shaft height and or angle options
Beta are known for customised options

 

[Tranona]

That was a standard arrangement on those boats. It means that the engine is offset to the centreline as are the beds, making re-engining a challenging task.

 

[Andya]

I was going to put a small yanmar or kabota in but if the transfer box is not easy to alter I won’t bother it would ruin the boat

 

[BB1]

It was done to offset the engine for the door access into the cabin.
Sheridan Marine can do a new Nanni set up to go diesel if required.

 

[harvey38]

My brother has a very nice Freeman 22 that has an offset behinds the gearbox taking the shaft centre over about 6” to the port side I have never seen this in my 65 years of boat ownership cann anyone enlighten me on this and was it normal on this cruiser as we want to change the engine to a small deisel an maybe send photos later ,

I would suggest your brother joins the Freeman Cruiser FB group, they have a super active bunch of knowledgeable owners. As to your question, yes the offset is normal on the earlier boats, I'm assuming it is a Freeman 22 mk1 he has?