Industry Sailboat Builder Founder Garry Hoyt | Fate Defunct Defunct 2008 | |
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Founded United States (1976 (1976)) Headquarters Rhode Island, United States | ||
Freedom Yachts was the maker of the Freedom (sail) and Legacy (power) yacht brands. The Freedom sailboats have unstayed rigs, meaning that the mast is freestanding and not supported by the normal set of wires called standing rigging. Garry Hoyt, a champion sailor and noted maverick, created the unstayed rigs to give "freedom" from the inefficient sail shapes of traditional sloop rigs as well as to give "freedom" from the compression and maintenance issues associated with standing rigging. A known issue with this style of mast, however, is that in rough seas it can break loose, causing a potential holing (pounds through the bottom of the hull). This is commonly due to the tangs that hold it in place failing. The masts are made of carbon fiber and are set well forward on the boat. This means most of the sail area is contained in the mainsail. Jib sails can either be overlapping or self-tending.
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Gary Hoyt founded Freedom Yachts in 1976 with the Freedom 40. He sold Freedom Yachts to Tillotson-Pearson in 1985 after some slow years. He used naval architects from the Herreshoff design offices for his early designs and in the early '80s commissioned a 39 feet pilothouse design from Ron Holland. Tillotson-Pearson brought Gary Mull on board as designer for a new series of great sailing but awfully conventional looking boats. David Pedrick designed for the (again) new owners starting in the mid 90's after Tillotson-Pearson Composites sold the yacht division off.