BoatsFreedom Yachts 40 AC

Freedom Yachts 40 AC

Cat Ketch (unstayed) · Keel/centreboard · First built 1976

An unstayed cat ketch designed by Hoyt and Herreshoff, featuring a simple, easy-to-handle rig on a 40-foot aft-cockpit hull

Designed by Hoyt, Herreshoff & Garry Hoyt, built by Tillotson Pearson Inc.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a moderate beam gives 31 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 31
CoastalBluewater

1.77 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.77
LightHeavy

208 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 208
EasygoingPowered-up

16.6 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 16.6
TenderStiff

28% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 28%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

  • Draws more than ~85% of boats her size on file

Compared with 262 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
27.6%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cat Ketch (unstayed)
Ratios
SA / displacement
16.6
Displacement / length
208.3
Comfort ratio
30.9
Capsize screening
1.77
Hull speed
7.9 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1501
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 1976
Units built
90
Designer
Hoyt, Herreshoff, Garry Hoyt
Builder
Tillotson Pearson Inc, Freedom Yachts

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Ovni 4012.60 mSame hull family0.4 m longerA 12.6-metre cutter with a high 25.21 sail-area-to-displacement ratio, built for agile performance during her 1984-1987
Ovni 37011.95 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA modern lifting-keel cruiser with a versatile Solent rig, designed for shallow-water access and offshore capability
Boreal Yachts 4714.55 mSame hull family2.4 m longerA 14.55-metre aluminium cutter with a 2.48-metre draft, optimised for high-latitude stability and blue-water performance
Ovni 43512.90 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA 12.9-metre aluminum cutter with a lifting keel, optimized for offshore stability and shoal-water exploration
Southerly 42012.86 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA Rob Humphreys-designed fractional sloop featuring a versatile swing keel that later evolved into the Southerly 430
Southerly 11010.82 mSame hull family1.4 m shorterA Rob Humphreys-designed fractional sloop with a swing keel that allows for shallow-water exploration and drying out

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

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