Just got back from Venice delivering Capt Wells new boat. He is one happy man. We ran out to a few rigs on Wednesday searching for yellowfin, but came home with only a few AJ’s.(NO WORMS IN LOUISIANA) We had a real nice YFT one on the line, but got tangled up in the rig anchor wires. Oh well, thats the way it goes. Capt Wells says he was probably 100lbs or better by the way he was pulling.
As far as performance goes, we ran 144 miles in sloppy 3-4’s round trip including all trolling and burnt 95 gallons. That is 1.51mpg running an average of 32mph the end of the day key on to key off. That included Capt Wells hot rodding for about 30 minutes running to another rig. Here is one item we werent able to take advantage of. The motors were mounted too high. We werent able to trim the bow up to get more hull out of the water for better economy in the river. After the trip we lowered the motors 1 hole… made a huge difference in trim angle. IMO if the engines had been mounted lower and Capt Wells had been running a more moderate speed for that short time, the buel burn would have been closer to 85 gallons which would have been 1.7mpg!!! He will be reporting soon.
We had 31 Cape Horn with the same power as us and he ran the same exact routes we did that day at about 5 mph slower. He burnt 23 more gallons than us. I think that says something for a boat that is 2 feet longer and 2 feet wider that was running 5 mph faster and rides MUCH smoother. We know all this because it was a friend of Capt Wells and he wasn’t happy with the fact that he was getting blown away by the Freeman 33.
Bully, those boats are beautiful…Please continue to keep us posted and try not to pay attention to the goobers that try to doubt everybody and think they know everything about every subject.
I for one, am very interested in the boat and how its going to perform. Once you get the new more accurate numbers, I’d love to see that data.
Scott, that’s pretty weak…eurotransoms are a bad idea on both cats and monos if there isn’t an excellent seal in the hull/cap junction. They look cool, but just aren’t a good idea especially if the boat has a tendency to really squat when getting on plane.
Bully,
This thread belongs in the boating section…you say more about the 33 than you do the fishing.
Beautiful boat, but the spamming isn’t…
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
My honest opinion is that it looks like a nice boat, but would be about 50 times better if it were at least a foot and a half wider. It looks like they tried to make a contender/regulator width boat into a cat. the best thing about big cats is that a nice wide beam on a relativley small boat makes it feel huge.
dont all cats get better fuel economy and ride better than a v-hull?
not necessarily...
I think what striperNailer was saying was that, with everything else being equal, a cat will generally weigh less and have less drag in the water, therefore having better fuel economy with that soft “cat-like” ride.
You are a stickler for details sir. You must work for the government or something…
Scott, that’s pretty weak…eurotransoms are a bad idea on both cats and monos if there isn’t an excellent seal in the hull/cap junction. They look cool, but just aren’t a good idea especially if the boat has a tendency to really squat when getting on plane.
Bully,
This thread belongs in the boating section…you say more about the 33 than you do the fishing.
Beautiful boat, but the spamming isn’t…
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
I know, just kicking the hornets nest a bit. Fact is I rode in Skinneejs Cat and was VERY impressed. The ride is great especially for a 26 footer. They track and pitch different from a mono. It is not bad just takes getting use too.
As far as sinking, most all of them do. If is does not sink it will flip or swamp in bad seas or poor driving. Not many adds of boats cut up into 3 pieces in a thunderstorm with 6 to 8 foot seas.
Bully, I read a bunch about the Freeman and the construction of the first boat and the ones that followed. Really cool that we have a SC guy making such a nice boat. One request though. I have seen pics of the outside but would love to see the lay out, fish boxes, helm, live wells etc. Keep up the good work!
REPUBLICAN
Because not everyone can be on welfare
All Rise - 31 Contender Fish Around with a pair of 250 Yamahas
its true, the cat is a good looking boat, and it rides very smooth, but if you hit a wave the wrong way your in serious trouble. they capsize easily that way, more that a v-hull would. all im saying is you have to be careful on these boats. so before you go bashing on what someone has to say you might want to get your own facts strait Wolakrab
Capt Wells fished yesterday in 4-5 seas and caught a 121 lb YFT.
I will put $1000 on the line if any of you can find a better rounded boat than the Freeman 33. It is not dangerous, it handles more like a monohull than a cat. That is one of the reasons the captains bought them. NO BOWSTEER. I have been on many cats that handle like crap, the Freeman 33 is not your typical cat. When you can run 30 knots in a steep 4’ quartering following sea and not bowsteer once, then you cant compare to the rest of the cats.
Chumking: The Freeman 33 has an 11’ beam, so I dont see how your comment holds weight. Everything in its class in 10.5’ wide.
so you’re saying that after building 2 boats your boat outperforms every catamaran that has ever been produced? thats a pretty bold statement even for the internet. u should take your boat to the miami boat show next year and let the saltwater press decide. do some side by side comparisons with twin vee, glacier bay, world cat, and so on. when u get dean travis clarke and some of those guys agreeing with you then your statement will start to have some merit.
Fact is I rode in Skinneejs Cat and was VERY impressed. The ride is great especially for a 26 footer. They track and pitch different from a mono. It is not bad just takes getting use too.