![]() ![]() ![]() “Through mutual friends, texting everybody and putting together pieces of information, I found the boat at Outer Banks Marina in Wanchese, North Carolina,” LaSorsa recalls. But LaSorsa knew Freeman had built a 33 with a house so he reached out to everyone he could think of to track down the owner of the boat. That idea got shot down the project would take too long and would slow down production. LaSorsa knew that Billy Freeman had built one pilothouse cat and approached the builder about making a second one. Jimmy said that he’d like to see a Freeman with a pilothouse. B that I’d love to take a look at a Freeman,” LaSorsa says. “We were looking for an interim boat, and I said to Mr. At the time, Jimmy was about to repower his 42-foot Rybovich, so he’d be without a fishing boat for a few months, and he didn’t want to miss the summer season. And those are two of Jimmy Buffett’s favorite spots to fish.įreeman experimented with a pilothouse model several years back and built one 33-footer with an enclosed helm, which just so happens to be owned by a certain musician who likes to croon about pirates and sailors. The same could be said when escaping the heat while trolling the edge of a cobalt blue drop-off in the Bahamas. A bit of shelter comes in handy when the bluefin tuna are biting south of Nantucket and the water is in the 60s. However, a pilothouse makes a lot of sense for boaters in colder climates who like to push their season to the very fringe of what is considered comfortable cruising weather. A pilothouse can give a boat a commercial presence with boxy corners and squared glass. Putting a house onto a 42 cat with the mean, sexy lines of a Freeman, and getting it to look right, is no easy task. Jimmy Buffett’s “Last Mango” ( 7 Seas Media Group) This was an interesting project and very satisfying. Sometimes, if you’re like me, you like to do something different. “After a while I said ‘Alright, we’ll build it, but I want to draw it.’ It ended up being a really fun project. “When we were first approached about doing this project, I tried to sough it off because it’s not what we really do, but they kept working on us,” says Roy Merritt, owner of Merritt Boatworks. They asked these revered builders to do something quite a ways out of their wheelhouse - take a 42 Freeman hull and install a custom, Merritt-built house. To make this boat a reality, Jimmy and his longtime captain, Vinnie LaSorsa, reached out to Freeman Boatworks, builders of the most sought-after, high-speed catamaran center consoles on the market, and Merritt Boatworks, a venerable custom builder of sportfishing yachts. But what he ended up with is one of the most unique sportfishing vessels to hit the rip in a long, long time. Those were the three must-have items Jimmy Buffett requested when he sat down to draw out his next fishing boat. These traditional fittings are still manufactured, largely from their original castings, this together with the quality of woodwork - every boat was built with panels from the same tree so that the grain matches perfectly! - This is why they are so popular and so admired.įind out more about Freeman Cruisers by visiting the Freeman Cruisers Website.A pilothouse with windows that go up and down as opposed to side to side, shock-absorbing seats and a retractable awning. This was followed by 28 further models all the way up to 41 feet in length.īeing the first production manufacturer of GRP boats he was obliged to manufacture most of his own fittings as marine wholesalers were in their infancy. Freeman originally produced caravans however by 1957 he had turned his attentions to boating with the production of the Freeman 22 Mk1 Cabin Cruiser. We manufacture and supply original Freeman Cruiser fittings, from deck fittings to engine spares.įreeman Cruisers were first shown at the Motor Show prior to the advent of Boat Shows as we know them today. From bottom painting, cleaning and engine servicing through to complete refurbishment, talk to us about your projects or problems, phone us on 01491 652085. At Sheridan Marine we offer a comprehensive program of specialist Freeman maintenance and servicing. ![]()
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