OK.......
Let me give you the good news 1st ....... It Floats. There now that the good news is out of the way I can continue with the report on the Freedom.
1st off , when it is on the vehicle it is an eye catcher and folks do want to look and touch it , then ask all sorts of questions about the boat.
It is light weight and easy to load or unload from the vehicle. When it is on the water it sits nice and high , when loaded with camping gear you do lose some of the draft but not a lot and with the paddler in it , it requires about 2 inches of water under the hull.
Getting into the boat is a breeze , the stability of it is nice to have since it does not work overtime trying to throw the paddle in the drink.
Geting out of the boat was just the opposite process of getting in it .
I would either place my hands on the coaming at the back side where the sides meet the back , give my self a push and stand up. Or I would reach forward and grasp the front part of the coaming and pull my self up from the siting position.
The boat can be paddled into water about 2 or so inches deep before exiting it and if the bottom is touching the river bed then it is as solid as a rock. If the water is deeper then you need to balance the boat or use the paddle as a brace when getting out as with any kayak but this one you can stand up when exiting it.
On the water the stability is extreamly stable , I would paddle along and when a turn was needed in a rush (due to a 90 degree to get around the bend and trees) I would lean to the right and give a pull on the paddle making the boat spin to the left.
Going down river or I should say just easing along , a stroke of the paddle was needed now and then , when the boat is at cruising speed , the necessity for hard paddling is not required , just a stroke now and then. If it started drifting to the left I would lean it to the left and it would correct the course to the right.
when resting (cruising along and not paddling) I would rest my hands on the coaming and then if a stroke was needed just dip the paddle and keep going , I never hit either hand on the coaming or had any interference from it when paddling.
As with any kayak lean the opposite direction to make the boat go where you want it to. Leaning the boat over to one side was not hard to do and it would only go so far then you really had to lean your body to make it go further over but never t the point of flipping over or even getting the water to the seam of the deck and sides.
The Down Side.......
When I got in there and if my size 12's were over to the sides of the boat ( the camera box was in the middle between my legs) the toe of the boot hit the bottom side of the deck which was not an big deal.
In summery I would say it like Joe did when he tried it out at the put in. He went out , spun it around a few time and came back in with a big grin on his face. Paraphrasing him , this is a rock solid and fast sucker and I want one to run this river with.
The stability is stable ( the best way to put it ) I left my camera (waterproof) case OPEN when paddling.
On the water I would do a stroke or two with the paddle and relax while the guys in the canoes were doing a stroke after stroke. Most of the time if I was paddling along side of someone and wanted to stay with them I would have to do a back paddle to keep from running off down river from them.
It handles camping gear with ease and a person can pack what they need in the boat , plus have some spare room left over.
The two bags on the bow went in the aft section and I had plenty of room for two more of them if needed. The large green one was clothing and the brown & black one was the food and cooking gear.
We put the Freedom in the water stern 1st one day off the bank which was about 2 feet high and when I got to camp we had to pick up the ....A S S E N D ( that is how you beat the spam setting on the forum) and shake the boat to make those two bags slide forward to where I could reach them and pull them out , after I opened the rear hatch. There is 72 inches of storage room in the aft section , things will slid back and out of reach if you let them. One day I used the kayak paddle to retrieve a small bag I put in there before I put those two bags in.
The seat went where seats always go, The yellow bag was the sleeping bag and mattress , it along with the hammock in the blue bag went in the bow , with some but not a lot of room to spare.
The ammo can had the camera , meds , keys , wallet and everything a person want readily acessable and it slid under the forward deck so it could be pulled back to let me get the camera for pictures. The red bag on the deck was the rain gear with a sponge next to it and the bow line next to that.
The boots I had on while the camp shoes were under the rear cords and the red bag (on the ground ) with paddling snacks in it. The camp chair was also under the rear cords for quick access when taking a shore break. The water jug ....... anywhere I could put it and that was just about anywhere.
Chuck.
