The Boat

Shiloh is a Freedom 39 Pilothouse Schooner built in 1983 under the Freedom Yachts marque by Tillotson-Pearson of Rhode Island. We purchased her in early 2019 from the second owner. A cat-schooner has two masts instead of one and no jib, with the forward mast being the shorter of the two. The cat portion refers to catboat rather than catamaran, and means the forward mast is almost all the way up at the bow. It's a weird layout compared to most modern sailboats, but it means we carry a lot of canvas and the foresail never needs a spinnaker pole. As an added bonus, there are no jib sheets to fiddle with in a tack. Finally, the rig is unstayed, which means there are no spreaders or other wire rigging holding up the masts!

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Design

In a lot of ways, Freedom yachts were ahead of their time. Many of their layouts featured forward-thinking themes like the pilothouse / deck saloon concept and separate shower stalls in the heads. The mast spars were carbon fiber, which is still a rare ingredient in modern yachts.

Right at the bow is a large pulpit and anchor roller in stainless steel, followed by the windlass and the first of two carbon masts. Heading back along the gunnels the deck height rises to make 6 foot headroom below, and a second pop-up for the pilothouse area is just behind the main mast amidships. The aft cabin is a typical "cozy" 80s quarter-berth, and there is a conventional aft cockpit accessed by a not-so-conventional "spiral staircase" companionway.

Specs

Length: 39'
Waterline Length: 31'
Beam: 12'10"
Draft: 5'6"
Displacement: 18,500lb
Ballast: Lead, 5,300lb
Engine: Perkins Diesel, 4-108, 50HP

Water: 160 Gal
Fuel: 100 Gal
Mainsail Area: 550sqft
Foresail Area: 350sqft
Cabins: 2 double
Heads: 1 amidships