Freedom 225 vs 215

[JPC99]

Curious is anyone has owned or trialed both of these boats. I like the 10 person capcity of the 225 but I'm curious about aditional 6 inches of beam on the 215 and if that has an impact on ride quality. A large head isn't a decision variable as this will largely be a short hop boat in the 1000 islands.

 

[billyttpd]

I prefer a boat with more beam. I have an Adventure 20. The new 21 walkaround is very appealing to me. More so than a Seafarer.

 

[TikiCharterFishing]

I love my Freedom 235. Length is a consideration in addition to beam. I find that when running through moderate chop the longer boat rides smoother.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

It's not always about the beam width imo as I've got a 228 Seafarer with an 8' beam and my neighbor has a 270 Islander with an 8'6" beam and honestly it's hard to tell the difference from the helm area. You'd think the extra 6" would make a huge difference, that's what she said! When sitting in the helm area of my boat it gets a little tight walking between the seats or trying to move around the walkaround part of the boat up to the bow. I figured with his boat being an extra 6" wider that it would be night and day different but it wasn't, it was about the same ratio as mine as most things on a bigger boat are going to be slightly bigger, so it wasn't really noticeable or anything. I'd call your local dealer and step foot on each boat to see what you think and if one stands out more than the other.

 

[Joe_C]

I little bit of length makes heading into chop a little better. A little wider beam makes moving about the cockpit easier. Trailering the extra 6” has been tougher on me than I had anticipated - tight traffic, truck traffic, and construction zones wear you out on longer trips.