Need a little advice re Freedom 285

[bojangheels]

Looking to upgrade from an older 225 and eyeing the 285 as the right next step for all around use - beaching, near-shore fishing/trolling, and cruising.

Hung up on whether the best choice is the wet bar or the lounge seat. With the wet bar, I like the additional storage/drawers of the wet bar and a cutting surface - but it looks too nice to serve as a spot to use when fishing. (I'm already thinking about a rod-holder fillet table or sea-sucker table for this.)

For those that have the wet bar, anyone ever wish they had the extra lounge seat, instead? Same for those with the extra lounge seat, do you wish you had gone with the wet bar?

I realize everything is a trade off, but I'd love to hear from some of you with real experiences with these set ups.

Much appreciated.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

I was looking at the 285 recently as an upgrade from my 235. There seems to be quite a few configurations on the 285 depending on year...wet bar, dual lounge seats, tuna door, long or short aft fold out bench seat...some have the wet bar on the port side, some have it on the starboard, some don't have a tuna door. I would get the wet bar. To me that's a better feature than another seat.

 

[RobboNJ]

I have a Freedom 307 with the wetbar and drawers instead of the extra lounge seat. I really like the wetbar for access to fresh water and use the cutting board to cut bait when fishing. And the drawers are great for storing fishing gear. Having a garbage can onboard is also great. Don't miss the extra seat as there is plenty of seating onboard.

 

[bojangheels]

I have a Freedom 307 with the wetbar and drawers instead of the extra lounge seat. I really like the wetbar for access to fresh water and use the cutting board to cut bait when fishing. And the drawers are great for storing fishing gear. Having a garbage can onboard is also great. Don't miss the extra seat as there is plenty of seating onboard.

Thank you both. You are confirming my suspicions re rebar/seat.