Design
Freedom 17-9
Designed by Steve Killing
This is the big Freedom, drawn by Steve Killing for paddlers who liked the Freedom 17 but needed to carry more: more people, bigger people or more packs on a long wilderness trip. Length, beam and freeboard all go up with only subtle changes to the hull shape, giving 17 ft 9 in overall, a 36 in beam, 21 in at the bow and 14 1/2 in of depth at centre, and the result is a very stable boat. Like the 17, she began as a composite canoe built by Bluewater Canoes in Guelph.
The Freedom series carries a little more rocker than many modern canoes, which brings back some of the turning ability of traditional shapes without giving up modern hull speed. Bear Mountain expects a strip built example to weigh 55 to 60 pounds. Choose her over the 17 for a heavy load or a large crew; for two average paddlers with normal gear the smaller boat is lighter and easier to handle.
What building a Freedom 17-9 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Freedom 17-9 here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alenu 540 | Modern Wooden Boat | 5.4 m (17′ 9″) | 0 |
| Ondina | BCA Demco | 5.4 m (17′ 9″) | 0 |
| 17' 8" Orion | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 8″ (5.39 m) | 0 |
| 17' 11" Outer Island | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 11″ (5.46 m) | 0 |
| Naiade | BCA Demco | 5.35 m (17′ 7″) | 0 |
| Aleutesque | Chesapeake Light Craft | 18′ 0″ (5.49 m) | 0 |