33′ Harris Concordia Sloop (1948) – FREE SPIRITEmail This Listing to a Friend

A fine, easily-handled cruiser, slightly larger than the well-loved Concordia 31s, was Wilder B. Harris’s goal—and surely, he succeeded. Harris drew her up for Llewellyn Howland after the 1938 hurricane had destroyed his cutter. But Howland chose Ray Hunt’s Concordia Yawl design instead, so the drawings for this boat lay dormant for a decade before Mitty (the boat’s original name) was built by Palmer Scott in 1948.

Soon after he bought Free Spirit from Giffy Full in 1982 and after taking care of the boat’s immediate needs such as replacing the pine deck with plywood, Dynel and epoxy, WoodenBoat founder Jon Wilson began scheming with Joel White and Brion Rieff how to make her faster and more comfortable.

Jon wanted to try a carbon fiber mast and rod rigging so he and Joel devised the specs and the new rigging package was ordered from Hall Spars and, before stepping, the mast was convincingly faux painted to look like spruce. New sails, set up with Dutchman furling, first came from Hood, with a more recent suit from Vermont Sailing Partners.

To go with this lighter and faster rig, which now included a second headsail running from the masthead to a longer bowsprit, Jon had Brion Rieff strengthen the hull and add to the boat’s stability. Free Spirit’s cast iron ballast keel along with the supplemental inside lead-pig ballast was replaced by a brandnew outside keel of cast lead—a vast improvement that gave the boat the stiffness to stand up to a big breeze and go faster without reefing.

Brion went on to deal with frames, floor timbers, bottom planking, and fastenings, renewing these pieces where necessary. A new bronze mast step fabrication was also part of the project. Brion splined the topside seams and faired the entire hull, creating a very lovely boat that was stronger, faster, and more durable than she’d ever been.

The interior was completely renewed during this 1994 refit and, with raised panel bulkheads and doors, the joinerwork painted a soft white with varnished trim, and soft green corduroy cushions, the cabin took on a truly classic style. You don’t want to leave, once you are in it.

Engine? A Yanmar diesel with only a few hundred hours of running time.

Jon Wilson has kept Free Spirit current with all manner of electronics and has also fitted her with radar. He’s been careful never to allow the hull seams to open up, launching early in the season, hauling late, and storing winters inside the WoodenBoat School shop.

You’re in for a big surprise with this one! Pure cruiser, and an elderly one at that, you say to yourself when you glance at her all paint, no varnish exterior. Go deeper and you gradually realize that this is a sleeper—a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

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