37 Freeman for Sale, the Freeman 37VH Used Buyer's Guide

The first vented Freeman and why it mattered

If you are browsing listings for a 37 Freeman for sale, you are almost certainly looking at a Freeman 37VH. Billy Freeman founded Freeman Boatworks in South Carolina in 2006 and built his first 33-foot catamaran with naval design engineer Jesse Rhodes. The 37 was the next big step. By spring 2014 Freeman's website was promoting the 37VH as a new standard in offshore performance, built on what the company called its vented hull technology and aimed at the 36 to 40 foot tournament class. Sport Fishing described it as possibly the first vented-hull cat from the build-to-order builder.

The vents mattered because they fed air into the running surface, which Freeman credited for speed and fuel economy gains. When Freeman launched the stepped 34VH in 2015, Sport Fishing noted that the smaller boat incorporated the performance gains the company had made with the 37VH. In other words, the 37 was the test bed for the hull that defined Freeman's mid-2010s range.

Specifications and how the rating grew

Freeman's 2016 and 2019 spec sheets agree on the core numbers: 37 feet 2 inches overall, an 11-foot 6-inch beam, a 21-inch draft, 11,500 pounds with engines and about 13,500 pounds ready to fish. Fuel capacity is 540 gallons and fresh water 20 gallons. Bridge height is 9 feet, and trailer height with radar is 13 feet 4 inches.

What changed was the power rating. The 2016 sheet listed a 1,200 hp maximum, Sport Fishing's 2016 buyers guide quoted 1,350 hp, and by 2019 Freeman listed 1,600 hp. That progression tracks the arrival of bigger outboards and explains why later boats are typically more powerful than early ones. Freeman's cruise figure stayed the same throughout, 45 mph at 1.1 mpg.

• LOA 37 ft 2 in, beam 11 ft 6 in, draft 21 in
• Dry weight with engines 11,500 lb; ready to fish about 13,500 lb
• Fuel 540 gal, fresh water 20 gal
• Maximum power 1,200 hp (2016) rising to 1,600 hp (2019)
• Builder cruise figure 45 mph at 1.1 mpg

Quad Yamahas, Seven Marines and the 70 mph club

The 37VH earned a reputation as one of the fastest fishing boats of its era. Sport Fishing's roundup of the fastest fishing boats listed the 37VH Warbird, rigged with quad Yamaha 300s, at 73 mph. Its 2016 buyers guide wrote up a Seven Marine powered 37 with a reported top speed of 76 mph, and its tester noted that the harder they pushed and turned, the more the boat leaned into the turn rather than banking outward, a trait that older cats rarely had.

Economy is the other half of the story. At Freeman's cruise figure of 45 mph and 1.1 mpg, a 37VH burns about 41 gallons per hour, which means 540 gallons stretches to roughly 530 statute miles on paper before any reserve. Real numbers depend on load, sea state and engine package, and early twin Seven Marine boats behave differently from quad outboard boats, but the 37VH was always an efficient boat for its speed.

A cockpit built for a tournament crew

Sport Fishing's tester compared the 37's cockpit to a racquetball court, and Freeman's standard list backs that up. There is an 800-quart over-insulated coffin box forward of the console with an aluminum rod rack, a 400-quart below-deck fish box, a 70-gallon pressurized transom livewell, and two 280-quart round in-deck insulated boxes, each of which can be upgraded to a fully plumbed livewell. Eighteen Gemlux gunwale rod holders, eight pull-up cleats, a 20-gallon freshwater washdown and shower, and a raw water washdown with two outlets complete the base boat.

Because the boat was built to order, owners could choose tuna tubes in the transom or a simple pressurized open well for sardines and pogies. Later options included twin 510-quart gullwing coffin boxes, Llebroc bolster seats, coaming bolsters, a manual marine head with a holding tank, a windlass and JL Audio sound. Owners chose either a fiberglass hardtop or a Weblon fabric soft top, so equipment varies widely from boat to boat.

Helm, steering and handling notes

Freeman fitted Teleflex Optimus hydraulic power steering and Bennett XPT heavy-duty trim tabs as standard, with a 44 by 19 inch dash for electronics. Many surviving boats have been upgraded to larger displays, which is worth checking because a dated electronics suite is an expensive fix.

In a seaway the 37 behaves like the Freemans that followed it: level in head seas, stable at drift and quick to turn. Like all cats, it needs a slightly different trim and throttle technique in following seas than a deep-V, and a buyer moving from a monohull should sea trial in rough water before committing.

From 37VH to Freeman 38

The 37VH stayed in Freeman's lineup alongside the 42LR and 34VH through the late 2010s and was still listed in mid 2025, but it was gone from the 2026 fleet. Its effective replacement is the Freeman 38, which shares the 37VH's 37-foot 2-inch length and 11-foot 6-inch beam but carries 600 gallons, a 40-gallon freshwater supply, a molded dive door and a 1,400 hp rating, with a builder cruise figure of 38 mph at 1.28 mpg. If you like the 37VH but want a newer boat, the 38 is the obvious alternative.

What a 37 Freeman costs to buy and run

Used 37VH boats are not common, and good ones sell quickly. We estimate asking prices from about $230,000 for an early boat needing engines to around $560,000 for a late, well-equipped boat on fresh power. Annual costs of $28,000 to $60,000 cover insurance, a wide slip, service on three or four outboards, electronics and fuel; tournament owners who run hundreds of hours a season will spend more.

Because these boats were often run hard in tournaments and Gulf rig trips, ask for engine hours, a compression and lower unit report, and service history. A survey should include a moisture check on the deck and in the console mounting area, and a careful look at the tunnel and sponsons for repairs.