[6] The initial proposal for the third boat was that Sparkman & Stephens and Johan Valentijn would collaborate to design a refined version of Freedom.

Early results were mixed, but she was a clear improvement over Spirit of America and the Sparkman and Stephens’ boat was retired.

In particular, its seaway motion needed to be steadied and, in the process, make its performance in heavy winds comparable to Freedom’s.

Just before the defender races began, Conner announced that Liberty would be the boat he would be sailing on behalf of the Freedom ’83 syndicate.

[10] Despite being the first US boat to lose the America’s Cup, Liberty was not a bad design or poorly performing yacht.

Although repairs were made, they weren't totally effective and on the first leg of the race, the port jumper strut again collapsed disadvantaging the boat.

Prior to the seventh race, the Liberty crew did just that, lifting ballast from the boat and increasing its sail area.

John Bertrand, helmsman of Australia II, admitted that in that final race: “the ballasting challenges they had made to Liberty – adding more sail area and taking weight out of the boat – sped her up remarkably… she had a little bit more speed on us and all of a sudden, we were in trouble.”[14] Secondly, Conner did appear to be labouring under the psychological weight of Australia II 's excellent performance and the mystery of the winged keel.