Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

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brivander

Seaman
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Apr 16, 2011
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

I bought the boat this yr...guy i bought it from put 6500 in parts in the motor and 1800 in the outdrive to handle the power....i have the king cobra outdrive...boat came stock with the 460....i am reading off factory tach....

Ah Ha -- there you go, that makes your ratio 1.43 and puts your slip at 11-12%. The most important number we need is your max RPM -- are you willing to spin it that high? I would suggest trying a 19 and a 21 pitch prop and see what happens, if you move the rpm around in each direction and the speed stays about the same, your motor is already in the heart of it's operating range. However, if you drop to a 19" and pick up lots of RPM and gain a significant amount of speed you will know you are below the operating range (RPM) of your motor. That's when you have to decide how fast you want your max RPM to be. You should also gain about 200rpm with the prop you have by labbing it (about $375 here http://www.bblades.com/) and almost all of that RPM translates to more speed, or jump to a labbed 21" and will keep your RPM's about the same. Let us know what you find and good luck!
 

DBreskin

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
799
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

i have the king cobra outdrive.

Be careful how you treat the drive. If it breaks, you'll be sad to learn replacement parts are either not available or extremely expensive.
It's also very hard to find ANYONE who has the skills or special tools to work on the King Cobra drive. I suggest you start looking for a qualified and willing outdrive mechanic now, before you need one.
 

brivander

Seaman
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Messages
69
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

DBreskin, just noticed you have a boat with the same evil drive I have, also I think these drives get a worse wrap than they deserve, HOWEVER, I live in MI, the home of Four Winns, who sold a bazillion of these things so finding a good mechanic is easy...about 1/4 of the boats at my marina seem like they are Four Winns...depending on your location, it's probably not like that. The Cone Clutch Cobra is damn strong though, it's been behind an OMC 502 and holds up fine....
 

Ramblinron

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Jul 25, 2011
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

Hi, new to the forum. I bought a 1990 Liberator 221 with the King Cobra 7.4. I am having problems with it taking a long time to plane out, even with trim tabs down part way.
 

liberator261

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Jul 30, 2012
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

I have a 1987 four winns liberator 261 with twin 454 mercruiser's love this boat its all original has ben garaged would be nice to talk to some other guys that have this same boat and maybe cruise the lakes IMG_1255 (1).jpgIMG_4123.jpgIMG_9159.jpg
 

j1hoekst

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May 10, 2011
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prox700

Cadet
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

nice 26 bro...my brother inlaw has a 26 with twin 350..awesome riding boat compared to my 21..want to sell it?..lol
 

prox700

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Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

hey bro..been awhile but forgot i was even on this site...switched to a 21 pitch mirage plus...factory tach reads about 5100 and on gps i got 69 with 5 adults and close to a full tank of gas...prob hit 70 on a good day but after around 67 mph boat starts getting the speed wobbles
 

261 Lib

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Joined
Aug 26, 2012
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Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

I purchased a 261 last fall with twin 454. It is in very good condition. Had the motors out last fall to replace the gimbol rings and the stringers and transom were in good condition. Had it up to 60 mph on gps the other day. Had a starter dragging a little on start up. It looks difficult to change because there is not much room. Wish it would of acted up before I had the motors out and replaced it then. Anybody ever replace the starter with BBs? It is on the starboard side
 

jvthundercat

Recruit
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
3
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

I purchased a 261 last fall with twin 454. It is in very good condition. Had the motors out last fall to replace the gimbol rings and the stringers and transom were in good condition. Had it up to 60 mph on gps the other day. Had a starter dragging a little on start up. It looks difficult to change because there is not much room. Wish it would of acted up before I had the motors out and replaced it then. Anybody ever replace the starter with BBs? It is on the starboard side

Yes on starboard, they are BB Chevy's. Good luck with getting at that. Might think about pulling the bench seat for that one.
 

261 Lib

Cadet
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
9
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

Thanks for the reply. I thought about removing the rear bench also. Can't even see the damn thing, not going to be easy.
 

JerryRigged

Cadet
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
24
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

I'm on my third Liberator. Love these boats!

My current 211 is a 1987 with a 460 stroked to 514. Guessing around 625 HP with the 850 cfm double pumper Holley
Gill marine exhaust that look like cannons and boom like 'em too!

Just finished installing a new Garmin depth finder, lettering, Double battery set up, 1000 watt inverter with DVD player and flat screen for the kids.

Last time I was out, I was running bow to bow with an Outlaw SST 25 at around 68 mph.


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261 Lib

Cadet
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
9
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

Very nice looking boat. You have it hauling the mail at 68 mph. Looks like you have a complete new swim platform. What kind of outdrive you have on there to handle all that HP?
 

JerryRigged

Cadet
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
24
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

Very nice looking boat. You have it hauling the mail at 68 mph. Looks like you have a complete new swim platform. What kind of outdrive you have on there to handle all that HP?

Thanks! The swim platform is original. I just cleaned it and re-oiled it. The first two owners of this boat were meticulous as far as maintenance and care went. I even received a box containing all the brochures from 1987 and the original purchase order for the boat when I bought it! I am running the original King Cobra outdrive which was gone through and updated in the last 2 seasons. Thank God there are still people out there that are familiar with King Cobras and can scratch together the parts and tools to work on them!!!

boatNamePreviewImage-new.png

This last weekend I re did the lettering.
 

prox700

Cadet
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
6
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

That sounds like an awful familiar boat!? glad you like it jerry and glad i can still hear that thing bark on the river...justin
 

JerryRigged

Cadet
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
24
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

That sounds like an awful familiar boat!? glad you like it jerry and glad i can still hear that thing bark on the river...justin

LOL! HEY JUSTIN!!! Yeah I'm lovin it! Took the kids to Schroon Lake and Lake George over the weekend to do some tubing!!!

I taught AnnMarie how to drive it and got some time in myself! :encouragement:
 
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JerryRigged

Cadet
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
24
Re: Anyone own a Four Winns Liberator ?

Anyone have any info on what exactly it takes to convert from a OMC King Cobra to a Bravo 1 outdrive? No Problems now but I am getting into the prepping mode when something does go with the King Cobra. I will need something that can handle well over 650 HP. I am also looking to update to Fuel Injection.

The boat is in great shape. The OMC engine has about 12,000.00 into it. Considering the shape the boat is in and the investment into the engine, a conversion down the road would make sense if trouble arose with the Cobra. It's a dog clutch cobra BTW.
 
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