1992 Liberator 21 Restoration

[PilotRyan]

Well I figured I should start a thread before I get so far along I can’t keep track.

Had my eye on this boat for a few years now. When I first saw it I had just lost my flying job when covid was announced and I picked up a Baker Tunnel to keep me busy while the world was on fire. The motor was no good and I dropped it off at a boat shop nearby and this Liberator was sitting in one of the stalls collecting dust. It was the shop owners.

Fast forward a few years, back to flying, married, tornado hit the marina and totaled my SeaRay 340 I just finished restoring. I decided to shake things up and go get that Liberator after all this time.

 

[PilotRyan]

First thing to tackle was the trailer. First appearance is really bad. The paint is faded, bearing buddies leaking everything, and a ratchet strap holding the bow eye down. The wheels are all different and the newest tire was from 2008. At some point the right fender was damaged and someone bent it back out.

So after 4 solid days of work we’re in good shape. I stripped the trailer and went to town with a flap disc. I went with new bearings, all new wiring and LED lights, and 2 new fenders.

I was going to buy new wheels from Ridler but I couldn’t decide what I wanted so as a placeholder I got some 2003 Mustang Mach 1 wheels in 18x8 with 245/40r18 tires for a steal on FB Marketplace.

I polished all the diamond plate and bolted a winch on and we’re good to go.

 

[PilotRyan]

Next up was the cover. I was hoping to wait on this because the cover it came with was allegedly 2 years old and it looked half decent. Turns out it’s terrible and doesnt have any water repelling capabilities at all as I found out after our first Texas sized thunderstorm left a puddle between the sponsons.

I had decided already I wanted more of a cockpit cover than a full boat cover for the sake of trailering, ease of removal, and looks.

The boat didn’t have any snap studs or anything to attach one so I went ahead and carefully laid out with tape how I’d like them to be installed and played around with spacing between snaps until I found what looked good and was structural enough to tow with.

After some sewing, we were in good shape. The material is TopGun 1S in black. I used a lifetime thread and I expect it should last quite a while.

 

[PilotRyan]

Following the cover was my engine issues. I’d start it up, it would go into “quick idle” where the motor increases timing until it sees a certain temp, and then it would drop back down and fall on its face and die.

After downloading a maintenance manual and getting to work on diagnostics I found multiple issues. First was water in the fuel, followed by a cracked timer base, followed by clogged idle circuits, and finally the incorrect spark plugs with a gap .020 off.

I went ahead and just replaced every single ignition component because they were 25 years old. I saved all the good stuff and tossed the timer base.

So after 6 carb kits, a link and sync, plugs, new fuel, fuel lines, stator, timer base, coil packs, voltage regulator, and thermostats it’s running great.

 

[PilotRyan]

After a 6 week wait my Eddie Motorsports billet swim step and fuel cap came in. The boat had no swim step and the wife wanted one. I opted for the clear anodized over raw aluminum look because it’s going to look cool against the transom after I repaint the boat, which I’ll get to shortly.

I hate putting holes in a boat, but I guess it gave me a chance to take a sample of what’s going on in the transom. I smacked around with a screwdriver before I bought the boat and didn’t hear anything that concerned me too much.

I’ll say this, it’s really good for a boat from 1992 from a manufacturer with some track record of not the best build quality back in the day.

 

[PilotRyan]

So now it’s time for some fiberglass repair and a paint job. When I was redoing the trailer and had the boat up on blocks I discovered that someone used screws that were too long to secure the hinges on the back bench.

Because of that, now I have 3 holes thru the bottom of my boat to fix. I’m also going to take this opportunity to fix the few little chunks of gelcoat missing on the leading edges of the sponsons, as well as re-core the dashboard.

One of the few areas with exposed plywood is the core material they used behind the dash. When I hit a little wave I see bits of plywood dropping down onto the floor as it slowly disintegrates. Theres a bunch of holes in the dash that don’t need to be there so I’ll clean it all up and start fresh with only pertinent gauges and my head unit.

So, all that being said, here’s the design I’m going for. The black will have some metal flake in it, and instead of white it’ll be Toyota Cavalry blue to match my truck. Any accents will be a light silver, and that should tie in all the clear anodized pieces like the swim step and grab handles around the boat.

The interior upholstery is a silver carbon fiber vinyl with black accents. I’m thinking it should look great.

 

[ChrisV]

badass man! I love the wheel fitment. Its on point!

 

[PilotRyan]

badass man! I love the wheel fitment. Its on point!

Thanks man! All I did is try and replicate your trailer

 

[mattyc]

So now it’s time for some fiberglass repair and a paint job. When I was redoing the trailer and had the boat up on blocks I discovered that someone used screws that were too long to secure the hinges on the back bench.

Because of that, now I have 3 holes thru the bottom of my boat to fix. I’m also going to take this opportunity to fix the few little chunks of gelcoat missing on the leading edges of the sponsons, as well as re-core the dashboard.

One of the few areas with exposed plywood is the core material they used behind the dash. When I hit a little wave I see bits of plywood dropping down onto the floor as it slowly disintegrates. Theres a bunch of holes in the dash that don’t need to be there so I’ll clean it all up and start fresh with only pertinent gauges and my head unit.

So, all that being said, here’s the design I’m going for. The black will have some metal flake in it, and instead of white it’ll be Toyota Cavalry blue to match my truck. Any accents will be a light silver, and that should tie in all the clear anodized pieces like the swim step and grab handles around the boat.

The interior upholstery is a silver carbon fiber vinyl with black accents. I’m thinking it should look great. View attachment 1428701

This is awesome, I'm following along

 

[PilotRyan]

Well I spent a few hours today derigging the boat. Tomorrow I will remove the rub rail and begin sanding. The shop is a disaster!

 

[PilotRyan]

Well things got out of hand. I removed the rub rail and then I decided that this boat would look so much cooler with a capped hull.

So… I spent the day grinding and glassing. Tomorrow I’ll finally start filling, sanding, and shaping everything.

 

[PilotRyan]

Sanding and filling and itching and filling and sanding.

 

[PilotRyan]

Well I finished the day of sanding off by sealing everything up in a coat of epoxy primer. Now I can begin the final stages of fairing. I have some pinholes to fill and a few low spots.

I have a feeling that once it’s all painted I will not be satisfied by my bodywork abilities capping the hull and I’ll end up putting a rub rail on it anyways… I guess we’ll see.

 

[PilotRyan]

Lots of filler work and hopefully the final coat of epoxy primer today.

I’ll start tomorrow with some ultra fine glazing putty and fill in the couple dozen remaining pinholes I noticed after shooting the epoxy.

I think I also need to realize that once everything is buried in sealer, base, and 3 coats of clear that it’ll be hard to see some of the imperfections that are bothering me.

 

[PilotRyan]

May the paint gods bless me today.

 

[Rayson1971]

How do you like the booth.? How's the material on it? Is it like those kids bounce houses.

 

[PilotRyan]

How do you like the booth.? How's the material on it? Is it like those kids bounce houses.

It’s proven to be pretty good. Clears out the overspray and mist in the air pretty quickly and nearly eliminates the smell outside.

The material is like a bouncy house.

 

[PilotRyan]

This isn’t where I left off, but I only have pictures of the sealer coat.

 

[ChrisV]

badass!!!

 

[PilotRyan]

Welp. Now I have to scuff the entire boat with 500 grit and then reclear the whole thing together. There is metal flake EVERYWHERE.

 

[sonicss31]

What’s taking you so long?

 

[PilotRyan]

What’s taking you so long?

Hahaha I have a real problem

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Damn you’re killing it. Keep it up.

 

[17 10 Flat]

You're doing a heck of a job.

 

[HST4ME]

Remember it's flake or it's crap!