Offshoreonly.com - Which Four Winns Liberator model is the best?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Pure Energy (Post 2697497)

I had the 201, OMC, for 11 yrs!!! Not 1 problem!!!! I beat the pi$$ out of that boat and it came back for more! It handled very well for it's size too.

thats because you never drove it.....just kiddin buddy.

Hi all. I have been lurking here for years but didnt register till now. Thought id share my experience with my 261. It has t/260s with alphas. Ive owned it since 94 & have run out of grand haven all these years. I had it painted & redid the cockpit back in 98, its all white now. The boat is very heavy & solidly built (overbuilt). Probably why its taken the lake michigan beating for all these years with no problems. It has a lot of room both in the cockpit & cabin. Ive ridden in & driven a lot of boats in the big lake & this one crushes the waves as good as any in this size range. Only major b*tch ive had is the alphas not counter rotating. Makes it quarter a little wierd, but you get used to it. Top speed also not that great, 55-60 but its a rare day on lake michigan you can run faster than that with passengers. Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 261LIB (Post 2697556)

I've run my 201 on Lake MI at over 65 on many occasions. I ran with 3 Donzi's at 68-70 a month ago.

One of those rare days.

A guy that works for me at the Wharf in Grand Haven has one for sale. Nice boat and in good shape! I think he only wants $7000 for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 261LIB (Post 2698024)

One of those rare days.

No, not really. A typical day with 2-3 footers. The 22 Classic and I took a little more of a pounding than the 28 Scorpion and 30 Black Widow. I have run on the big lake dozens of times this summer. About 75% of the time I was able to run over 60. About 25% of the time I ran much slower because the waves were over 3' or they were 3's and not predictable. There were two or three times the whole summer that I chose not to venture out b/c the water was too rough - 5-6 footers or worse.

There were also numerous times that the water was almost too flat - kind of boring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carder (Post 2697021)

Back in the day when 4 Winns was still owned by the Winn Family in Cadillac, Mi, It was my job to get local models and drivers for the Brochures they made each year. I got to drive all of them until the OMC buy-out. If you are on big water consider the 241 or 261. nothing smaller. We had a 211 on Lake Huron, and it was well built, but dicey with large waves.
They made a few 241'w with twin power. They were the fastest, but both of the larger models handled the bigger water very well. In the river, all sizes would be overkill, as far as any weather you could throw at them. So the size that fits your needs would be
the best choice.
Carder

I don't agree that they would all be overkill for the river. A few years ago, I ran my boat from Riverside Park to Lake MI. There were some large cruisers (35+ feet) that were plowing the water at 20+ mph and throwing some very large wakes. The wakes made passing these boats on the river very interesting. I was glad that I was in a 20' boat and not something smaller. Now this may not be an issue for the thread starter since he lives in Grand Haven, but he did say he wanted to go to Lake MI. That will probably mean he will venture out onto the big lake. Some people would want more boat than a 201 to go onto Lake MI. Others like me are fine with 20 footers.

Keep in mind that I typically do not go too many miles from my home port in case the weather changes. I would like to someday have a bigger boat with twins so that I can travel further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 201liberator (Post 2697753)

I've run my 201 on Lake MI at over 65 on many occasions. I ran with 3 Donzi's at 68-70 a month ago.

If you do not invite me for one of these runs next summer I WILL be disappointed...this sounds fun :cool:

My buddy has a 241 for sale. Has the 460 and King Cobra package. Just put a new motor in it. Runs great and is a nice boat.

http://lexington.craigslist.org/boa/840312798.html

70 mph in a 20' Liberator in 3's that had to be umm... excting. Just out of curiosity, whatcha got in the 201?