4 Winn Liberator 221 Performance & Other
 

I bought my 1990 Four Winns 221 in March and new to boating. I'm a retired Aviation Warrant Officer (Vietnam Vet) and needed to get my son (computer nerd) out of the house and buying the boat :boat: worked.

Ques. 1.

The boat has the 454, 370 HP (per book) engine with 228 hours since new. The speed-o- does not wotk. I read in the book that 55 MPH is about right and Lib. seems that fast. I took my car Tom-tom on board but the lighter plug-in was inop. for GPS speed.

Ques. 2.

Trim Indicator works (gauge off) and is operated off the throttle & drives up / dwn. to the King Cobra OMC.

211 Lib. does not have the add-ed on trim... just the drive unit. I am unsure .. if I am trimming the boat correctly. When I'm running at top speed, the drive setting seems best when it's ... all the way down. I think the trim indicator is slightly off .. gauge wise.. needle is too far down in gauge (not running full range, like gas gauge when it's off).

Without a speed-o.. how can one judge the correct trim setting ?

Do I look aft.. & judge by the rear of the boat and the wake from the prop. & boat trim (pitch forward & aft) ?

Also, would add on trim tabs be helpful on the corners of the boat for leveling out & added trim control ?

When I'm in a No wake zone (about 5 mph), boat is wandering back & forth and requires constant correction ... is this normal ?

Ques. 3

I read most of the info. regarding the King Cobra OMC drive problems.

I'm a 2nd owner and the shift cable was replaced before I got the boat with 218 hours on it. Everything works good and Lib. 221 ... starts, idles, shifts, and accelerates quite well.

If it ain't broke, I don't fix it is a motto I picked up as a Maint. Test Pilot on UH-1 (Hueys) & Uh-60 (Blackhawk) helicopters.

So the question is, leave it alone since parts are in very short supply and if it clunks.. fix or replace it... correct.. what say yee ? ? ? ?

What things would you do to this boat..other than service items that I'm up aware of already ?

I was reading about props & added on perfomance, Lib. 211 has a stainless steel prop & appears to be in 100% perfect condition.

Avery

On most boats trimming drive up to get boat hull out of water
provices the fastest and most efficient ride but how much is a function of hull design and prop you are running.
You would need a GPS to really find out what your boat needs
but I have never seen a boat that runs best with drive all the way down especially not a heavy one like the Libby.

Wandering is normal in a deep V boat with a single engine.

HTRDLNCN

Thank You for quick answer. I will buy a new lighter plug-in assy. & get GPS working on Saturday for accurate speed and go from there.

I keep tweeking the Drive Unit (up/dwn.) and don't notice a lot of difference once the boat is up to speed.

I was wondering how fast you can turn in around in the boat on smooth water. Can the boat turn around in a faily sharp turn at 40 MPH or so without lossing control ? What is a sign of slidding or lost of control & roll over .. to watch for.

Note: I have a lot of experience with flying things, motor cycles and cars but new to boats & a whole different deal.

In rough water with other boat waves, is 25 mph a fairly safe speed. I realize that every situation is different and it will take time to get a feel for things but any info. would be helpful to add to my (new) boat handling data base.

Avery

prop and hull makes a big difference on turning but at 25mph you should be able to make a tight turn unless something is way off. I sent you a pm with some info.

When I bought my first boat, I headed to the lake by myself on a quiet week night to get a feel for the handling. I had my life jacket on, lanyard hooked up and practiced turns. I started slow and went slightly faster and faster trying to learn the feel of the boat. I'm not a racer nor do I need to any high performance stuff when on the water so I'm sure I stopped long before the limits of the hull.

But, that session gave me some tummy confort on what I could do with the boat. Also, if I have passengers in with me, I never push the boat as hard as I do when I'm solo.

Enjoy your new ride!

PS - buy an overhaul manual for your engine and outdrive...and carry it plus some tools with you when you are on the water. My manual stays in my boat in a waterproof container under the bench seat.

ECeptor

Good advice about carring tools & manual.

I was stopped in the water last week (Raystown Lake, PA) when I let my Son out to try water sking.

The boat would not fire up, nothing. I only had a pair of vice grips and (1) spare battery on board. I switched batterys over, still nothing.

I checked the circuit breakers at the engine module, they were not popped out. I used the vise grips to jump the solenoid.. cranked engine but No spark. I knew that I had a Ign. problem but did see the fuze panel. I ran out of time because I was drifting into jagged rocks along the shore line.

I waved one of the ski's back & forth & got a tow back to the boat landing.

Anyway, I printed the wiring diagram from Four Winns web site & other service info. .

I had bought a nice tool box for the boat but forgot to load it that day. Now I'm carring enough tools & electrial test kit and extra wiring to rebuild the boat. Forgot to mention, the fuze going to the ign. circuit had a small bit of corrision on it, I cleaned it up & works (starts) perfect.

Again, great advice and I had it figured out but forgot to carry tools & manual, never again.

Regarding, the handing of the boat. I'm not that lost in the handling of the boat.... just not comfortable yet. I wish I had another Libby guy around that would check me out or advise.

Thanks All

Avery