arb

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 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

HTRDLNCN

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.

arb

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

HTRDLNCN

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.

ECeptor

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.

arb

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