Rotten 25 Liberator

[Da Bull]

OK, Thanks

[NAVISPEED1]

Subscribed, keep the pics coming, Wow, so sad it looked really nice on the ad.
thanks for sharing the re-do.

[Gorilla0178]

Got the transom cleaned up, filled the void at the bottom of the transom with come core and putty and got 4 layers of glass on it. I should have core on fri, hope to have some put in by the end of the day.

[Rattlesnake Jake]

What a shame. Old saying, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"

[Gorilla0178]

Got the transom in, the first layer of core got corebond and screwed in from the back, 2 layers of 1708 and 2 1.5oz mats in between cores, the second got screwed in from the front. The cut out on the second layer is so that the motor well fits, the transom is thicker than the original.

[Gorilla0178]

4 layers of 1708 over the whole thing. 2 7/8" thick

[Gorilla0178]

Motorwell fits close

[Gorilla0178]

All 4 top motor mount holes were crushed, there was a space between the cap and transom, so when the bolts were tightened it crushed. The whole back side got glass, the void where the transom met the cap was full of resin putty, i got almost all of it chipped out and now its got a small piece of core and corebond in it.

[Fear And Loathing]

As already stated all boat builders build a bad one on occasion. My experience has been nothing but stellar with Dave @ Liberator. I have owned 3 and currently own a 2014. My 1998 was rock solid in all aspects . The transom and floor were solid. My 2002 Stealth saw 110 gps every time out and i live 10 minutes from the water, so 3 to 4 days a week we ran the crap out of that boat with 0 issues. I think the main problem is how was the boat cared for. I think any boat left covered with wet carpet is suspect . I have done business with Dave over the years and have never been disappointed. He has always done everything that he said he was going to do. Owners must take responsibility for their rigs and not put blame on the builder everytime. I also own a 2011 Bullet and have owned a Collins built Mirage which was no better than the Stealth that Dave built, in fact it was faster but did not turn as well as the Mirage ,but the build quality was ever bit as good as the Mirage. My 2014 21 Liberator is built as well as any. All wood is completely sealed and cut and fit perfectly.

I'm sure that I'll take some flak from Liberator bashers but oh well. My personnel , first hand experience has been great with all of the Liberators I've owned. Having been in and owned Allisons, Bullets , Mirages and Liberators for the last 30 years I think that my personnel experience has some value. I'm very particular about my boats and all of them see heavy use but I take care of them.

I am not affiliated with Liberator but have owned 3 of them. a 1998, 2002 and a 2014 all perfect boats with no Rot.

[Gorilla0178]

Im sure your right to some extent. Im not saying dave meant to have things like this happen. I know that it is poss that the wood supplier sent him the wrong wood (not marine plywood). Ive stated before that the boat itself (cap/hull) are well built, the decks and bulkheads are another story, very poorly glassed. This one seemed rock solid too, until it was pulled apart. As far as performance, this boat did 100+ rotten to hell, so just because its fast doesnt mean built well. So unless youve torn your boat apart or seen it built you have no idea.

[Fear And Loathing]

Im sure your right to some extent. Im not saying dave meant to have things like this happen. I know that it is poss that the wood supplier sent him the wrong wood (not marine plywood). Ive stated before that the boat itself (cap/hull) are well built, the decks and bulkheads are another story, very poorly glassed. This one seemed rock solid too, until it was pulled apart. As far as performance, this boat did 100+ rotten to hell, so just because its fast doesnt mean built well. So unless youve torn your boat apart or seen it built you have no idea.

You are right, however I'm not the least bit concerned because of my past experience, which is limited to the 21's and the Stealth.

I'm too picky to let my stuff get soaked. It drives me crazy if any of my boats get rained on.

[2.5-21]

You can use a lie detecter.....

[Fear And Loathing]

You can use a lie detecter.....

Those things are as critical as a compression g.

[CharlieN]

Can a pinless meter scan through the glass?

[Gorilla0178]

As already stated all boat builders build a bad one on occasion. My experience has been nothing but stellar with Dave @ Liberator. I have owned 3 and currently own a 2014. My 1998 was rock solid in all aspects . The transom and floor were solid. My 2002 Stealth saw 110 gps every time out and i live 10 minutes from the water, so 3 to 4 days a week we ran the crap out of that boat with 0 issues. I think the main problem is how was the boat cared for. I think any boat left covered with wet carpet is suspect . I have done business with Dave over the years and have never been disappointed. He has always done everything that he said he was going to do. Owners must take responsibility for their rigs and not put blame on the builder everytime. I also own a 2011 Bullet and have owned a Collins built Mirage which was no better than the Stealth that Dave built, in fact it was faster but did not turn as well as the Mirage ,but the build quality was ever bit as good as the Mirage. My 2014 21 Liberator is built as well as any. All wood is completely sealed and cut and fit perfectly.

I'm sure that I'll take some flak from Liberator bashers but oh well. My personnel , first hand experience has been great with all of the Liberators I've owned. Having been in and owned Allisons, Bullets , Mirages and Liberators for the last 30 years I think that my personnel experience has some value. I'm very particular about my boats and all of them see heavy use but I take care of them.

I am not affiliated with Liberator but have owned 3 of them. a 1998, 2002 and a 2014 all perfect boats with no Rot.

Been away from the computer for a few days. The problem with some of your comments above are that you dont state your knowledge of boat building or construction, You can not determine "rot" from outward apperance or speed. The boat im working on had no cosmetic signs of rot in the deck, and the bulkheads were impossible to see. There were some signs of concern, but the owner had no clue to the extent of the rot. Ive agreed with the fact that a bad build can happen, but in this case most was due to the wrong wood being used, and shabby glass work on the deck and bulkheads, the transom was hardly bonded or touching the glass. I would love to see the guts of some of the "solid" boats you used to have. I cant tell you how many "high quality" boats ive pulled apart to find out that there rotten beyond what was expected, usually due to a few screw holes. The life of this boat before this owner had it is unknown, and apparently it had a wet past who knows why or how it got so wet. But in 7 yrs this kind of thing shouldnt happen. Owners are responsible to take care of there boats to insure the life of them, but if your boat came with a disclamer that said "do not get wet" would you buy it? I truly hope that this is a isolated incident (i know its not, because ive spoken to another owner who had the same prob with the same year boat). Either way its why we do what we do at my shop, and keep the boats coming in.