Scream And Fly Magazine - Customer-Designed 120 MPH Liberator 22 with Mercury Racing 450R Looks Stunning

We reported on this Liberator two months ago when it was fresh out of the paint booth to begin the rigging process. One quick look at this eye-catching Liberator gives no doubt that this is another creation of Liberator Boats of Florida, or more specifically, 'The Wildman' Randy Corson.
The boat has his signature style of exquisite paint work and a completely color-coordinated interior. The boat features zero-effort controls, SeaStar power steering assist, a Garmin LCD panel that displays all engine functions and status, beautiful powder-coated hardware from Eddie Marine and of course, a monster 600-watt sound system. A powered hatch, trim tabs and swim steps complete what is an incredible package that will have performance to match its looks.

What makes this particular Liberator unique among the countless custom boats Randy has created is that this boat's buyer, James Kryta, designed the paint patterns and colors. As James says, "This boat is inspired from a life long dream to have custom creations that are comprised of the highest performance engines on highly detailed creations."

James and his nephew are devoted muscle car enthusiasts that are always on the lookout for very special and unique low-production cars that are often so rare that they used experimental engines and parts, further separating them from already-rare models. The design of his new Liberator represents a reflection of the race-inspired cars of the past and present that James is passionate about. When it came time to direct these fervent interests into creating a boat that has both ultimate style and performance to match, Randy Corson was the logical choice for the job, and he succeeded with exquisite results.

The Liberator 22 hulls are custom-ordered and delivered to Randy as bare, white shells. Once the design is worked out and the parts selected, Randy begins taping the paint patterns and always takes photos of every step of the process, from to taping and painting, to the rigging and final product. He does this with most of his boats, and it provides a very interesting look into the work involved in such a custom boat.

Randy brought Kryta's design to life in his exquisitely-unique paint style with his trademark use of sharp angles highlighted by marbleized finish patterns and razor-precise color lines. It is a boat that demands attention in any setting, not only for its bright, colorful presence, but also for its performance, and that is another trademark of Randy's boats.

To complete the Liberator's design scheme, Randy designed the interior using James' color choices, with custom-made Mercury badging that looks fantastic. Premier Performance Interiors in Sarasota, FL translated the design into an interior that is as impressive as Randy's paint work. Finally, a custom powder-coated trailer is part of the package.

Power is by Mercury Racing's 450R,a 4.6-liter supercharged V8 outboard that is the power of choice for some of the fastest boats today. Having a great deal of experience with this hull and engine combination, Randy delivers his customers a fully dialed-in, turn-key 120 MPH beast.

An interesting modification is the addition of engine cowl 'Venom Vents', which were developed by Bishop Marine and Randy for the R-series engines. It is essentially a pair of fiberglass cowl intake ports somewhat similar to the older-style Mercury Racing cowls used in the past. To install them, holes must be cut out of the factory engine cowl, and once the installation is complete the vents give the engine cowl a nice custom look. It is claimed that this modification alone could provide an additional 5 MPH to the boat's top speed, which is intriguing. I have not yet personally witnessed or tested this modification thus far, so I cannot say anything about its performance claims.

After twenty years of producing some of the most unique performance boats that Randy is known for, his work always holds surprises, and the collaboration that this fully-custom Liberator 22 is born from represents an incredible fusion of design, talent, and the vigorous pursuits of two ambitious people with personal goals of always pushing their lifelong devotion to their craft into new directions. I think they succeeded.