'79 Formula 255 Liberator Update
04-08-2013, 05:39 PM
#191
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I was 10 years old when that boat was made, and yes I remember watching "new" episodes of fantasy island and seeing people in shirts that said "I shot JR". 
Can't wait to see you running that thing. A bit of advice though. This time if you video tape it, less footage of Diego's breast this time, OK?
Brian
Can't wait to see you running that thing. A bit of advice though. This time if you video tape it, less footage of Diego's breast this time, OK?
Brian
04-08-2013, 08:04 PM
#192
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Thread Starter
You know...it's tough to hold on to a cell/camera phone in those conditions...but I will do better next time!!!LOL
OK...dropped the 255 back at Flint's this PM...tomorrow and Wednesday the gimbals, drives and engines are going in. Thursday will be sort it all out day and Friday should be Sea Trial Day!! The weather should be good with mid 80's and 2~4' seas...light chop on inland waters.
If all goes as planned I'm on the water this weekend
Time to start on the interior and electronics nex!!
OK...dropped the 255 back at Flint's this PM...tomorrow and Wednesday the gimbals, drives and engines are going in. Thursday will be sort it all out day and Friday should be Sea Trial Day!! The weather should be good with mid 80's and 2~4' seas...light chop on inland waters.
If all goes as planned I'm on the water this weekend
Time to start on the interior and electronics nex!!
Last edited by sprink58; 04-08-2013 at 08:23 PM.
04-08-2013, 09:37 PM
#193
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You know...it's tough to hold on to a cell/camera phone in those conditions...but I will do better next time!!!LOL
OK...dropped the 255 back at Flint's this PM...tomorrow and Wednesday the gimbals, drives and engines are going in. Thursday will be sort it all out day and Friday should be Sea Trial Day!! The weather should be good with mid 80's and 2~4' seas...light chop on inland waters.
If all goes as planned I'm on the water this weekend
Time to start on the interior and electronics nex!!
OK...dropped the 255 back at Flint's this PM...tomorrow and Wednesday the gimbals, drives and engines are going in. Thursday will be sort it all out day and Friday should be Sea Trial Day!! The weather should be good with mid 80's and 2~4' seas...light chop on inland waters.
If all goes as planned I'm on the water this weekend
Time to start on the interior and electronics nex!!
04-08-2013, 09:42 PM
#194
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04-08-2013, 11:58 PM
#196
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"I was 10 years old when that boat was made,..."
I was 27 and Miami, The Keys and all of South Florida was a beautiful place in the '70's. My wife and I were diving in Key Largo out of my Formula F-18.
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We were anchored ans suited up ready to go in when a beautiful new 255 Liberator pulled up close with 4: divers aboard and anchored.
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We ended up making friends with the other two couples....Latino's that had come down from Dinner Key in Coconut Grove and after 2 great dives they invited us back to their place on the water for a cookout.
We pulled up anchor and they told us to follow. We stayed in touch on the VHF and even though I could run 65 it was hard for me to maintain even 40 in 2~4' seas and until we went inside into Biscayne Bay thru Caesars Creek i could barely keep up. I marveled at the way that 255 just split the water with 4: aboard thru the late afternoon sun. When we got into the bay I got trimmed out and ran about 55~60 and caught up with the 255. They were sitting comfortably drinking a cold beer while I was "Balls Out" running. They waved at us...the Captain in the 255 nudged the throttle a bit and they slowly pulled away.
It was just so effortless and smooth. After we got settled in we decided to spend the night with our gracious host and hostess and took a little midnight cruise in the 255. I was offered the helm and I jumped at the chance. I remember that weekend...that was the first time that I was privileged to drive a performance boat .
I will celebrate my memory of that 255 by diving this summer off my own 255!!
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I was 27 and Miami, The Keys and all of South Florida was a beautiful place in the '70's. My wife and I were diving in Key Largo out of my Formula F-18.
[IMG]
[/IMG]We were anchored ans suited up ready to go in when a beautiful new 255 Liberator pulled up close with 4: divers aboard and anchored.
[IMG]
[/IMG]We ended up making friends with the other two couples....Latino's that had come down from Dinner Key in Coconut Grove and after 2 great dives they invited us back to their place on the water for a cookout.
We pulled up anchor and they told us to follow. We stayed in touch on the VHF and even though I could run 65 it was hard for me to maintain even 40 in 2~4' seas and until we went inside into Biscayne Bay thru Caesars Creek i could barely keep up. I marveled at the way that 255 just split the water with 4: aboard thru the late afternoon sun. When we got into the bay I got trimmed out and ran about 55~60 and caught up with the 255. They were sitting comfortably drinking a cold beer while I was "Balls Out" running. They waved at us...the Captain in the 255 nudged the throttle a bit and they slowly pulled away.
It was just so effortless and smooth. After we got settled in we decided to spend the night with our gracious host and hostess and took a little midnight cruise in the 255. I was offered the helm and I jumped at the chance. I remember that weekend...that was the first time that I was privileged to drive a performance boat .
I will celebrate my memory of that 255 by diving this summer off my own 255!!
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Last edited by sprink58; 04-10-2013 at 11:18 PM.
04-10-2013, 11:15 PM
#197
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Thread Starter
Did a bit of high pressure hose customization to rig up the oil lines thru the new oil coolers being installed. Coming out of the oil filter by pass plate we run to the oil filter, engine oil cooler then the power steering cooler and back to the engine. that's for the starboard motor. The port motor is the same except no PS on that engine. We had to put some elbows in some strategic places to keep from putting the oil hoses in a bind. Brackets and tie offs become important because we don't want any oil/water hoses subject to chaffing in the dynamic environment of the bilge. Luckily Sen-Dure Mfg is in Ft. Lauderdale so it was easy to pull their catalog and go buy what we wanted same day. We selected 14" x 1.25 oil coolers for these engines and standard 1.25" x 8" Mercruiser for the PS cooler.
At this point the "devils in the details" with all of this last minute stuff. We are still on track for a sea trial by Friday or Saturday.
At this point the "devils in the details" with all of this last minute stuff. We are still on track for a sea trial by Friday or Saturday.
Last edited by sprink58; 04-11-2013 at 10:49 PM.
04-11-2013, 09:35 PM
#198
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Did a bit of high pressure hose customization to rig up the oil lines thru the new oil coolers being installed. Coming out of the oil filter by pass plate we run to the oil filter, engine oil cooler then the power steering cooler and back to the engine. that's for the starboard motor. The port motor is the same except no PS on that engine. We had to put some elbows in some strategic places to keep from putting the oil hoses in a bind. Brackets and tie offs become important because we don't want any oil/water hoses subject to chaffing in the dynamic environment of the bilge. Luckily Sen-Dure Mfg is in Ft. Lauderdale so it was easy to pull their catalog and go buy what we wanted same day. We selected 14" x 1.25 oil coolers for these engines and standard 1.25" x 8" Mercruiser for the PS cooler.
At this point the "devils in the details" with all of this last minute stuff. We are still on track for a sea trial by Friday or Saturday.
At this point the "devils in the details" with all of this last minute stuff. We are still on track for a sea trial by Friday or Saturday.
04-13-2013, 10:37 PM
#199
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Motors are going in tomorrow morning. Had a simple electric fuel pump issue today...turned out to be polarity...no big deal.
Going to run out on 23" Mirage turning out to start with. i'll hopefully post some Sea Trial news tomorrow PM or Monday.....fingers crossed!!
Going to run out on 23" Mirage turning out to start with. i'll hopefully post some Sea Trial news tomorrow PM or Monday.....fingers crossed!!
Last edited by sprink58; 04-13-2013 at 10:42 PM.
04-14-2013, 05:15 PM
#200
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OK...I am pleased to say the least!!!
Got in the water late and ran around a bit to make sure I had no leaks or mechanical issues. We need to adjust the shift cable on the port drive because reverse isn't working as it should. I think we reversed some wires some where on the starboard trim pump ...but I overcame it for a quick run to get a feel for how this combo will focus in.
In any case...with 2: aboard and 3/4 fuel load with 23" Mirage props...neutral tabs...drive position neutral...Full Throttle, bow up...back off to 1/2 throttle...we are on plane at 25 MPH. Throttle up to 3500...about 45 MPH...pull the drives out a bit...50~55 MPH...throttle up to 4500 we got 63~65 and there is lot of stick left. I pulled drives out just a bump of the switches and a little change but not much...throttle up all the way the motors jumped to 5000 and I don't see my handheld GPS ..it's on the floor somewhere...but this thing is pulling like no tomorrow and I see 5400 and quickly back down to 4000.I brought the drives in a bit and settled into a nice high speed cruise. My mechanic ran to the back of the cockpit to get the GPS before it bounces into the bilge. We were running with no interior, engine hatch, rear seat...only the twin pedestals that are about to leave for the McLeod Bolsters. I slowed to about 3500 that feels like 50 ish and turn back to the ramp. As we came off a plane we took turns looking in the bilge for leaks, etc....all is good. Water temp was 165* oil temp was 185~190. We put the 255 back on the trailer and back to the shop for final rigging adjustments and to put the interior back together. I had to fiddle around with the GPS to get it to come back on...hopefully it's ok.
In summary...so far my 255 performs better than expected. The torque that these motors produce effortlessly push this boat across the water. The weight distribution is perfect and the boat feels well balanced. I think the 23" Mirage are close to perfect...I might try Mirage plus to drop the RPM down a bit but this thing accelerates like a bullet!! The engines are very smooth and produce power all the way thru 5000 RPM and beyond...in fact at 5400 they were still pulling strong with no fall off in performance. I think we were running 70+ before I backed out. I never had chine walk at all...possibly attributable to the Bravos. Even though it has that solid "Formula" feel I for sure will be doing a kill lanyard and getting a Life Line Vest. This rig with the power it has could hurt you bad if you let it.
I am very tempted to take a few days vacation this week to play around with this thing but as luck would have it I am slammed all week. I need to calm down and have a few beers...I am high as a kite over how things are turning out...stay tuned...."Color Me Gone" is back on the water.
Got in the water late and ran around a bit to make sure I had no leaks or mechanical issues. We need to adjust the shift cable on the port drive because reverse isn't working as it should. I think we reversed some wires some where on the starboard trim pump ...but I overcame it for a quick run to get a feel for how this combo will focus in.
In any case...with 2: aboard and 3/4 fuel load with 23" Mirage props...neutral tabs...drive position neutral...Full Throttle, bow up...back off to 1/2 throttle...we are on plane at 25 MPH. Throttle up to 3500...about 45 MPH...pull the drives out a bit...50~55 MPH...throttle up to 4500 we got 63~65 and there is lot of stick left. I pulled drives out just a bump of the switches and a little change but not much...throttle up all the way the motors jumped to 5000 and I don't see my handheld GPS ..it's on the floor somewhere...but this thing is pulling like no tomorrow and I see 5400 and quickly back down to 4000.I brought the drives in a bit and settled into a nice high speed cruise. My mechanic ran to the back of the cockpit to get the GPS before it bounces into the bilge. We were running with no interior, engine hatch, rear seat...only the twin pedestals that are about to leave for the McLeod Bolsters. I slowed to about 3500 that feels like 50 ish and turn back to the ramp. As we came off a plane we took turns looking in the bilge for leaks, etc....all is good. Water temp was 165* oil temp was 185~190. We put the 255 back on the trailer and back to the shop for final rigging adjustments and to put the interior back together. I had to fiddle around with the GPS to get it to come back on...hopefully it's ok.
In summary...so far my 255 performs better than expected. The torque that these motors produce effortlessly push this boat across the water. The weight distribution is perfect and the boat feels well balanced. I think the 23" Mirage are close to perfect...I might try Mirage plus to drop the RPM down a bit but this thing accelerates like a bullet!! The engines are very smooth and produce power all the way thru 5000 RPM and beyond...in fact at 5400 they were still pulling strong with no fall off in performance. I think we were running 70+ before I backed out. I never had chine walk at all...possibly attributable to the Bravos. Even though it has that solid "Formula" feel I for sure will be doing a kill lanyard and getting a Life Line Vest. This rig with the power it has could hurt you bad if you let it.
I am very tempted to take a few days vacation this week to play around with this thing but as luck would have it I am slammed all week. I need to calm down and have a few beers...I am high as a kite over how things are turning out...stay tuned...."Color Me Gone" is back on the water.
