Liberty 28 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Liberty 28 means looking at a limited-production American cruiser designed by Joe Fennell and built by Liberty Yachts from 1978, with around seventy examples built. She is a 28-foot long-keel cutter of solid fiberglass construction and 12,000-pound displacement, and used Liberty 28s are infrequent in the United States.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Liberty 28 shares the same fundamental layout dictated by her 28-foot length, 9.6-foot beam, and long-keel hull: a single 15-horsepower Volvo Penta MD11 diesel on a 30-gallon tank, a 54-gallon fresh-water capacity, and a transom-hung rudder. The solid fiberglass deck and iron-ballasted hull mean buyers are not choosing between core materials or keel variants. What differs boat to boat is the accumulated refit history rather than factory layout, since the builder produced a consistent cruising specification across the run.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, air conditioning, solar, lithium batteries, autopilot, and chartplotter are commonly fitted to these boats, reflecting how owners have modernized a 1970s cruiser for self-sufficient coastal and offshore use. For a buyer, the power-and-energy cluster — solar paired with lithium batteries — matters most, since it determines whether the boat can run electronics and autopilot without the 15-horsepower diesel running. Navigation upgrades such as a chartplotter and autopilot are likewise common and speak to a boat kept current rather than laid up.
What to Inspect
The solid fiberglass hull and deck are straightforward to survey for osmotic or impact damage, and because she changes trim at roughly 812 pounds per inch, any added tankage or ballast replacement should be measured against how little she moves with load. The iron ballast of 4,800 pounds deserves a check for keel-bolt corrosion at the hull joint, given the material's known vulnerability in a 1978-onward build. The Volvo Penta MD11 is a period diesel whose service history should be verified, as a 15-horsepower unit is the only propulsion on a 12,000-pound hull.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical market for the Liberty 28 is the United States, where around seventy built keeps used Liberty 28s infrequent. A buyer should prioritize a clean solid-fiberglass hull, verified keel-bolt condition, and a documented MD11 history, then weigh the commonly fitted modern power and navigation upgrades as a sign of owner care.
- Confirm keel-bolt and iron-ballast condition at survey
- Verify Volvo Penta MD11 service records
- Check hull and deck for osmotic or impact damage
- Note solar, lithium, autopilot, and chartplotter as common, care-indicating upgrades
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Liberty 28. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26 | 1 | $19,500 | — |
| May 26 | 1 | $22,000 | +12.8% |
Where they're listed
Liberty 28 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $20,750 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colvic Countess 28 | 28' | $ 10,487 | 23 | 3 |
| Vancouver 28 | 28.02' | $ 42,141 | 15 | 3 |
| Shannon 28 | 28' | $ 43,719 | 12 | 3 |
| Liberty 28You are here | — | $ 20,750 | 2 | 0 |