Liberty 49 Buyer's Guide
The Liberty 49 is a low-production cutter designed by Stanley Charles Huntingford in the mid eighties and built by Shin Fa among other yards, with only a few hulls completed. For a shopper on the brokerage market, she presents as a heavily specified fiberglass cruiser whose standard equipment and interior trim are unusually complete for her era, but the rare build count means each boat must be assessed on its own survey rather than against a large sister-ship population. The beam is listed by the manufacturer at 40 feet 4 inches while other records show 14 feet, so the two sources differ; the keel is described as long by one source and fin by another.
Layouts on the Used Market
The spacious interior of the Liberty 49 is available in several configurations, though the standard layout below is the one most often described: a great aft cabin, a shower and tub in the aft head, and forward den/guest room quarters. The galley is defined by marble countertops, a stainless steel lined stove compartment, a cutting board laid inside plastic, large drawers and storage lockers, and a microwave cabinet, while the divided refrigerator/freezer uses Lexan shelves with double door top-loading and front access behind 4-inch thick urethane foam insulation. Throughout the cabin the sole is teak and holly, bulkheads are solid teak vertical staving, ceilings are solid horizontal teak battens, and the finish carries five coats of hand-rubbed polyurethane varnish with customer-selected cloth covered 4-inch cushions and a teak salon table and chart table.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market the Liberty 49 commonly carries solar, a bimini, a dodger, dinghy davits, and a watermaker as fitted cruising equipment. The baseline specification is already dense: a 90 HP Ford Lehman diesel with 2:1 Borg Warner reduction gear, three-bladed propeller, 70 amp alternator, two 110 amp/hour batteries, black iron fuel tanks, Raycor fuel filter/water separator, hydraulic steering with 36-inch stainless steel destroyer wheel and emergency tiller, 12V bilge pump with auto switch, 12V shower pump, and a 110V hot water heater with engine heat exchanger. Lighting and ventilation include 12 bronze self-draining opening ports, 6 large fixed windows, 5 aluminium opening hatches, 6 stainless steel dorade ventilators, brass bulkhead swivel lights, red courtesy lights, and four cabin nightlights. No items in the often-seen or owner-upgrade tiers are documented for this model, so buyers should treat anything beyond the commonly fitted list as a specific boat's history rather than a fleet norm.
What to Inspect
The documented construction of the Liberty 49 uses teak decks bedded in Thaikol using steel self-tapping screws, a detail that warrants fastener and bedding inspection for corrosion or loosening on any surveyed hull. The hull is hand-laminated with 24 oz. woven roving alternated with 1.5 oz. mat and the deck is a single unit with a balsa sandwich core, so core integrity and lamination bonding should be confirmed. Black iron fuel tanks are listed as standard with a single Raycor fuel filter/water separator, and the thru-hulls are bronze electrically bonded to the ship's bonding system — verify tank condition and bonding continuity. Because the boat was built at Shin Fa and other yards with only a few completed, confirm hull provenance and that all bulkheads and floors are bonded to the hull as specified.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Liberty 49 is typically found in the United States market, where her major-marina-only draft of about 6.33 to 6.63 ft dependent on load and her low build count make her an infrequent used Liberty 49 on the market. A shopper should prioritize a hull survey covering deck core, teak deck fasteners, black iron tank condition, and bonding system, and confirm the specific yard of construction.
- Verify teak deck fasteners and bedding condition
- Survey balsa-core deck and hand-laminated hull bonding
- Inspect black iron fuel tanks and Raycor separator
- Confirm bronze thru-hull bonding to ship's system
- Establish which yard built the individual hull
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Liberty 49. 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 | 2 | $ 234,000 | — |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $ 234,000 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Liberty 49 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 3.
Country view
3 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 234,000 | 3 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
8 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hylas 49 | 48.88' | $ 375,000 | 36 | 15 |
| Taswell 49 | 48.83' | $ 175,000 | 29 | 8 |
| Tayana 48 | 48' | $ 330,000 | 28 | 6 |
| Formosa 47 | 46.42' | $ 109,770 | 14 | 9 |
| Oyster Yachts 49 | 51.83' | $ 377,690 | 13 | 1 |
| Atlantic 49 | 49' | $ 56,612 | 8 | 3 |
| Ta Shing 40 | 39.89' | $ 99,900 | 6 | 4 |
| Liberty 49You are here | — | $ 234,000 | 3 | 1 |