BoatsLiberty 458

Liberty 458

Cutter · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · First built 1981

An extended iteration of the Peterson 44 hull featuring a unique deck and coach roof configuration on a cutter rig

Designed by Peter Hoyt & D. Peterson, built by Shin Fa.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin With Rudder On Skeg

See her sail

The Liberty 458, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Living For Sail

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a narrow beam gives 38 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 38
CoastalBluewater

At 1.65 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.65
LightHeavy

211 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 211
EasygoingPowered-up

15.1 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 15.1
TenderStiff

35% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 35%

A capable offshore cruiser with an easy motion when the sea gets up.

  • Heavier than ~86% of boats her size on file

Compared with 2249 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Liberty 458, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Liberty 458 is a Peter Hoyt and D. Peterson-designed cutter-rigged sailboat, built by Shin Fa and Liberty Yachts in Taiwan from 1981 to the present, featuring a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg. It is an extended version of the Peterson 44 hull design, distinguished by a different deck and coach roof, with a related variant, the Delta 46, produced for the European charter trade. The Liberty 458 measures 14.0 m LOA, has a 3.9 m beam, a 1.9 m draft, and displaces 14061 kg. Aboard *Living For Sail*, the crew undertakes extensive restoration of a 1989 Liberty 458 named *Antidote*, including replacing a saturated teak deck with fiberglass sandwich core materials, repairing the transom and bulwarks, and fabricating custom G10 stanchion backing plates.0:04 The crew also refits the aft cabin to convert a queen-sized berth into an 80-by-80-inch king-sized platform and replaces a rotten forward bulkhead and anchor locker deck.0:02 Engine maintenance on *Antidote* includes restoring a Yanmar 3GM marine diesel engine by correcting piston-to-head clearance and verifying fuel injection timing, and using oil analysis to monitor engine health.0:09

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

The channels sailing this model, and where they were last seen.

Living For SailThis channel documents the intensive structural restoration and mechanical refit of a 1989 Liberty 458 sailboat named Antidote.

Seen 79 times across 2 channels of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Liberty 458 on video

Can I Save This Bronze Cleat? Sailboat Bulwark RebuildJon prepares to pour Carbon Core compound into the bulwarks of his 46-foot sailboat, Antidote.Living For SailThis Was Inside The Boat!? — Should I Put It Back?The 1989 Liberty 458 Antidote undergoes transom core replacement and engine alignment using a 3D-printed shaft bushing.Living For SailBACK to Work on ANTIDOTE! - How I Used 3D Printing to Fix My BoatA 1989 Liberty 458 undergoes structural repairs using 3D-printed prototypes to fabricate custom G10 stanchion backing plates.Living For Sail⛵️ I Tried Boiling Water Out of My Boat... It Actually Worked - sort of?!Jon uses a vacuum pump and heat lamp to extract moisture from a saturated fiberglass transom.Living For Sail⛵️ This DIY Sailboat Repair Has To Work... Right?A 1989 Liberty 458 restoration uses vacuum pumping for moisture removal and custom G10 plates for stanchions.Living For SailWill This Transom Repair LAST? - Antidote's New Core InstallReplacing rotten plywood transom cores with rot-proof Kusa panels using pre-thickened epoxy for easier installation.Living For Sail⛵️ From Simple Fix to Full Transom Rebuild - A DIY Project BoatA Liberty 458 transom repair expands into full core removal after rot, delamination, and a miscut into structural glass.Living For SailThis Changes EVERYTHING!… Turning Our Bed Into a King | DIY Sailboat RefitJohn converts Antidote's aft cabin from a queen to an 80-by-80-inch king platform on a 1989 Liberty 458.Living For SailI Removed My boat's TEAK Interior… WITHOUT Breaking anything - Here's How!Acetone softens waterproof wood glue, allowing for the non-destructive removal of teak interior trim during restoration.Living For Sail⛵️ I Found SERIOUS Rot in My Sailboat’s Transom - DIY RestorationA 1989 Liberty 458 transom re-core tackled from the interior, with a 1-to-12 scarf joint planned for new fiberglass.Living For Sail⛵️ DIY Sailboat ROTTEN Transom Fix | ANTIDOTE's soggy backside get's a facelift!A 1989 Liberty 458 undergoes transom core inspection and hardware removal to prepare for Hydrovane installation.Living For Sail⛵️ Watch This BEFORE Removing ENCAPSULATED ChainplatesA Liberty 458 restoration exposes the challenge of removing 35-year-old encapsulated chainplates from Antidote.Living For Sail

What broke, what changed

Gear aboard, as the crews told it

Moments from individual boats of this model that the fleet has filmed — one crew, one piece of kit, one day on the water. Not a review of the class, and not a count of anything.

  • FailedYanmar

    The stock low-pressure oil switch failed during initial engine startup

    aboard Living For Sailseen November 202521:10

  • InstalledGarmin

    The crew plans to replace the old speed log and depth meters with a new Garmin navigation suite.

    aboard Living For Sailseen August 20256:12

  • BoughtHydrovane

    The owner has purchased brackets for a Hydrovane self-steering system.

    aboard Living For Sailseen June 20262:24

  • WorkingProfurl

    The speaker is restoring an LC42 furler for the headsail, noting its an older, discontinued model.

    aboard Living For Sailseen February 20240:32

Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Liberty 458 may be fitted out entirely differently.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
35.5%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cutter
Ratios
SA / displacement
15.1
Displacement / length
211.0
Comfort ratio
37.8
Capsize screening
1.65
Hull speed
8.5 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1862
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1981
Units built
31
Designer
Peter Hoyt, D. Peterson
Builder
Shin Fa, Liberty Yachts (TAIWAN), Shing Fa Boatbuilding Co, Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Moody 4614.06 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Bill Dixon-designed cutter with a fin keel and spade rudder, built for comfortable, stable blue-water cruising
O’Day 40 - A Budget Cruiser for the Bahamas9:00from Practical Sailor
Baltic Yachts 4614.08 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA performance-oriented masthead sloop from the early Baltic Yachts era, featuring a stiff fin-keel hull by C&C
Anders Onsager - Storm in the Baltic Sea2:49from SEILmagasinet
Cal Boats 2-4613.87 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthFeaturing a midships engine room and expanded living quarters, this 46-foot cruiser prioritizes interior volume
How to get rid of MUSTY boat and RV smells FOR GOOD!0:46from GenXPats - The Sailing Advisor
Beneteau First 45613.87 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA German Frers-designed masthead sloop offered with diverse keel and rig configurations for versatile performance
I WENT TO MEXICO TO DELIVER A BENETEAU 560:59from Sailing Solé
Hunter Marine 46014.05 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 14-metre cruiser with a 37% ballast ratio, offering a stable platform for offshore passage making
Why Is This 46 Foot Sailboat So Cheap? Hunter 460 Reviewfrom Practical Sailor
Irwin Yachts 43-CC MKIII13.87 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Ted Irwin-designed cutter with a shallow-draft wing keel, built for comfortable cruising since 1986
S1, Ep5 We Buy A New Boat (again)!3:51from Sailing Into the Mystic

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Liberty 49A heavy-displacement cutter with a 40.07 comfort ratio, designed by Stan Huntingford for stable offshore passage makingDelta 46A Doug Peterson-designed staysail ketch built in Germany, sharing the proven hull lines of the Peterson 44 and Liberty 458Jeanneau Sun Liberty 34A short-run cruiser featuring a rare dual-head layout typically reserved for much larger yachtsFreedom Yachts 45 CCA center-cockpit cruiser with a 41% ballast ratio and a wing keel, optimized for stability and shoal-water access

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Liberty 458, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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