Russ Follis, division manager, ABS Texas, behind the wheel of his 18-foot Liberator performance boat.

Stress relief Texas-style: 105-m.p.h. boating

How do you relieve stress? By hitting golf balls? Reeling in a big fish? Lazing in the sun?
   All of those activities are way too tame for Russ Follis, division manager at ABS Texas. Nearly every weekend, Russ drives 70 miles to his lake house on Lake Granbury, slips behind the wheel of his 18-foot Liberator performance boat, and zips around the lake doing over 100 m.p.h.
   “Pure exhilaration,” is how Russ describes the feeling he gets, ripping along the water.

Custom-built close to home.

Russ commissioned the Liberator Performance Boat Company in nearby Crowley, Texas to build his performance boat. Although an 18-foot Liberator typically seats just the pilot, Russ added a small rear bench seat so he can give rides to his wife, Barbara, and their adult daughter, Chris.
   Barbara says, “It’s a pretty wild ride. I’m glad I’ve got my daughter to hang onto.”
   The boat is outfitted with a 300-horsepower Mercury racing motor and is capable of attaining 120 m.p.h. “I’ve gotten her up to 105 so far,” Russ says. “When that throttle drops, the hull stands almost straight up. Then as you accelerate, the boat planes off, packs air under the tunnel hull and you really start to fly.”

A lifelong passion for speed.

Russ picked up his love of racing from his grandfather, who built race cars. When Russ was just 2 years old, his grandparents started taking him to the lake. By the age of 8, Russ was cruising through the water at 40 m.p.h. in an eight-foot skipjack.
   Although Russ hasn’t raced his boat against other competitors, he’ll get a chance later this year when Liberator sponsors a performance boating event at a nearby lake. During the event, a mini-tournament will determine that day’s fastest racer.
   Until that time, Russ will be content to cruise the lake flying solo. “For an hour or two, I can burn some fuel, stand the hair on back of my neck and work off all of my stress,” Russ says.