Opinion On A Boat

I have an interest in a 1982 Carver 3607 Aft Cabin with twin International 225 HP 9.0L diesels with a reported 1,300 hours with starboard having been rebuilt aprox 100 hrs ago & port having partial in 2008.. 7.5 Genset, dual air,windlass aft cabin with tub,etc.

We are looking to use this to cruise the east coast of Florida, St Johns River and when we gain enough sea legs over to the islands.

What is your opinion on this boat?

I know that it's a planing hull but will it handle trawler speeds efficiently?


thanks

any opinions and replies will be appreciated.

You asked for opinions. Watch out!

Mine is that I love the use of interior space on the Carvers, but I really don't like the hull design for any kind of offshore use. Again, this is one opinion.

Any boat will be efficient at trawler (hull) speed. The issue is that you're moving a lot more iron around running the larger engines that slow, so it's less efficient than running the smaller engine (or engines) found in most trawlers.

Take it on a sea trial. In calm water accelerate to 10nm/h and make a hard turn to cross over your own wake (hang on really tight .... no I mean really, really tight). If this doesn't convince you that this boat is a dock queen, nothing will.

he said "We are looking to use this to cruise the east coast of Florida, St Johns River and when we gain enough sea legs over to the islands."

Sounds like a great boat for the Florida cruise and can make theBahamas if you use your head.

You can do some trial and error cruising on one engine (watch the tranny and stuffing box issues)...some boats like that get pretty good efficiency down in the 5-6 knot range on one...but it depends a lot on YOUR SETUP so no one can tell you one way or the other.

CaptTom said:

You asked for opinions. Watch out.

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You mean like "Please burn it"?

Thanks for these replies so far. It sounds like this isn't a well behaved boat but what other style can give us this space without sacrificing handling?

Remember, we are mostly looking to cruise the coast & inland waterways.

boatpoker said:

Take it on a sea trial. In calm water accelerate to 10nm/h and make a hard turn to cross over your own wake (hang on really tight .... no I mean really, really tight). If this doesn't convince you that this boat is a dock queen, nothing will.

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You think it will run this fast?

There are no bad boats, just bad captains. Keep it in the conditions it was designed for and you should be happy with it. Carver is a solid boat designed to a purpose.

alormaria said:

There are no bad boats, just bad captains. Keep it in the conditions it was designed for and you should be happy with it. Carver is a solid boat designed to a purpose.

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I agree ( a bit, there are lots of bad boats), Carver does build some decent boats, this however is not one of them. This boat is very good at what it was designed for ..... sitting at the dock.

About 8 or 9 years ago I had a listing on a 43' Carver aft cabin. I asked the owner why he had two watermakers on board, and he said the second one was for backup for his long trip. So of course I had to ask about his long trip and he replied from Miami to Venezuela and return. Better to be cruising on a (_______ insert lower price boat brand here) than standing on the dock watching the Nordhavns.

yachtbrokerguy said:

About 8 or 9 years ago I had a listing on a 43' Carver aft cabin. I asked the owner why he had two watermakers on board, and he said the second one was for backup for his long trip. So of course I had to ask about his long trip and he replied from Miami to Venezuela and return. Better to be cruising on a (_______ insert lower price boat brand here) than standing on the dock watching the Nordhavns.

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My only reservation with an aft cabin boat of any make or size is that no matter which part of the boat you're in, if you want to go to another area of the boat it involves steps.....lots of steps.

Any time steps are involved there's a potential for a slip, a fall and an injury.

Aft cabin boats make good use of the interior space but they're just not my cup of tea.

To see just how 'tippy' it's going to be, while it's at the dock step onto one side of the swim platform then step back off. Observe how long it takes the boat to stop rocking and rolling.

GFC said:

My only reservation with an aft cabin boat of any make or size is that no matter which part of the boat you're in, if you want to go to another area of the boat it involves steps.....lots of steps.

Any time steps are involved there's a potential for a slip, a fall and an injury.

Aft cabin boats make good use of the interior space but they're just not my cup of tea..

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Friends of mine bought a 2002 Carver a few months ago. The step thing can be an issue. Wherever you go, you are going up or down steps.

Other than that (and it's a personal thing), it seems like a pretty nice boat. Very well finished inside. I helped them bring it home and ran it for a while. I think it will be fine for the ICW, St. Johns River (great cruise, BTW). I couldn't really say anything about being in the ocean although much smaller boats than this have gone to the islands and back.

rwidman said:

Friends of mine bought a 2002 Carver a few months ago. The step thing can be an issue. Wherever you go, you are going up or down steps.

Other than that (and it's a personal thing), it seems like a pretty nice boat. Very well finished inside. I helped them bring it home and ran it for a while. I think it will be fine for the ICW, St. Johns River (great cruise, BTW). I couldn't really say anything about being in the ocean although much smaller boats than this have gone to the islands and back.

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We have considered the steps issue and figured that with the addition of a queen bed & a separate shower that it's worth the gamble.

Anyone have any idea on the fuel burn with these 9l internationals?

How dependable are they?

beachbum29 said:

I have an interest in a 1982 Carver 3607 Aft Cabin with twin International 225 HP 9.0L diesels with a reported 1,300 hours with starboard having been rebuilt aprox 100 hrs ago & port having partial in 2008..

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I'd be more concerned about he engines than being a Carver. Questions:

• Why did the old Internationals (can you even get marinization parts) need a rebuild - water ingestion or?
• What is a partial rebuild?
• Why this boat?
• What is your budget, after fixups?

beachbum29 said:

We have considered the steps issue and figured that with the addition of a queen bed & a separate shower that it's worth the gamble.

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We spent the night in the forward berth and were very comfortable. I opened the hanging locker and a light came on. Impressive. When we got home I started gathering parts to do the same to mine.

My friend's Carver has two Mercruiser gasoline engines so I can't help you with that.

I would 2nd the concern on the IH diesels. Check the availability of parts, IH is no longer in business & any parts may be difficult to find. Also check the access in the engine compartment to do routine maintenance & fluid checks. If it's a pain in the a$$ to do the checks & maintenance some owners ignore them. I would not buy any boat with these unless I could get it cheap enough to re-power it. A guy stayed in the marina last year that bought the same boat with gas power for $15,000.00, looked good sounded good & had a full enclosure that was in good condition.

River Cruiser said:

I would 2nd the concern on the IH diesels. Check the availability of parts, IH is no longer in business & any parts may be difficult to find. Also check the access in the engine compartment to do routine maintenance & fluid checks. If it's a pain in the a$$ to do the checks & maintenance some owners ignore them. I would not buy any boat with these unless I could get it cheap enough to re-power it. A guy stayed in the marina last year that bought the same boat with gas power for $15,000.00, looked good sounded good & had a full enclosure that was in good condition.

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Thanks. I will definitely check these things out.

Didn't know International was out of business.

Just did a quick web check & it appears that parts new and rebuilt are still available.

beachbum29 said:

Thanks.
Just did a quick web check & it appears that parts new and rebuilt are still available.

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The parts you may have the greatest need for are the marinization parts such as HXs, raw water pumps and coolant pumps. Why not a 15 - 20 year newer Bayliner?

sunchaser said:

The parts you may have the greatest need for are the marinization parts such as HXs, raw water pumps and coolant pumps. Why not a 15 - 20 year newer Bayliner?

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Good question. We went yesterday & looked at a 91 model that was much closer to us.

Not overly impressed, this one had gas engines, has been neglected and needs some work.

I'm thinking about doing a low ball offer & see what happens.

What the hey??

yachtbrokerguy said:

About 8 or 9 years ago I had a listing on a 43' Carver aft cabin. I asked the owner why he had two watermakers on board, and he said the second one was for backup for his long trip. So of course I had to ask about his long trip and he replied from Miami to Venezuela and return. Better to be cruising on a (_______ insert lower price boat brand here) than standing on the dock watching the Nordhavns.

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Yes!

Thanks!

A common sense post regarding Coastal Cruisers!

Thanks!

ksanders said:

Yes!

Thanks!

A common sense post regarding Coastal Cruisers!

Thanks!

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We are currently negotiating a 91 Carver 36 aft cabin & we're 10K apart. Will see what the result will be shortly.

It has gas engines and I really wanted diesel, not sure if this model was available with diesel.

Wonder how much of a fuel hog this boat is???

Mate,
I will probably get a bit of stick for this but I would definately steer clear of the petrol engines.
Stick to your guns and find a vessel with a couple or a single medium powered diesels.
You won't regret it.
Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

Mate,
I will probably get a bit of stick for this but I would definately steer clear of the petrol engines.
Stick to your guns and find a vessel with a couple or a single medium powered diesels.
You won't regret it.
Cheers
Benn

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We're only buying if they come to our price & it passes the survey - sea trial.

Plus, at my price, I don't think we can get hurt...

The famous last words.

fuel hog ...but it will be a fuel hog wth diesels too ...the immersed hull shape is not good oon boats like that.

But if you creep along...you'll split the difference in the more expensive diesels and the slightly higher gas bills.

Unless you are going to cruise full time...going diesel isn't probably going to save money.

Gas is safe if you are.

BB, you may also want to consider/check out insurance costs on gas versus diesel if you haven't already. It is considerably higher where I live, like double.

psneeld said:

fuel hog ...but it will be a fuel hog wth diesels too ...the immersed hull shape is not good oon boats like that.

But if you creep along...you'll split the difference in the more expensive diesels and the slightly higher gas bills.

Unless you are going to cruise full time...going diesel isn't probably going to save money.

Gas is safe if you are.

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I think it's mainly the difference between this and the 25' express cruiser I have now.

LaBomba said:

BB, you may also want to consider/check out insurance costs on gas versus diesel if you haven't already. It is considerably higher where I live, like double.

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I checked insurance and full coverage is $740 a year less if I still have the other boat.

beachbum29 said:

I think it's mainly the difference between this and the 25' express cruiser I have now.

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If you cruise it at 6-7 knots it may not be as bad as you think...but it's a rare individual that doesn't try to run those babies on plane and burn 40+/- gallons per hour at 20 knots. That's 1/2 mile per gallon.

If you find your sweet spot slow cruise around 5-7 knots...you may dounle that fuel efficiency but at the price of going 1/3 as fast.

So you have to decide when and where you will cruise every year and what your fuel budget will be.

Overall it may not be that bad unless you are cruising full time so that leave you the option of going either fast or slow depending on your schedule.

psneeld said:

If you cruise it at 6-7 knots it may not be as bad as you think...but it's a rare individual that doesn't try to run those babies on plane and burn 40+/- gallons per hour at 20 knots. That's 1/2 mile per gallon.

If you find your sweet spot slow cruise around 5-7 knots...you may dounle that fuel efficiency but at the price of going 1/3 as fast.

So you have to decide when and where you will cruise every year and what your fuel budget will be.

Overall it may not be that bad unless you are cruising full time so that leave you the option of going either fast or slow depending on your schedule.

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Thank you for this advice.

I have no issue with cruising slow as the ICW has become a speed zone anyway.

I figured we could anchor off on the backside of the inlet most days and dinghy over to the beach which is within a couple of miles of the lift.

We would like to do the St John's river which is a total of about 400 miles round trip maybe once a year and hopefully take it south to Lauderdale of Stuart in the winter and go down 3-4 times for some short getaways.

I guess the first thing is that I need to counteroffer their counteroffer...