My Montego came on a home made three axle trailer. I found a factory built steel trailer that the owner believes to be a 7,000 steel trailer with electric brakes on the front axle with 15 inch tires.

Can't find in any of my literature the weight of the boat, only displacement.

HELP!!

Jeff

In my 32 years of life I have been smart enough to rent or borrow other peoples boats despite being a certified marine mechanic... until now.



The guy that surveyed my fathers 37' Marine trader turned me onto this boat. It was part of an estate of a gentleman who passed away 4 years ago. The family is still struggling with the loss but after all this time have received permission from the attorneys to start liquidating assets to close out the estate. I was fortunate enough to have talked to them before they just handed the title over to the marina for the balance owed for storage.

I stole this thing for $1,500. Now before everyone starts bringing out the pitch forks, it came with a healthy slew of problems, mostly mechanical and a lot of mold/mildew inside, mostly in the stateroom.

At some point before it was hauled out of the water the sea lift it was kept on broke and allowed the starboard aft corner to drop into the water. I have not yet heard the motors run. I do know that the port side will turn over with a breaker bar on the crank bolt so it should be savable. The starboard motor is frozen. There is no water in the oil so I'm hoping I can pull the plugs, find the rusty one and dump some penetrating oil into it and work it back loose. Worst comes to worse, I'm looking at a remand long block. I'm really really really hoping the genny is okay but right now the motors are my priority.

Both alternators and both water pumps are froze up and I have not yet checked the starters.

Its a shame really because the hour meters on the motors only show 31hrs and 41hrs. It is my understanding that these are not the original motors though and tonight while cleaning out all the moldy bedding and trash in the cabinets I did find 2 hour meters showing only 350 hours, give or take. From what the family has told me, the father kept really good care of his boat and had both engines and both V-drives replaced and I have no reason to doubt them though I am curious why with so little run time.

Along with the boat I received all the paper work they had, even a receipt for a new Garmin 4212 GPS and radar module.

This damn thing is 100% complete, right down to the Carver embroidered pillow cases. Every piece of paper it came with from the factory is still on the boat as well as manuals for any upgrades installed. All the canvas and framework is there but some of the clear plastic windows have a few cracks. The upholstery is 7/10 with only 1 seat, the one forward of the cockpit, needing redone.

Really my only other concerns are the pumps under the floor. Tonight I pumped out probably 50 gallons of water and there is no telling how long the pumps and motor for the bow thruster have been submerged luckily it is fresh/rain water. Did I mention it has what is claimed to be a brand new bow thruster?

I'm expecting to dump about $10k into it in the next couple months. I'm sure thats only 2/3 what I'll really spend but even then, I'm still way under book value.

My goals are to make it tip top and live on it in one of the marinas here is Port Canaveral for a year or two and trade it towards a nice blue water sail boat.

Anyways, thanks for having me here. I'm sure that the wealth of knowledge will benefit me greatly and I look forward to getting to know you guys.


edit: For anyone interested in the condition it is/was (I cleaned the junk out of it tonight) here is an IMGUR album of the pictures I took. http://imgur.com/a/BJ0wL
http://imgur.com/a/RCwTx

Any members out there with an Autopilot installed after purchase?
Looking for feedback on whether this is feasible, worth the effort, handling characteristics of vessel.
If installed, what model did you choose, size of compass card, liquid, digital?
We do some extended cruising and would like to know if this may be an option to add.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

cheers, Capt. Happy

I have a 2004 570, are the factory stern cleats strong enough to tow our 23' Regulator center console? Has anyone towed off these cleats? History or suggestions?

My v drive started making a horrible noise and when i pulled the dip stick the oil was burnt. Can I remove v drive while in the water? should I rebuild or buy a re manufactured? Is there a instruction manual how to remove and replace? As always, any advise is greatly appreciated. 1978 Carver voyager twin 350 crusaders.

Been a boat owner for many years. Started as sail, power for the past 15 years. Present boat is a 1984 Bayliner Contessa. In process of buying a 1996 Carver 355. Here to see what Carver's are all about. The Admiral already fell in live with this boat, so we are moving forward!

I have a 1981 Carver 3007 Aft Cabin. I think I may need to put some fluid in my trim tabs reservoir. Does anyone with this model know where the reservoir is located? Is it easily accessable or will I have to hire a vertically challenged person to crawl down into the engine compartment to fill the reservoir........

Thanks.

I am looking at purchasing a 1996 Carver 355 aft cabin with twin gas Crusader 454 XL engines rated at 350 HP each. The engines are very clean with only 470 hours and are NOT fuel injected. I have searched all over the internet for realistic cruising speeds, gph, and mpg rates and the numbers are all over the place. I would like to get some real world information from someone who actually owns and uses this same boat and setup. My wife and I really like the layout and space for the size of the boat. We will mainly cruise in the PNW (San Juan Islands) where everywhere is within 40 miles or less. Also, any known or common issues with this model to look for would also be helpful. I already know the aft aux fuel tank inside the swim platform are known to leak. (This one does as well)

I've attached a scanned copy of the service manual in case anyone has the need for it..

Yesterday I went down to my boat to remove some stuff that has to come home so it won't freeze. I am on the hard but I brought my Honda portable generator and powered up one of the onboard electric heaters. Cozy onboard with the heat. Probably one more trip to remove the TV and then I will be ready for shrinkwrap.