Carver Owners Forum

Proud new owner of a 1987 2827 Voyager, as of August. Upgraded to sedan cruiser from a Sea Ray 260 Sundancer. Long time boater but new to twin engines. Also new to Carvers so I am hoping for the best. Doing some minor upgrades over winter, ready for a great 2016 boating season.
Inland boater on rivers and lakes.

Welcome Aboard. Nice looking boat. There is a learning curve, at least there is for me, moving to twin inboards. My last boat was a 30' Bayliner Ciera. It had twin I/O's and after 12 seasons I knew that boat inside and out. I was an expert in handling the twin I/O's.

This past summer I purchased a 1981 Carver 3007 Aft Cabin. It has twin inboards and it handles unlike anything I have owned before. I only had it for a couple of months so my learning experiences will continue next season. One thing I found out is you need a little more throttle to get good handling and maneuverability from the twin inboards. I started out at idle speeds 650 RPM or so but found that it was OK when turning on the boats axis but when moving forward or aft more throttle is needed. I am still experimenting but I am thinking that 1000 RPM might be the best setting for dockside handling and maneuvering in tight spaces. Will find out more next season as my experimenting continues.

The lines on your boat are similar to mine minus the aft cabin.



You seem to have a larger helm station too from the pic. Do you have a lower helm too or just the upper station?

Any way, good luck with your new to you boat and may all your boating adventures have fair skies and calm seas.

We have very similar boats, I don't have the rear cabin. They layout is pretty much one level platform, I was looking for that. It on,y has one small step down to front state room. The 280 came in two models, Mariner has one driving station and head + galley are upfront. The Voyager (what I have) has second driver station and head + galley in back. I was looking for the 320 Voyager but I was able to work a trade for what I got. It's in great shape and I am getting compliment so I feel pretty good.

I have found driving to be interesting. At slow speeds the rudders are useless, all throttle. However very maneuverable using the throttles. I have a gps and mph system. Cruising speed is about 12 mph. Need to try and get it up on plane. I have been able to dock it windy conditions no problem. I can turn on the axis but trying to learn to go sideways.

The sedan bridge is really nice, alot of room. Gets a little top heavy if you have too many people up there. But between the bridge and rear cockpit I have lots of room. The floor plan should really work well for family. Plenty of room to walk to bow, which is nice.

This winter I am replacing swim platform (very squishy) and looking to upgrade head. Let's just say this Xmas I am getting all boat stuff.

Nice boat. Welcome aboard.