Carver Owners Forum

Hi. I'm am new to carvers. I just bought a 1989 Santiago 27. With twin 4cyl mercruisers. I broke the cardinal rule of shopping with my heart as I just fell in love with this boat. Love the layout just perfect for cruising the 600 square kilometres of the Gippsland lakes in Australia. I know it's probably to late to ask as I've already committed to the purchase but have I made a bad decision or is this as good a boat as it looks. Any information from this community on this model, good or bad. Would be much appreciated thanks in advance.

Welcome aboard mate.

I can't say much about that particular vintage model boat except to say that I suspect the usual suspects should be considered such as sounding the deck in the usual areas. If these incorporated hollow fiberglass stringers, then no worries there. The best bet is to get a survey. Even if you're already committed, a survey should reveal what you'll eventually need to address.

If you're talking about the 470 model engines, I would not proceed unless you have the engines checked as these have some common concerns. At the very least get a compression test done. Some will tell you to turn and run when you see these engines but if they've been maintained properly (that's key), chances are they'll still provide years of service. They are a good strong engine for a 4cyl. Having said that, some of the common issues will arise whether maintained properly or not, simply due to wear. The problem is that a lot of hardware is no longer available in North America let alone overseas. For some replacement parts, if you can find them, you're only option is used. Items like the intake manifold and some exhaust components for example are no longer available. I don't recall if the heat exchanger is still available or not.

Hopefully the engines you're getting have alternators. If they do, these would have been an aftermarket conversion (probably still available) as the charging system design incorporates a stator like that of an outboard. While pretty reliable on an outboard, on these engines, they had some on-going challenges such as dislodging magnets which destroy the stator. The charging system also used a liquid cooled regulator which was prone to leaking. The regulator and stator are still available last I looked but they are very expensive components.

The circ pump runs off the cam. This caused camshaft wear not associated with typical engine design. The result is having to replace the camshaft.

The engine is an aluminum block with a cast iron head. This and the cylinder wall design is such that it makes it very sensitive to an overheat. Be diligent on drive impeller replacement, while we don't want an overheat no matter the engine model, most marine engines can survive one. For the most part, this is not the case with the 470.

These will be running an Alpha drive. These have been around for a long time and a very popular drive for Merc. Again, as long as they have been properly maintained on a regular basis, they should be fine. Like any sterndrive application though, they are maintenance pigs for which you'll be dishing out cash on a regular basis from gear lube changes to bellows replacement. Maintain them properly/regularly and you'll have a bunch of small invoices rather than a huge one, that goes for any drive model.

Some friends of mine had the same boat. Not sure what year it was but it was a nice roomy boat. They did have the same engines and drives. It did have the stators. We were on a trip up to the Straits Of Mackinaw in the Great Lakes where Lakes Michigan and Huron come together.

Anyway it was July 4, 1997 when they lost the stator on the port engine. We headed back to Cheboygan County Marina on the Cheboygan River. They managed to find a mechanic that was available. He came and made the repair so we were able to head out the following morning.

It is a nicely laid out boat and I can see why you like it so much. The engines are pretty tough and as I remember their boat topped out at around 35 MPH and could cruise around 25 MPH. Hope it all works out for you.

Welcome. I had a 1988 Montego 27. The express version of the Santego, same hull and power. Mine had the 190hp 3.7 motors with the 4bbl carbs alpha 1 gen 1 out drives. When heavily loaded with crew and gear, it would be a bit slow to plane but ran well otherwise. Cruised at 28mph topped out about 38-40 depending on load and water conditions. The parts for these motors are getting hard to find. As viper mentioned the voltage regulator is expensive. Look for one and keep it as a spare, they wont get cheaper. The block is aluminum made by mercury marine, so only remans or used are available. The head is from a ford 460 motor, so you can find one of these at anywhere if needed. The boat has wood in the stringers and transom. I had a to replace one of the motor mount stringers. Have them checked and repaired if needed. I really enjoyed the ride and handling of my 2757, it was maybe my favorite boat.
Good luck and enjoy!
Tom

I forgot to add, when you are looking for parts these motors are described as Mercury 470, 3.7, 165,170,180,190lx. All the same. keep an eye out for an older single engine boat with a bad transom, and buy it for the engine and parts (if low hours and no knocks in the main bearings), there are a lot of them out there from the 80's.

Thank you all for the warm welcome and responses. Yes it has the 470 180hp mercs upgraded to alternators, will check if the staters have been removed or not. Also has the bigger 4 inch heat exchanges. 450 hours on them documented and so clean you could eat your breakfast off them. I'm very handy around car motors so I'm sure I'll pick it up. All ready aware of the cam seals this and the impellers will be first on my list. The interior is immaculate, the exterior is a little chalky looking but should clean up with a good polish. Once again thanks to all. I'll make sure future posts are in the relevant section.