Buying 32 convertable

[eagle1jhutto]

Hi folks. I am new to this forum. I am strongly considering buying a 87 32 Convertible. Can you share with me the most important things to consider? How much to replace ac, fridge, water heater ect. Any help will me received graciously...
Thanks

[g36]

Hi welcome. You can google prices for the items you mentioned.
Theres several good marine websites to shop around like defender marine,west marine. Hamilton, wholesale marine,great lakes Skipper just goes on an on.
Apx prices. Gotta shop around but
Ac unit around $1400
Fridge ac/dc around $1000 under counter full size $1400
Water heater $300

[waybomb]

Welcome aboard!
Make sure you have it surveyed.

[Cooler]

Welcome aboard! The items you should replace are the items you will intend to actually use. Water heaters have gone up due to higher safety standards. Expect $500 for a 6 gallon. I do not use the heater in my vessel, so no need for me. Important if you shower or wash dishes, etc. I use shore water connection only. A good cooler can serve as a fridge. Most important things to consider overall is previous owner(s) maintenance, hours on engines, any water intrusion on wood cored areas. Good luck. OH, a survey. er

[km1125]

Are you capable (and willing) to do the work yourself or will you need/want someone to do it for you? That would change most of the quoted prices by probably 100%

When buying or looking at fridges, watch for sales. They routinely go for 20-25% discounts, so never pay advertised price. Also, consider the shipping costs, as that will be a very significant charge - usually measured in HUNDREDS of dollars. Some places like West Marine will ship to their local store for free and you can pick it up there. Others might give you discounted shipping if you can have it shipped to a commercial location.

Concentrate on the "bones" of the boat first (engines, transmission, hull, controls, etc) and work around the other stuff while you enjoy the boat, because some of that very important stuff might come up with some repairs that are costly. You don't want to scrimp on those because you already spent a chunk of the budget on the other stuff. Once you've got that stuff under control, you'll really enjoy spending the rest of the dollars on the other stuff.

[RGrew176]

Welcome Aboard. Good luck with your search. Carver makes a pretty nice boat so I hope you find one to your liking. Survey and sea trial at a minimum once you find something to your liking.

[SplashyLady]

The 32 Convertible (3227) is a great boat! (of course I would say that, as I have one) Does it have Mercruisers or Crusaders? Generator? Upper and lower stations? Fresh water or salt?

A frig is about $1000 for a direct 120/12V marine replacement - not a difficult job to replace except getting the new one through the door and down into the galley - but it will go in!

Water heater is located in the middle cabin and is pretty easy to get at - but if you replace, you may want to go with a smaller/on demand type at about 1500 watts and 1.5 to 2 gallons. If you go with a regular marine water heater, get the heat exchanger model that heats the water with engine heat - not much more expensive but does not require electrical to heat the water when you run an engine.

The A/C (if original) will be an R22 system, and R22 is not made/hard to find/expensive. You would need to replace it with a newer system and that's about $1600-2200 for a 16K BTU unit. The new unit will come with new controls that are much better than the original and don't require the water pump to run continuously. The A/C unit is located in the bottom of the locker in the center cabin and is not a difficult replacement.

The generator might be an issue depending on age and hours - the original would likely be a single cylinder Onan 4.5 Kw- these run pretty well but are fairly noisy. A replacement would be something like a Kohler 5E or Westerbeke that will be a pretty big ticket, but will be smoother and less noisy. Weight is a consideration here - as the generator is far astern in the boat.

These boats hold up well structurally, but watch for any leaks around windows and hatches that may let water drain down inside and get to the plywood cabin decking or wood trim. Check the bottom of the locker in the cockpit - the door often leaks water in and the floor will develop rot over time. Check the inside of the bench seat on the flying bridge for water damage. The sliding door rollers are subject to rust and wear and the door is not that easy to remove, but replacement parts are available and not expensive. The swim platform often gets soft due to water intrusion on the wood core. You can recore it from the bottom with new material or replace it. I've seen several 3227s where they replaced the swim platform with a larger one. I recored mine but reinforced it in stress areas.

Both Crusader and Merc engines are reliable if properly serviced up to about 1500-2000 hours, but you are talking about 30+ year old engines, so ignition/electronic parts will be at end of life. However these boats are pre-computer ignition, so the systems are pretty simple. Merc uses their proprietary Thunderbolt HEI system and Crusader uses a more generic system - if it works, don't fix it - but expect to replace any original items in the near future. The carburetors are likely Quadrajets - great when they work right, but sometimes develop internal leaks, and hard to rebuild unless you are an expert. There are several Q-jet specialty shops that will sell you a bolt-on replacement for about $300. I assume the boat has a closed cooling system, so look for the usual issues with the heat exchangers, hoses, strainers, etc.

The V-drives are pretty bullet-proof as long as long as oil has been checked and maintained, but the port side is hard to get to and some folks don't ever check it - that's why Carver put the warning lights on the panels. The lights often are on under 1200 RPM, but should go off about 1200 RPM unless the oil is low.

I hope this helps! Good luck and see you on the water!

[bud37]

Source of the post Hi folks. I am new to this forum. I am strongly considering buying a 87 32 Convertible. Can you share with me the most important things to consider? How much to replace ac, fridge, water heater ect. Any help will me received graciously...
Thanks

Welcome to the forum.....will this be your first big boat ?

[tomschauer]

Keep in mind the prices given by everyone do not include installation.

[89Convert]

Welcome! We bought a 89 3227 w/Crusader 270s, last spring and love it! All good previous comments above. I've done and doing a lot of updates on mine. Examples: tuned-up day one, replaces all belts & hoses to engines, resealed hydraulic steering at both helms (after steering went out 2 miles out from shore), keep lubricating throttle & shift cables, detailed bottom to top, removed all stripping (yes I'm weird that way), replaced all carpet with vinyl marine flooring, teak oiled all wood, replaced all port windows (leaked), added new electronics, new batteries, new upholstery inside and many little things. Yes, I could have bought a newer boat (Carver only) and forgone all this, but I bought it right, love the boat (had a 30' SeaRay before), I love working on it (keeps me out of the bars in the winter) and that's what boating is all about!!