Carver Owners Forum

Hello I’m considering buying a 1990 Carver 30 foot boat it requires some major restoration interior floor has rotted away I would appreciate any advice on how to tackle it I know it’s a difficult job. I will need to replace the 5.7 inboard M/C the block is cracked. I’m a avid handyman and love learning new skills and I don’t mind hard work. And advice or assistance would be appreciated.

Welcome aboard, you have your work cut out for ya! Post the progress of your restoration, I'm sure others will find it helpful. When you take the drive off to remove the engine, inspect the bellows and the rest of the transom assembly components. If the bellows is cracked, you should replace them. Also, before you start dismantling to remove the engine, if you have an Alpha drive, check how easy it is to shit into forward and reverse. If it's stiff, now would also be the time to replace the lower shift cable as that's usually the one that fails first.

If you're going with just a block, short or long, make sure it's a marine one and not automotive as there are some differences. You can reuse the rest of the hardware if it's in good shape. Having said that, if the block cracked from not being winterized, I wouldn't trust the exhaust manifolds either. I would consider at least a long block and not rely on the old heads either.

A lot of things to check and consider here. Post your progress and next steps and we'll help along the way with any questions and suggestions.

Looks like you have a project on your hands. Viper is right on with his advice. He is a great source of information for this group. Good luck.

I'm not sure what you are thinking of paying for the boat.
Keep in mind, that is probably a boat worth maybe 8k in decent condition. So if you need to replace the engine etc, you will be "underwater"
If its a boat you like, that OK.

Good luck!

Welcome aboard and good luck!

Welcome to the neighborhood. If the floor is rotted, the top deck is probably suspect. This looks to be one of those projects that may never hit the water, but it is totally your call. We will help as best we can, but really think about what you are getting into. Good luck! er

Welcome aboard and good luck…you going to really need it.

Don't be too discouraged to do something like this, just try and learn as much as you can before you start sinking too much money into it.

If you can be creative and resourceful you can save a lot of money without really cutting corners. My boat took a lot of white oak, mahogany and teak and would have cost a FORTUNE to buy piece-by-piece or anywhere locally. I sourced a truckload of wood out of NY and saved a TON just on that, and that was long before the Internet, so it was a bit of work.

I rebuilt a ~20 year old boat and took it down to the fiberglass hull and stringers. Left the engine in as it had been rebuilt and was in good shape. The wooden deck had some rot so I removed everything and rebuilt it all. Was a HUGE learning experience that I don't think you could get anywhere else. Took me a bit over a year and when I eventually sold it I barely recovered what I put into it, but I got the boat for basically free. The time I used it I enjoyed immensely and I had as much confidence in the mechanicals of the boat as I would have on any new boat (new wiring, new switches, new gauges, etc).

The things I learned over that project were like similar to getting a college degree in "boat building". I joined ABYC and got their latest manual and read every applicable chapter on the recommended standards. I didn't have a timeframe and was not rushed. I was able to put the boat in my backyard and work on it as I had time.

Hope that boat is cheap man, i am a year and a half into getting a 86’ 2657 fixed back up, I had no rot to deal with what so ever, but had to swap out the engine, every pump, the plumbing, toilet, upholstery, and sanded for months to get a shine back. I’m not saying how much I’ve blown on this thing, cause my wife might read this post and leave me, but your talking about quite a sum to get it where you want it, and resale just isn’t great. There is a reason they say boat stands for “Bankrupcy On A Trailer” lol. But I gotta say, now that mine is all functioning correctly i love this boat, and would probably do it again.