Carver Owners Forum

Hi All-

I'm new to the forum and just returning to boating since I was a teen. Growing up, we had a 31' Silverton sedan with Chrysler 318s and V-drives. I did a lot of work on that boat. I'm currently considering a 1985 2807 Riviera with hardtop and single 454 Crusader. I like the idea of a single for simplicity, less maintenance, and the possibility of a (relatively) less expensive re-power if and when the time comes.

I'm writing to see if anyone knows of "typical issues" inherent to this model of this age. Is there anything I should check in particular? Obviously I will have a real surveyor do a report before buying. But before I get that far, I thought I'd check in with the people who really know them... you, the owners! I remember when I bought an older Mercedes a few years back. I went on the MB forum and asked the same kind of question. Almost everyone came back with the same 3 issues and said once those are done, it's all routine...

Any thoughts are so appreciated!

Thanks,

Glen

Welcome to the forum.......unfortunately boats are not the same as cars, they are individually hand made, even the same year models can be different. The other thing is they can have had many owners all of which may or may not have maintained their boats properly.

I guess what I am saying, as you are going to do, get an accredited surveyor familiar with the model you are looking for at the very least. Buy a good moisture meter like an Electrophysics and learn how to use it......this can give you a good idea before calling in the surveyor .....good luck with your search.

Hey Bud. Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about it that way but I think there's a lot of truth there. Thanks for the encouragement.

Glen

First boat was a new 1988 2807 with twin small blocks. 230hp each.
Great boat. Has a right sized keel that keeps it going straight. Used to head to Chicago from New Buffalo and back.

The only pain is getting to the engine space. I learned just pull the seats and all out, after you have everything ready for current and future maintenance items. Do them all at once. Once a year. Had no issues with that boat. I moved for work.

That boat went farther on a trailer than on water. Went from Lake Michigan to the Chesapeake Bay. to the Pacific Ocean, and then back to Lake Michigan.

There is one here in town I was hoping to buy to restore (all water systems including engines froze and broke), but the marina manager is a fool and won't give it away. It's going to cost him 3500 to get rid of it. If he gave it to me, he'd essentially make 3500. I'd like that project.

Hi Bomb-

It sounds like you had a blast with this boat. Did you have the cloth or hard top? The one I'm looking at has the hard top. It gets pretty cold during the shoulders of the seasons here, so the hard top seems like a good choice for me.

It's also the only one I've seen with the single gas engine. I'm thinking that if I love the boat, I'd save up for a conversion to a diesel when the time to re-power comes. I'm really hoping to use this boat like a mini trawler, so I don't need the speed. If I went diesel at some point, I could go with a slightly smaller HP engine. Do you have any sense of how much power it takes to get this on and maintain a plane? I'd mostly be running at/around hull speed, but it would be nice to be able to get going faster to get out of the way of the weather or some other urgency when needed.

Thanks for all of the great advice!

Glen

Mine had a soft top. Would have liked the hard top. The one here that I'd like to restore has a hardtop.
It popped out of the water fairly quickly - but it was a long time ago, and I don't remember at what speed that happened.
I think you'll find the gas engine economy vs the cost of a diesel conversion, you'll keep that big block.

Hey Spacecadet,
I have a 2807 now. We love the layout of the boat and it seems to be well made.
Personally i have learned a lot. We have had mega engine trouble-same single 454- but i should have been more proactive when i bought it.
I would thoroughly check the fuel tanks and consider having them pumped out if it has been sitting. If you dont know how long its been since a elbows/risers replacement, change them out. Potentially the manifolds as well. \
We are undergoing a huge project this year having the engine rebuilt along with the transmission. I'm learning the importance of doing all the maintenance the right way.
Best,

We have had two rivs. First was 88 with gray interior, second current which I’m sitting on, 89 twin crusaders.
Had rivs since 96ish. Love layout, sitting here at dinette can see 360 around, short but fat hull equals lots space, low profile doesn’t get caught in wind, turns on dime…list goes on. Great family of 4-5 boat
Wanna talk about it 256-9205 area code is Wyoming. Currently on st Lawrence river.
Hank