Carver Owners Forum

Hello all!
1997 355 Aft cabin. 7.4 engines.
Gas hog....ouch! Of course....one doesn't buy a boat and worry about fuel!
It's about enjoyment.
Surprisingly, vessel is in very good condition given its age.
Previous one owner sure seemed meticulous.
Sea trials went fine. Guages stayed pretty much the same on both engines underway. Kept it at the 2500~2800 RPM range.
Few minor cosmetic issues but nothing serious.
Question....AC...label reads...turn on shower pump when using AC/shower. What is the correlation between the AC and using the shower? AC is cooled via raw water. Shower is fresh water.
And...I couldn't locate the AC filter...if their is one. Thinking...replace a AC filter as needed....
Feel free to offer whatever suggestions to this newbie.
Any 355 Owners on the west Florida coast...Tampa south to the Keys...

Welcome aboard.

Your air conditioner condensate dumps into the shower sump and so does the shower drain. When the water in the sump reaches a certain height, it gets pumped overboard so the power to the pump needs to be on for the pump to work. If you don't see filters at the large vents, there should at least be a filter on the front of the evaporator on the AC unit.

The AC filter looks like a metal cannister. It has 2 wing nuts on top. Loosen the wing nuts, pop the top, and a metal filter will spring up. Inspect it for any mud or weeds. Clean off and reinstall the filter sleeve. Be careful to center the cover the correct way when reattaching. Sealing ring needs to sit the right way, or there could be a leak. This filter is probably located very near you sump box, under the same hatch. Good luck! er

Thank you for the replies!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome Aboard. Lots of great members here willing to share their knowledge. Good luck with your Carver.

When you say AC filter, I assume you are referring to the return air filter. If so, your air returns are under the dinette and aft stateroom bed. When I bought my 356, there was no filter in the forward AC and the filter in the aft AC had gotten so clogged, it was sucked into and was laying at the bottom of the return.
I got my good canister vacuum, laid on the floor and cleaned really good…aft was nasty, forward not too bad. Anyway, after cleaning, I bought a sheet of steel mesh filter material and cut my own filters and installed them.

Have you found both sump pumps? They can get nasty and need periodic cleaning.

benica wrote:Source of the post
Sea trials went fine. Guages stayed pretty much the same on both engines underway. Kept it at the 2500~2800 RPM range.
Few minor cosmetic issues but nothing serious.

Just noticed this...
2500-2800 is probably not the speed you should be running. I'm guessing at that speed, you are not up on a good plane...your bow is sticking up in the air and you are pulling a good size wake. Either run the boat at hull speed, around 8 mph (a very fuel efficient speed I might add) or get it up on a good plane, maybe 19-20 mph.
I run my 356 at around 3000-3100 which gives me a speed of 20-21 mph. I do have bigger engines in mine.

benica wrote:Hello all!
1997 355 Aft cabin. 7.4 engines.
Gas hog....ouch! Of course....one doesn't buy a boat and worry about fuel!
It's about enjoyment.
Surprisingly, vessel is in very good condition given its age.
Previous one owner sure seemed meticulous.
Sea trials went fine. Guages stayed pretty much the same on both engines underway. Kept it at the 2500~2800 RPM range.
Few minor cosmetic issues but nothing serious.
Question....AC...label reads...turn on shower pump when using AC/shower. What is the correlation between the AC and using the shower? AC is cooled via raw water. Shower is fresh water.
And...I couldn't locate the AC filter...if their is one. Thinking...replace a AC filter as needed....
Feel free to offer whatever suggestions to this newbie.
Any 355 Owners on the west Florida coast...Tampa south to the Keys...

Have you figured out all your questions yet?