‘89 Santego 27’ - 1st Big Boat Project

[Creek_Cruiser27]

Greetings,

I recently acquired a 27ft 1989 Carver Santego mid-cabin. Her former owners lost interest in maintaining her and she needs a lot of TLC. The hull is in great shape but she needs a lot of cleaning inside as she sat unattended for almost a year. Bilge areas and engine bay seem really clean so hoping she only needs minor fixes inside. Sterndrives were removed and cleaned but transom housings still need serious cleaning and lift rod replacements. If anyone has space/tank/default equipment diagrams for this model I would greatly appreciate them.

I live on the southside of the Hampton Roads area of the Chesapeake Bay so she will still be a river, ocean coast cruiser. if anyone has mechanics or electricians they recommend in this area that would be appreciated also. Looking forward to being part of the Carver cruising community.

[KyleR]

Congratulations and welcome aboard!

[waybomb]

Welcome aboard!

[Viper]

Congrats and welcome aboard. Keep us updated on your progress.

[ColRon]

Welcome Aboard, congratulations and good luck on your project!

[RGrew176]

Welcome Aboard and good luck getting her up and running. That is one of the roomiest 27 footers out there. I almost bought one myself last year but the sale fell through.

[Creek_Cruiser27]

Greetings again! After cleaning more debris form the transom and gimbal assemblies, discovered the Stbd one has a couple major issues that’ll mean I have to remove the engine and replace the entire Stbd transom assembly… For my current budget, I intend to restore the Port side with what I currently have as both my A-1/G-1 upper and lower units are in good condition. But I am thinking of upgrading the drive on the Stbd side to an A-1/G-2, or a Bravo drive setup? Thinking that since I have to pull the stbd engine to replace the transom assembly anyway, I may as well upgrade that side now and once I can set aside enough resources I’ll upgrade the port side later. Any thoughts or things to keep in mind with this plan? Engines are 4.3L 205hp Mercruisers - pretty sure port side has been replaced at some point…

[Creek_Cruiser27]

Stbd side has cracked gimbal ring and is missing a half-dollar size piece off the transon shield lower left corner where the lower left retaining bolt is.

[Viper]

I wouldn't swing a Bravo on a 4.3L, certainly not with an Alpha on the other side even for a short time. BRavo's are overkill for 4.3L engines IMO. You'd also have to make modifications at the engine as you currently have an ignition interrupt circuit for the dog clutch in the Alpha, the Bravo is a cone clutch and doesn't require it as it incorporates a cone clutch. The Alpha also contains the raw water pump in it while the Bravo does not, so you'd have to modify your engine setup to accommodate the necessary raw water pump. If you stay with an Alpha, stick to the same gear ratio as you currently have so it matches the other side. You may also want to consider getting a counter rotator on the port side if you don't already have it set up that way.

BTW, in a saltwater application, you may want to consider installing an active corrosion protection system such as Merc's MerCathode unit, especially if you install Bravos

[Creek_Cruiser27]

Thanks for the insights, really appreciate it.