Carver Owners Forum

Found this forum while searching for things about my new 2687. Overall seems to be a very sound boat and will be working on some things over the winter to prepare for the warm weather and get her in the water for the summer.

I have found one possible concern on a stringer that may or not be an issue some advice may be needed to see if its an issue or not and a repair or let it go.

On the port stringer under the motor mount area the fiberglass is not bonded to the stringer side. It is still in once piece but has like an air bubble between the glass and stringer. probably about a foot - foot and a half. Wood/metal still feels solid and no cracking in the fiberglass anywhere. I was curious if this area may be a steel channel portion that the motor mount attaches too and the glass became un-bonded from it? No cracks where the hull and stringers meet. just rear of this area there is a area that looks to be a drain channel from once side of the stringer to the other and can get my finger in there and the wood is solid there and the glass is still bonded. Hull and stern all very solid no cracking or any evidence of water in any parts of the stringers, stern, or hull. I will try to get some pictures of this area this week when I go to get some more info.

As of right now I have very little money into the boat/trailer but if this is going to be a big deal would like to cap it off now.

Welcome aboard!

I would get additional advice to this, because I could be wrong. I'm guessing this is a factory flaw
I would drill a hole into the fiberglass to see what is going on inside. If nothing, then prep the area for a fiberglass patch and patch it.
If the wood inside is rotten, well, then you have to make some decisions.

Welcome aboard.

Sounds like delamination to me. The most common cause is moisture in the substrate but there are other less scary causes. A fiberglass tech who knows his stuff can sound the area with a mallet as a first step, and can also take a moisture reading for additional information. If the conclusion points to a possible problem with the core, taking core samples would reveal a true picture of what's going on and help decide how to remedy the issue. It could be a simple fix or a very serious one.

You can go for years with wet stringers before encountering structural and mechanical problems as a result. Until you probe deeper, you won't know how bad or good things are. If the core is wet, it won't get better, it'll only get worse and eventually accelerate at an exponential rate.

Here's hoping for the best outcome. Keep us posted.

I have the same boat. Mine has the same condition, core is solid, port side is bulged. Been like that since I've had it. I personally think the core has some dry rot at the sides as this is a 43 year old boat. I check things over every time in the engine bay before going out and thats about it. I did mount a strainer to the side of the stringer for A/C and when predrilling holes for that got dark chips for about 1/4" and then light colored after that. I wasn't a big fan of how carver did the limber holes as it left the wood core exposed. I did a complete refurbish and will address if I see any change. I really like the boat and looked at quite a few in the size range and the carver was the only one I could stand in the cabin without having to stoop. Hope the boat works out for you.

Well, it's been a while. Have had some decent weather and been working on this boat. One way I figure out about stuff is just go through everything. In the process of doing some electronic/ nav updates, radio, vhf, and some other things. Also re sealing windows, re finishing a bunch of the teak, and new carpet/liner in the cabin.

What would be the best sealant to re bed the windows to the hull aluminum frame on the fiberglass. Thinking Dow 795 or 4200. Thoughts?

4200 is fine, better yet is 4000 I believe which is UV rated. Sikaflex also has a UV rated bedding compound. You may also want to consider butyl tape instead of caulking. That's what I mostly use now, you just gotta make sure you install it properly but that goes for caulking too. Pretty sure there are several videos on YouTube for reference. You can do a search here as butyl has been discussed several times in the past.

Thanks Viper, I considered butel tape, was just concerned about it pulling down tight enough, as the screws go into the teak trim on the inside as the clamp down.

Sikaflex bedding compound has been a good choice and may be another possibility....perhaps the 298....

I used the butyl tape on all the windows. I replaced the pile weatherstrip also. I got it at dkhardware.com. The butyl is nice as it gives time to realign and reseat the frame without getting all the place like a liquid. Just need to trim around the edge of the frame to remove the excess. I don't remember the pile size I got as the roll doesn't have any markings but there is a discussion on here that might tell, or measure a piece. Also, re-oiled the teak while I had it out.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and info. I found the thread with the pile weatherstrip info and ordered some of that to do while I have the windows out since they are old and gunky. I did wash the channels out as there was a ton of crud on the striping and it cleaned up good but there is some damaged in a couple spots, may as well fix it while they are out to simplify the replacement.

Also ordered bed it / butyl to bed them on install.