Carver Owners Forum

I have a 1996 Carver 355 Aft Cabin in heated storage.. The auxillary fuel tank under the dive platform developed a leak.. I had the tank drained and neutralized.. My dilemma is to replace the tank or just dead head it and just not have an auxillary tank which I never used... I have been told that the boat won't ride properly without the tank because it provides ballast..A surveyor and a Carver certified repair man said thats not true.. If it was Carver would tell you to keep the tank full which they don't .. I need some advice here from someone who knows..1 Carver dealer told me it would and I just got off the phone with another carver dealer who said it wouldn't.Thanks

Earlier versions of this Carver model did not have a stern fuel tank. The company added the stern tank to allow for greater cruising distances. I found that the attitude of the 350 series aft cabins (bow to stern and port to starboard) is impacted by a number of weight distribution items.
A major weight impact for this model is the amount of water held in the fresh water tank under the aft cabin berth. A full water tank at 8 lbs/gallon will add about 560 lbs to the stern/port side lowering the swim platform and the port engine external exhaust outlet. This is more pronounced when the stern fuel tank is full with 120 gallons of gas.

How does not having the auxiliary tank affect handling of the boat?

I have run a 356 aft cabin with low fuel in the stern tank. There did not seem to be any negative operating issues. You see more of a difference when the boat is at rest at the dock/slip. Less weight in the stern area tends to tip the bow down a little. You might notice that water from the forward and aft shower units may not move as well to the floor drains. It is more noticeable in the forward wet head shower area.

I would think that without all the weight of 118 gallons of gas, that the boat would probably plane out a little quicker and ride more flat without having to use the tabs as much. If your cruising routine does not require the safety of having the extra 118 gallons of fuel...leave it empty!