Carver Owners Forum

I have had a recent experience which leads me to this statement.
The customer support has been GREAT. They are always willing to help and always do everything possible to address any situation that I have encountered in the last couple years. But I must take issue with the documentation in the Owners manual. (for model year 2005 in the least!)
This is the second incident where the documentation does not reflect reality.
The first time happened last year when I wanted to do something about the intrusion of 'water in the forward bilge' when cruising in my Mariner. I determined that the water migrated through a thru hull fitting. The documentation implied that the most 'forward' thru hull fitting would be my target. I installed a clamshell to abate the situation, only to realize after the fact, that the 'aft' thru hull should have been the target. I went a season with with water in the bilge and a clamshell that should not live what it now resides.
The most recent adventure had to deal with the 'house' battery.
I tested the batteries before the season and determined that 2 of them needed to be replaced. According to the original documentation, one target was the 'house' and the second a 'starter' for starboard engine.
When shopping at a local battery specialist, I mentioned that I would like to purchase a deep cell AGM that would be able to power the refrigerator overnight and still have juice. He sold me the unit that would absolutely, undeniably and without question 'do the job'!
This at $350.00! Ok, its a boat..just do the job!
On Memorial Day we were on the hook and I figure let's give it a go. After 2 hours...DEAD!
It couldn't recharge vacu-flush, no water pump, no nothing. DEAD! What the HECKFIRE!! It is a $350.00 battery that is one week old!!!
I schlep it back to the place and the battery tests perfect. The guy tells me it is something on the boat. Maybe a short or something is draining the battery. Oh no..another headache...another expense!!
My friend brings down an amp meter in order to determine the draw of the fridge, etc., and we figure out that the battery labeled 'house' on the original documentation is actually the 'generator' battery. The battery labeled 'generator' is really the house!
What a pain!!! I love Carver... I HATE their documentation!!!
The good news is that its an easy fix. A little switch-a-roo and problem solved.
The bad news was that it was yet another cause for stress, grief and wasted time.
But.... I still love the Carver brand!

Denpooch, I feel you bro! At least your owner manual sounds like it model specific. The one I have for my 89 3867 Santego reads like it was written to cover a dozen different models. If fact it read like it is a manual for boats in general. If it wasn’t that I have the individual manuals for each specific piece of major equipment, I would be at a loss. Yes, I love my Carver, but I hate their documentation!

Going through house pains also, trying to resolve all, I believe I am down to the nitty gritty.

Same with cars I find. The manuals are close but not exact. I have still to find the section that explains what the lights on the rear view mirror of my wife's Caravan. The thing you have to remember about boat construction is that a lot of hardware is mounted in a ballpark area unlike a car where there are mounting wholes for everything, and assemblies are put together in a jig so every single unit that rolls off the line is exactly the same. On a boat you're likely to have two different people on two shifts that do things slightly different from each other, that goes for every assembly line in all industries.

Hard to get good manuals for anything these days. It seems unless they're for an item that is mass produced and simple like a toaster, a good manual is hard to come by or has to be downloaded. I remember the first IBM personal computer I bought in '82. It came with two very thick books. Several years later when I upgraded, I got nothing but a quick start manual, nothing about it's construction, expansion instructions, programming, nothing.

We also have to keep in mind that things may have been changed by previous owners and technicians. A good example is a major repair such as stringer replacement. All the hardware, wiring, and plumbing is removed throughout the area. The odds of everything going back into the exact same place are low.

Unless it's a an actual Service Manual, chances are it's very general in nature and won't cover/include some production changes over the years, and I think to keep costs down, revisions are omitted to the manuals as they're only general information anyway. That's not the case with Service Manuals, they're pretty exact, are revisions are common.

I never go by manuals as they are all the same, poorly written and inaccurate no matter what brand. I always throw out any manual I get with anything I buy, why? Because 90% of the time the new updated one on line has several corrections to it.

For the boat I use the manual to get a general idea and then determine myself what is actually there. A boat manual is generic at best.

Manuals can get you started in the right direction....BUT, never ASSUME anything on a boat, they are built slightly different one from another of the same model, there have been previous owners most times, they have been delivered to different dealers for final assembly, numerous mechanics....etc, etc.

Always double check and verify before any work is done is the code I live by....then double check after to make sure you actually did what you were planning on, before use. Almost all of the bolt on stuff I have ever got required some final seat of the pants engineering for it to work right.

It is for sure frustrating at best, but I still love it.....

Manuals are a guide not necessarily a Bible so to speak.

Amen brothers