Carver Owners Forum

I'm looking at a Carver with twin Ford 351s. The boat seems in good shape but needs some exhaust manifolds attention. The interior has been gone thru with new equipment, etc.

The reason for my post is to solicit opinions based on the fact that for the past 12 years the boat has sat in marinas. Nine years with the previous owner who used it as a liveaboard and fixed nothing. Cheap rent on the water I guess. The last 3 years has been spent with the current owner who had the boat towed to his marina where he has been working on mostly the interior and otherwise bringing the boat up to snuff. He even recently had it hauled and bottom painted with new zincs installed.

Unfortunately the current owner is of I'll health which is why I'm now looking at it.

My question is... Although the boat is being offered to me at a very attractive price, should I pass on this "opportunity" JUST because the boat has been sitting for 12 years in salt water?

With 351’s, I’m guessing a fairly old boat, maybe as old as the 70’s?
A lot of things could be wrong with those engines
12 years in salt water…where? Up north where the engines should have been properly winterized years ago or further south with no winterization and salt water has been sitting in those engines, forever.
There are steps that should be done before even turning over those engines and 12 + year old gas, not good and needs to be pumped out. Unless the owner is willing to get those engines running and you have the boat surveyed….walk away.

I don't think they made the 3207 until the 80's, and I'd wonder if those were the original engines. I thought all the 3207s had Crusaders, but I could be wrong on that.

I share Buster's concern on the engines. If they haven't been run in years while sitting in the water I'd really be concerned about much more than just the manifolds. Are they freshwater cooled or raw water cooled? Has the boat been sitting in saltwater?

LovaCarver wrote:Source of the post My question is... Although the boat is being offered to me at a very attractive price, should I pass on this "opportunity" JUST because the boat has been sitting for 12 years in salt water?

I guess my question would be, what do you plan on doing with this boat ? If it is to cruise,.... there will probably be many upgrades that will need to be done to be safe and the safety aspect includes the engines.....are you prepared for the time and money outlay for this?
Just a couple thoughts. good luck with your adventure.

If it is not running, I would add the expense of replacing engines to the purchase price, as a given. The electrical can be a real pain with saltwater boats also. Look for corrosion at connection points. That will tell the story. I have seen to many of these situations turn into never ending projects to get too excited about it. er

Thank you to those who have responded so far. I am taking your advice to heart. However, I do want to clarify that it is an '84 and that the engines ARE running, although one engine has a notable exhaust leak as if it is the gasket. They start right up. Although I'm not on site at the moment, I'm told there's no water in the oil, there's good oil pressure and no overheating ... at ileast at idle.

The boat has been in SALTWATER the whole 12 years. Not sure how often the engines were run or what, if any maintenance was done.

My intent would be to make it cruise worthy.

In your opinion, would that change anything!

Again, don’t do anything without a full pre-purchase survey with sea trial, usually conducted with the surveyor.

I’d still be very concerned with the age of the gas.

buster53 wrote:Source of the post Again, don’t do anything without a full pre-purchase survey with sea trial, usually conducted with the surveyor.

I’d still be very concerned with the age of the gas.

I would also do a mechanical survey on the engines and generator, compression tests and oil analysis.
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

LovaCarver wrote:Source of the post The boat has been in SALTWATER the whole 12 years. Not sure how often the engines were run or what, if any maintenance was done.

My intent would be to make it cruise worthy.

In your opinion, would that change anything!

One other piece of info that would help.......do the engines have heat exchangers, do they have antifreeze as a coolant or raw water in the engine blocks ?

The thing that caught my eye was "current owner who had the boat towed to his marina ". If the engines ran, why did he have it towed?