Carver Owners Forum

Carver Owners,

I am very close to pulling the trigger on a 2003 Carver 360 Sport Sedan. Just curious if any current Carver 360 SS owners had any perspectives/experiences/feedback they could share; both good and bad?

We are taking it for a Sea Trial tomorrow, and so far the survey has not turned up anything major.

My only reservation is that this particular 360 SS comes with the standard twing Volvo 5.7 GXIs (320 hp), and I'm a bit unceratin that it may not be enought power? Any ingsight?

Thanks!
Rob

Solomnos, MD

Rob,

Nice boat, one of my dock neighbors has the same boat. But small blocks in a 36 foot boat is going to be well underpowered. You are in big block territory, and stating to creep up to diesel territory. That boat (and my neighbor) should have the 8.1 big blocks, I'm amazed that it has the 5.7. I have never seen that package in those boats, probably because anyone who bought the boat new ordered the big blocks. Are you sure you got the info right?

If it is the 5.7, you are going to using a ton of fuel, will have low top end and will be working the engines to max. You will be sweating while docking in wind...IMHO, it will also be a hard sell should you try to sell it down the road. That motor simply doesn't have the volumetric efficiency to be a viable power plant in that size boat. Even 30' Rinker express boats have the 496 big blocks. If it's a sexy dock queen you want, no issue - but if you plan on putting the hours on it, I might continue shopping...

Good luck with your sea trial.

I can't think of a worse boating experience than having underpowered vessel. I had one. Hated piloting it

Lyndon670 & Waybomb,

I really appreciate your feedback, and kind of expected the responses. I guess I was hoping my suspicions would not be realized!

So here's the deal, the boat is in very good shape. The generator only has 200 hrs, and the engines have been on fresh water with 590 hrs. Sea Trial went well, and the surveyor did not identify any show stoppers. With that said, I did have to run it @ 4000 rpm to maintain a 22-24kt speed, so I am definitely going to burn some fuel and stress the engines. No doubt about it.

I've also looked at every Carver 360 SS on YachtWorld, BoatTrader, etc. online, and it's literally the only one I can find that has the Carver standard equipped Volvo 5.7 GXIs. So its definitely a bit of an anomaly! It appears the original owner just boat it without too many upgrades.

Here's the kicker, I am getting the boat at a very reasonable price. It is a repo and have a contract in place to purchase at $45K - $35K less than the current selling price on this year and model. So my thinking is......, though I will not get the perfect/desired performance factor, I will get a boat in great shape that can run the Chesapeake Bay with the understanding that I could re-power down the road and still be well under value.

Thanks again for the advice and input! I look forward towards being a Carver owner, and keep you updated on the ups and downs of the 5.7s.

Thanks!
Rob

Love is where you find it.

Did you pull the trigger Rob?

Lyndon,

Yes I did, and I am very pleased with boat. The Carver quality is much more than advertised. Very happy and looking forward to a full season of cruising on the Chesapeake Bay this summer.

As far as the 5.7s, it's been a bit of a mixed review. I wouldn't say it's completely under powered, however I certainly could benefit from a Big block for longer cruises. If nothing else but to increase the cruising speed at a much lower RPM... With that said, the price and boat condition was way too good to pass up.

Very happy to be a Carver owner!

Thanks for checking in!
Rob

Congrats

Great to hear Rob!

Congrats. Also a smart move. The discount you get from purchasing an "underpowered" model will pay for a lot of fuel over the years, and idle and no wake (which seems to be more and more of what the heck we do) won't be greatly affected. My dock buddies and I argue about the relative merits all the time, and one of them (a big bill competitive sport fisher) has a legitimate reason to need six zillion horsepower (as all the boats race to a spot). For most of the rest, I point to my wife. She wanted the safety of an AWD SUV with the biggest engine available, when the closest she has come to off road is when dirt is on the driveway. I salute the "overpower" guys...and "just right power" is pretty subjective anyway...but I suspect you are going to be perfectly happy with that combination (unless of course you are suddenly tasked with towing a seventy ton barge to safety, or outrunning a tropical depression or something). Safe travels.