Carver Owners Forum

I've owned my 1985 Carver 2667 for 18 years (260 Mercruiser) and I still feel unsure about some things.

1/ If I turn while going forward at idle, it leans outward in a distressing way. It can also tip rather dramatically from strange currents, a following sea, and people moving about. I would assume this is merely the initial stability being poor and that after going over so far, it would tend to want to right itself. I hope that's the case, however when moored, I can stand on the gunwale with no apparent movement of the boat. How worried should I be? Has one of these boats ever tipped over? Maybe when on the bridge it just feels worse than it is?

2/ Although the tippiness described above is disconcerting, I have another worry. When I first got the boat I decided to see how fast it would go and after a little bit I hit 40 mph or maybe a bit under. I was scared to breathe... scared to blink... I had this feeling that the boat would fall to the side, either to the port or starboard side of the bow. Since then I tend to cruise around 12 mph. What's really going on here? Is it unsafe at that speed, and if so, what's a reasonable limit? I'm thinking of reducing the propeller pitch to limit the top speed to something safer.

3/ This is a minor one.... while cruising at low speed, say 5 mph, the bow wanders back an forth a bit. I think I did try lowering the trim tabs at one point, but can't remembers if it helped very much. Maybe raising the outdrive at the same time would help? From other boating forms, it appears that many people think lowering the trim tabs helps keep the bow down to help with this issue, while I tend to think it just evens out the natural drag of the boat from side to side. Doing that and then lifting the bow might be better. Ever row a boat with someone in the front and no-one in the back? It's all over the place. Anyway, any suggestions for me?

Now although all the above sounds bad, I really like the boat. It has the features I like and is small enough I could afford it and can afford maintenance even though I do most of it myself. It suits me perfectly other than I don't' trust it's seaworthiness all that much. Mind you, I did get caught in open sea where the swells came up. Front 1/3 of boat airborne heading into it and the bow pulpit just skimming the water before the boat started to rise again. Wipers on even though there was no rain, just massive spray. Fortunately I managed to get in the lee of an island and then headed up the river for calmer waters. Yes, I steered from below during the craziness. But the boat handled it well.

Welcome to the forum, good on you for keeping the same boat for that long, I envy that.Regarding your concerns, I honestly think it is just the way that boat is, narrow with a bridge puts the weight up more than an express boat would have.....make sure you do not use tabs at all in a following/ quartering sea.
I had a mid 20's x 8 1/2 wide boat years ago that did much the same as you are saying, I was always adjusting drive trim and the tabs.They do wander though.
Sorry can't comment on the 40mph issue........good luck man, and good to see you here........

At 26' boat with a bridge is going to feel real 'tippy', but as long as you don't have a lot of weight up there, it should be safe. You don't want 3 or 4 people on the bridge (if they'd even fit).

40 mph is moving along pretty fast!! You don't have to cruise that fast and I wouldn't change props unless you really are having issues with getting or staying on plane. If you cruised at closer to 30 it may feel more comfortable and you'll have less wear on the engine. You might have a little 'hook' in the stern that is causing the bow to get down too far, but also check you're loading. That 'hook' can be built-in by the factory or it can happen over the years if there is improper blocking in storage.

Do you have a lot of on-board weight in the forward half of the boat? Any way to move some weight aft?

Thank-you both for your replies. I think it's OK, however I think I'll do some "safe" testing this Spring to feel better about things. I don't have any weight towards the bow, although one of the few things I'm still not sure about is where the fresh water tank is. As far as changing the propeller, it was only a thought to keep the top speed down in case someone else was driving; to prevent things becoming unsafe at high speed.

I have a little boat story with pictures, but I think I'll make a new post for that. Thank-you again for your replies.

Just realized you were in NS. Nice place up there!! Flew over it on a couple trips, but only stopped to fuel up. The pics in your 'small boat story' thread look very nice!!

Saw a pic of this model somewhere else. The bridge is quite far forward, so I'm sure that adds to the problem of moving weight forward.

Also, on your speed... did you really mean 40 MPH, or could that have been kph?

You can always add some red tape to the tach to establish a "red line" that you don't want others to exceed when piloting your boat.

I have an 86 Santa Cruz that rides excellent! They tend to be slightly tippy when turned too sharp at slow speed. This can be overcome by turning in small intervals. Yes the boat will slightly wander at very low speed which is typical of any i/o powered boat. The water tank is below the v birth. You may consider partially filling the water tank rather than filling it completely. Frankly, I am wondering why you seem to know so little about a boat that you've owned for a long time,,,,,,

SRVTRIBUTE wrote:Source of the post Frankly, I am wondering why you seem to know so little about a boat that you've owned for a long time,,,,,,

Frankly, I'm wondering why a member with only 4 posts to his name would post something so obviously intended to strike a nerve. Perhaps the most you have in common with boating is "trolling"?

Unfortunately the stability concern is part and parcel of any vessel of that length with a substantial bridge structure. Raising the center of gravity exaggerates the roll. The more weight up top, the worse the condition. Carver's pushed forward bridge exaggerates the the condition even mare IMO. The aft deck space can't be beat for a boat that size however if the bridge had been set aft a little more where the hull' dead-rise is less, the condition may not have been as pronounced. Lessening the weight on the bridge and even weight distribution throughout the vessel can serve to lessen the condition bit.

The propensity to roll also contributes to the side to side wonder. You should be able to overcome the wonder with an increase in speed but at low speed it may be something you'll have to live with. A couple of things you can check that you have control over are:
- play in the steering cable if applicable will contribute to this condition
- any play in the steering pin and gimbal ring of the transom assembly will also exaggerate wonder considerably (I'm assuming you're a sterndrive application)
- the condition is more notable in a single sterndrive application as the torque from the prop wants to move the stern sideways. An adjustment of the steering fin/anode on the lower drive plate may help to overcome this a bit.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Viper. I've sort of gotten used to most of the issues. The wandering can be bad, but disappears quickly when coming off idle a bit. Also, it's such a slow wander that it doesn't affect docking. There is an area I sometimes go which is narrow and has a 5mph speed limit. It's not fun there.

The steering is a tiny bit loose, but tightening it doesn't do much. I suspect a little wear over the years.

A tight turn at idle causes some disconcerting heeling, but I've become used to that now. When it suddenly lurches due to wave action or currents merging from different directions it can be a bit scary. So I've been researching stability a bit.

Apparently I can do a roll timing test that will give me a stability figure. Won't ell me much, but there's a range that's OK and either side of the number it is either too "tender" or too "stiff". Naturally I would say it's too tender, but then they say that that gives better reserve stability, which is good.

I'd really like to heel her over next to the dock in a "major" way and see if it snaps back up quickly. Fortunately I don't know a method of doing this which means I won't have the misfortune to see her capsize.

She's high and dry now, so the roll timing test will happen in the Spring.

Something I have found interesting is to watch in a marina how all the different styles and sizes of boats both power and sail react to the same wave coming thru....especially evident with sailboat masts. The tender and stiff that you mention is interesting as the different hull styles react...sometimes not what you might think....