Carver Owners Forum

Hi - I have decided to go with a Carver/Trojan Express the 37-40 foot 1992-1999 Model. Can anyone provide Information and or opinions on what to look for in my search.
This past weekend I looked at a 1998 37 Express. The dealer readily admitted to moisture issues in the transom 4X4 sections by the trim tabs. Upon inspection the bow & pulpit section had high moisture reading and possible delimitation occurring when I got to the stringers undertake engine mounts on both sides the meter went off the charts. Ascetically the boat was beautiful seemed well kept however I believe there to be additional issues that I am not being told about. I looked at a 1992 earlier in the summer which sold quicker than I was ready to pull the trigger on.

Guidance in regards as to what to look for would be appreciated I have been told the 1998 was the best year structurally speaking what the differences between the 1998 and earlier models? Also curious about the V drives heard there might be issues with those as well.

I thought these (at least mid to late 90's) were built on the same hulls as the Carvers and had no wood below the water line, including the stringers.

Hopefully someone else knows more, but bad stringers can cost more than the boats value to replace.

Welcome to the forum.

You're likely to find one or more of the typical issues and elevated moisture readings in areas that are common with any used boat of that vintage in any brand such as the deck at the bow and bow pulpit, stanchion bases, swim platform, at the windshield, stringers, bulkheads, and bases for equipment such as the generator, fuel tanks, hot water heater, etc. I know that at least '96s had cored stringers as I've replaced a set on one. This is a very expensive repair. Depending on the build, you may also want to check the radar arch as well if applicable, they were known to leak resulting in core failure.

Don't know the type of v-drive you're talking about. Specific info on the model would help. If you're talking about Walter v-drives, they're like any other hardware, none are immune to failure, they are a pretty robust unit though and typically last for decades if maintained properly.

Can't stress enough the need to get a professional survey done so you know what you're up against and the budget you'll need to make certain repairs. It also serves as a negotiating tool, and you'll need one for insurance anyway.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Welcome Aboard. Can't really give much advice as to your situation. When I was in the process of buying my Carver as one should I did have a survey and a sea trial. The survey went very well. Fortunately on my Carver there were no moisture issues. The first sea trial did not go well as the boat did not perform. The port engine only made 2400 RPM and the starboard 3600 RPM. Both engines should make 4000 RPM.

I chose not to pull the boat for the hull check after the first sea trial as the seller had to have some work done on the engines. On the port engine a fuel line filter change was made and both engines were tuned up. At the 2nd sea trial both engines did make 4000 RPM and still do to this day. Still the boat only made 16 MPH.

I did have the boat pulled after the second sea trial for the hull check. When we got the boat out of the water we could not believe what we saw. The entire hull was coated with 3 to 4 inches of zebra mussels. I had the bottom cleaned and the hull part of the survey was done. We then took the boat back out for another run and she made 25 MPH. I was happy with the general overall performance.

Getting to my point once all the survey and sea trials were completed I asked my surveyor if you were in the market for a boat would you buy this one. He said yes and we made our offer and I ended up with my Carver. I guess the bottom line here is when you get to a point where you are considering an offer ask your surveyor if he or she would buy the boat.

Thanks for the response, I have had surveys done in the past on other vessel's. I used one as a "check list " to take moisture reading all over the boat. Such as around the windshield seals and arch which in this case was aluminum. The high readings i am talking about would fall into most surveysors "caution " zone. In hind sight i am starting to think this boat took on some water or had some type of damage, one stringger had two different color paints on it. Moving forward i am more curious if there are significant differences in model years between that time frame 92-99. I have one friend who says the 98 was the best year for that model what he basis that on I have not a clue.....

quote="Viper"]Welcome to the forum.
You're likely to find one or more of the typical issues and elevated moisture readings in areas that are common with any use boat of that vintage in any brand such as the deck at the bow and bow pulpit, stanchion bases, swim platform, at the windshield, stringers, bulkheads, and bases for equipment such as the generator, fuel tanks, hot water heater, etc. I know that at least '96s had cored stringers as I've replaced a set on one. This is a very expensive repair. Depending on the build, you may also want to check the radar arch as well if applicable, they were known to leak resulting in core failure.

Don't know the type of v-drive you're talking about. Specific info on the model would help. If you're talking about Walter v-drives, they're like any other hardware, none are immune to failure, they are a pretty robust unit though and typically last for decades if maintained properly.

Can't stress enough the need to get a professional survey done so you know what you're up against and the budget you'll need to make certain repairs. It also serves as a negotiating tool, and you'll need one for insurance anyway.

Good luck and keep us posted.[/quote]