New Owners: 2003 Carver 396 Aft Cabin MY

[mobinakhtar]

So, for the folks following my earlier saga with a 97 Carver Mariner, Thanks to the good Lord, we were finally able to close on a 2003 Carver 396 Aft Cabin. Much bigger boat than I expected, but fills a hidden niche part of my desires to own a modern Motor yacht.

Here are some details:
Twin 8.1L Crudsaders 502's w/ Captains Choice with about 104 Hrs Each
7.5KW Kohler Genset with 130 Hrs
Floor Plan A (dual sofa space, no dinette) with recessed kitchen and a larger VIP guestroom
Twin Raymarine Hybridtouch screens (GPS and Radar - switchable) Tridata and autopilot. new in 2016
Fusion modular sound system with network and Bose speakers
new exterior upholstery and brand new bridge enclosure
Dighy, Davit, 5hp Mercury 4-stroke (2016)

Here is the work needed:
Bottom job is 3 years old - considering pressure wash to decide if need a new one
Wax and Buff is also 3 years old
Engine hoses and belts were done 3 years ago - check and replace
Water pumps - 3 years old and ran 10 hrs but I'm replacing them
5 new batteries needed (4 are not holding cranking charge)
Aft and Fwd cabin smaller AC units are out - need to troubleshoot as compressors are not engaging. units look rust free and new
starter solenoid for generator is out. I was able to test crank it manually
port gas tank sender is broken (and its completely out of gas)
needs a great deal of cleaning.
so far these are the main items. I checked all seacocks etc. all seem to be ok and working.

[mobinakhtar]

I will be updating my repair list as I visit more with the yacht. I live about an hour and a half away and am able to go every three four days apart. Overall its a very very clean boat that was loved by PO and they gave be couple boxes of receipts and work done.I am excited but first, I have to get insurance, look for a slip close to my beach house and then get engines serviced so I can take it there. Right now I am working on batteries, bottom job, and engine service.


Please feel free to advice me on anything you guys recommend I check. Never owned a motor yacht before. I am familiar with boating and 20-25 ft boats - single engine.

[buster53]

Yes, I'm nitpicking....
Aren't 8.1's = 496 and 8.2's = 502?

I have 8.1's in my Carver 356. Great engines, but I'm having engine problems with my port engine at the moment. Trying to line up a mechanic now.
My Crusaders are 385 HP ea. Boat will fly...35 MPH at wide open.

[mobinakhtar]

The mechanic kept calling it a 502 (While they appear to be 496).

Repair Update: Poured 5 gallons of fresh gas in each tank. Replace 5 New Marine batteries and Started engines.
Port hard to start and dies after running perfectly for 20 seconds. seems starved for fuel.
Starboard is idling smoothly - some pulley is making a screechy noise.

trying to diagnose port. Have feeling has something to do with fuel, fuel pump, or filter or worst case injectors. This engine has 108 Hours on it.

Removed starter relay for Kohler gen and ordered it. It will crank if the starter is shorted so definitely the solenoid is bad.

[buster53]

Check your racors to see if you have any water in your fuel.

[mobinakhtar]

Buster53, I'm new to this kind of boat and big blocks in general. Can you tell me where the fuel filter might be? I am sure they are full of water. PO left tanks almost empty (maybe few gallons each) for over 6 months. After getting all settled, I plan on leaving tanks full with fuel-treatment mostly to avoid water vapor.

[buster53]

Just get in your engine room and look. They should (?) be accessible. Most likely they will be water separating filters. The filter itself will look a lot like your basic oil filter with a second part screwed into the bottom of it. There will be a big bolt in the bottom of it. Get some kind of container, Best to use a clear glass bowl and hold it underneath the filter while you unscrew that bolt. Drain the filter and replace the bolt. If you have water, it will be easy to see in the glass bowl as water and gas quickly separate with gas sitting on top of the water.
Come back here and let us know what you find. Water in my tank is what is causing my engine issue.

The first time I did this, it was almost all water in my filter. Very little gas.

[mobinakhtar]

awesome. thanks. I will go there on Tuesday again and spend the day. I appreciate your help, Buster.

[buster53]

Get on you tube and look up changing racor or draining racors, something like that. Just about anything you need to do, there will be videos on you tube on how to do it.
I would drain it once to see how much water is in it. You may want to do it again and then actually replace the filter itself.

[buster53]

BTW, I'm the guy on THT that suggested you get on this forum, chuck34