Carver 506

[Our Place]

We have been told by our fibreglass guy at our marina that we have a lot of moisture in our swim platform and it needs to be taken apart and repaired in the thousands $$. After talking to a couple of 506 owners we were told that the swim platform has pontoons down the sides for drainage. With this model between 8-10 knots the platform is totally submerged, no dinghy lift we tow. Is it normal to have major moisture with these models? Any suggestions?

[Cooler]

Probably not "normal", but also not unusual. I believe that platform is cored with balsa. Sounds like you may have had some water intrusion or just common absorbsion thru the glass. Is the platform essentially in the water while sitting in the slip also? Is it feeling spongy when you walk on it? Is your guy using a moisture meter to determine moisture level? It is not cheap to repair, lot of labor & time in the curing process. Any chance you could find a replacement? Give Carver a call with your hull# and see if they can help you. They would at least be able to tell you what type of coring was used, and if high moisture reading with meters is anything to be concerned about. If there is a type of foam or composite used, a high moisture reading would not necessarily translate to structure integrity. er

[bud37]

Source of the post We have been told by our fibreglass guy at our marina that we have a lot of moisture in our swim platform and it needs to be taken apart and repaired in the thousands $$.

It really only takes a few poorly sealed fasteners and with your platform being soaked quite frequently...probably did well considering it has been 20 years now....was the guy Kevin ?

[g36]

I can only relate to my 405 but I feel carver did a crappy job sealing screws and fittings on the deck and swim platform. I know there was no attempt on the fasteners on my oem swim platform dockbox. But there is now!

[Our Place]

Thank you Cooler, we will contact Carver. That was a great suggestion. The swim platform is an integrated platform so there is a point underneath that is in the water, but most of it is out. No it doesn’t feel spongy. He does use a moisture meter. Thank you again for your suggestions.

[Our Place]

Thank you bud37, we are checking the fasteners, there’s quite a few underneath. Yes our guy is Kevin, do you know him?

[Our Place]

Thank you g36, we will be checking all fasteners, there are quite a few underneath.

[Cooler]

Our Place. Definitely contact Carver. If the FG guy is using an infrared meter, it may read high level moisture, but the source of the reading may not be translating to loss of structure integrity. Case in point: a mechanic friend of mine had high readings in his stringers. The reading was coming from the plywood core. He started cutting into the top of the first stringer, with the intention to dig out the rotted wood, and filling in with resin. The wood was actually soaked in resin, so no structural integrity loss. He abondoned the project because he could not dig into the wood. Reglassed the area he cut out and that was that. Subsequently, I talked to a Carver staff person who said yes, that was normal construction technique, and the high moisture reading from an infrared meter was from the beam going thru wood, with no ability to read the resin content. Hope I explained this right. If there is no spongy feel, or any spider cracks, then why not? I would want to see direct evidence of strutural damage before I invest in remediation. I am not second guessing your FG guy, he knows a lot more about FG than I do. He may not be aware of techniques used by Carver. Good luck. er

[dskasner]

I have a Carver 506. Going on four years of ownership of this vessel. Just recently sailed her from cincinnati to Daytona beach where she is now moored. Have begun installing a Davit on the swim plate form. In order to secure stainless davit pads to platform had to cut two round 6 inch openings. Using round cover plates to seal access. This allows tightening of bolts. After cutting holes had discovered totally water soaked core. Not just in one spot but both sides of platform core was water saturated. Had to stop davit install. Now have to open top of platform remove most likely all the core and replace before I can continue with davit project. When I had the boat surveyed the swim platform core was reported as being water soaked, so no surprised when I got to this stage of the davit project. Starting the repair tomorrow. Planning on cutting top sheet of platform off. That exposes core. Going to replace with Marine grade plywood. Covering plywood with resin before installing to waterproof wood. While platform is open will be looking for water intrusion points. Before leaving ohio I did seal all the screw holes and various parts of the rub rail. But core remained wet. That portion of boat is sealed, so without opening up and drying core once it gets wet game over. Planning on opening up top layer of platform in three sections. That will make the job manageable as the plywood core has to be 1.250 inches thick. Yes, it is normal for this swim platform to be completely underwater when cruising between 1200 to 1800 rpm. Above 1800 rpm the platform rises out of the water. This is a design function as it works like a fixed pitch stabilizer. Below 1200 rpm its out of the water. Will be taking pictures as I progress through this repair.

[Carpediem]

So I'm under contract now on a really clean 2000 506 and have been afforded almost unlimited access to the boat during the due diligence period. In poking around I noticed that the center bilge area between the inboard engine beams is holding an inch or two of water that has no way to be pumped out. I looked for the bilge pump for that area and it is located at the aft bulkhead under the steps just aft and under the thruster batteries. It is mounted on a platform that is clearly two inches above the lowest point of the area. Should that water be flowing some where that I'm missing and the pump that is located above the water is a highwater emergency pump? I can't imagine the area is supposed to stay wet.
Any ideas?