Carver Owners Forum

I'm considering the purchase of an '89 4207 .... Is the hull construction solid fiberglass on this model with balsa core above the water line?

Yes.
I had one with gas engines. I hope you are looking at diesels. You will not like the underpowered gas engine model if the weather turns sour.
I sold it because of some harrowing experiences with the power of the vessel.
If your plans are to repower to diesel, go 450 hp minimum. The boat is very enjoyable to pilot in that power range.

Fred is correct. Any Carver model ending in 7 or 8 is a boat made with a solid fiberglass running surface with balsa hull sides (depending on boat size as my 2757 and 310 Santego both have no balsa in the hull). The balsa was put in to save some weight on the larger boats. The 4207/4227 were both very stable boats, but very slow with any of the engines available from the factory in 1989. The diesels were Cat 3208s with 375 HP each and the gassers were Merc or Crusader with 340 and 350 HP respectively. Cruising speeds are 16 to 17 MPH...maybe 18 with the Cats.

And the 3208's at 375 hp were not all that much better than a gas engine in terms of TBOH. A base 3208 is at 210hp. The highest was something like 435. A 210hp model will go many thousands of hours between overhaul. I've heard of maintained 3208s need overhaul in 1500 hours. I would guess a 435hp model even less time between overhauls. But you can overhaul in the boat.
Big 500 HP 6cyl Cats is the way to go.