Carver Owners Forum

Hello Carver fans!

We love the Carver layouts and have been looking at several. I have the opportunity to get a '94 440 for a decent price. We boat fresh water inland lake and don't do too many hours on boat annually. We are moving from a '97 Silverton 360 Express to this potential 440. This is gas powered (not my preferred but what is available) w/ 454Xl Crusaders sitting at 780ish hours. For context, I've put 300 hours on my boat in the last 10 years so not high hour usage.

*IF* the boat stays healthy, happy and performs well, we *might* consider hauling to the coast to do east coast or possible loop with it. I fully understand gas motors will be the weak link so we'd make that decision in 2-4 years.

As we move into the detailed survey, sea trial, etc. I'm looking for the wisdom of this crew on any known issues with the 440 to investigate. Is there anything current or former owners loved/hated about the boat we should be specifically aware of? I'd love any wisdom you could share.

Thanks!

That’s a whole lot of boat for gassers. I used to have a 3807 with 454 Mercs and it was a dog. We did almost all of our cruising at hull speed, around 1700-1800 RPM’s and 8-9 mph because fuel consumption was so high. On the few occasions, we ran at cruising speed, it was in the 3200, 15-16 mph range.
That’s a nice boat, but with gas, I’d have to pass unless I only ran it at hull speed. Up on plane…forget it.

How big of a lake? Great Lakes? I had a 4207 with gas engines. Sold it because of the lack of power. On a flat lake day, no problem. But we often headed across Lake Michigan, and sometimes the weather kicked up the lake. It was a pig in wave action. Find one with Diesel engines. at least 400hp each. The 3208's don't do the boat justice.
A transient came in harbor one time with a 4207 repowered with 500 cats. He let me take it for a ride. It was a proper boat at that point.

Welcome to the forum....I agree with the guys, that boat is well into the 35,000lb range, plus there is windage to deal with.....not something you want when caught out in weather......just my opinion.

Thanks all for the feedback! Yes, we are on a small lake (~25k surface acres) so nothing like the great lakes. Hull speed would be ok in most situations. We are in the debate now if this is actually too big for this lake and should stick to our 36' express cruiser. . We just like the idea of a "lake apartment" that doubles as a boat.

I forgot to ask but considering the name and location......are you an SRV fan ??....

The 440 is a nice boat and even with gassers, has it’s place and it sounds like it would do well on your lake. Where it’s not good….big water, running on plane and it is certainly not a looper.

Is the boat on the lake, or would you have to move it?
Big costs in taking that boat apart for transport.
And then you have to think about selling at some point.

Yes, it is already on the lake we are at so no transport cost unless we ever decide to move it to the coast which I highly doubt. I'll just buy another one that is newer and diesel. We made the offer today and he accepted. So pending sea trial and survey we should be good to go.

Certainly would be better to have diesel but for our purpose, slow and hull speed for 30-45 min from the marina to our usual anchorage will be just fine. It will serve to be our apartment at the marina instead of trying to buy a lake house! #firstworldproblems

Now, I'll be on the forum all the time for tips and tricks on these Carvers, the ins-and-outs of problems, maintenance, etc!