Carver Owners Forum

hows everyone ? I'm looking for some knowledge and some advice, an opportunity good or bad has popped up for me my uncles boat was changed into receivership because of a bankruptcy, its a 1999 406 the known issue was the starboard side fuel tank is leaking and needs replaced, The boat has now sat in the ocean for 4 months, normally I would pass at this but for the price I can purchases this for is 17,000$ usd I'm looking for some words of wisdom from some carver owners , its a twin cummins I'm sure it needs work i have a pic of the motor ill attach, how much work is it to change the tank ? is this price reflect the work? and other problems with this year?

thanks so much in advance , I'm 28 years old and looking to enter the boat world but don't wanna enter putting 200k into a sinking ship lol

cheers , jesse H

Welcome aboard.
Ever own a vessel this big before?
Judging from picture posted, you have a lot more than replacing a fuel tank ahead of you.
I would not call that engine area well maintained at all.
If you can do all the work yourself, you may come out ok.
If you are going to have to pay somebody, I would suggest finding a seaworthy vessel instead.

Damn, that is one scary looking bilge. That screams "no maintenance" and "I don't care about my boat"....that being said, if you are handy - very handy - it could be worth buying. Spend the $500 bucks and get a survey, super cheap in comparison to what you may be into.

Thanks guys exactly the answers I'm looking for , it 100 percent is untaken care (6 months) aparantly prior to that it was well kept after. My brother is a diesel mechanic but not in the marine world

Funboxfilms
Gotta tell ya, that engine room was never taken care of well, ever. Not just the last 6 months.
The vessel cosmetics may be fine, but I see big money here in the mechanical side.
Decide how much you want to spend, then go find a perfect boat, have it surveyed, and then spend the money to keep it that way.
You'll be miles ahead.

First let me start by welcoming you aboard Jesse (another Canadian ). Glad you decided to get some opinions from current Carver owners. Some of us may also have dealt with the same circumstances/conditions you're considering taking on.

No disrespect to your uncle but I have to agree with the comments above that there is NO WAY the engine bay got like that in 6 months! Unless there were some sever circumstances involved, that's a result of turning a blind eye for years. It's unfortunate but all too often a common site.

Unless you can do a lot of the work yourself, you're in for some large cash layouts. Except for the tank, if it's all minor cosmetic stuff, you can pick away at it over time but that tank needs to be addressed right away. At least on the 406 if I remember correctly, you don't have to dismantle an entire galley to remove the starboard engine like I had to do a couple of years ago for someone. I think with your model, you can haul that engine out, put it off to the port side of the salon and work on re/re of the fuel tank. Getting another tank is the easy part.

So in answer to your question, as noted above, get a survey, you'll need one for insurance anyway. If she checks out structurally, and the major systems are strong; engines, genny, etc., she may be worth your while. Get an estimate to re and re the tank if you can't do it yourself so you have an idea what you're in for. The clean-up of the engine bay is on you unless you don't mind paying for that also but with some elbow grease, I suspect she'll come up much better than she is now.

Looks to me like she might be a salt water application, perhaps west coast? If so, that comes with its own set of concerns as well, especially considering the fact that the poor girl looks like she's been neglected for a long time. Remember; if what you can see looks neglected, you have to wonder what the condition is of the stuff you can't see.

Let us know how it goes. Personally, I hope who ever ends up with the poor girl treats her right and brings her back to her rightful former glory. She'll be a nice vessel worth a lot more then.

I also agree with the others that this is a neglected mess. The saying I remember when looking at boats is "The money is below the hatches" I don't know the tank layout on this boat but I can say we had a guy in our marina treat his Carver aftcabin like a large vessel in regards to tank removal - he cut the side of the boat out. When the tank was back in, the boat's fiberglass repaired and painted you couldn't tell it ever happened. A lot less work with good results for him.

So I look at this picture. Can you send a picture of the engine from the same side?
That turbo looks new. Is it watercooled? Could maybe the turbo that was there was leaking, rusting that side completely like it is, and the other side is ok? That pile of rust on top of the engine mount and trans case looks as if it may have dropped o there from above?
Do you have any more pix you can share?

When I was looking at purchasing my 506 and had all of the usual stuff done - survey, engine survey, etc - I spoke with my volvo guy and my survey guy and when asked the question regarding engine/fuel tank removal - they siad the same thing. Cut a hole in the side and lift it out with a forklift.

I have seen some impact damage repairs and they can work wonders with fiberglass.

There is a place for going that route but not with this particular model IMO.