Carver Owners Forum

Hi Folks,

I was wondering if anyone who owns a mid-late 80s mariner has diagnosed or delt with cracks below the sliding glass door? Does this area tend to rot?



Thanks!

Can't tell you if this area rots out or not, We didn't own our '86 Mariner that long. I'm sure someone here will be able to chime in on that because there are a few Mariner owners on here a lot. However I would suggest getting a gel coat repair kit and try and seal these areas the best you can to prevent any further damage. It appears someone has in the past on the left side of the photo.

Welcome aboard.

To be repaired properly so that you're not revisiting reappearing cracks all the time, you need to find out the underlying cause. First and foremost, to repair properly, don't simply fill the cracks as they are with anything. If you do they will reappear. You must grind down to the fiberglass and check to see if the fiberglass itself is cracked. This will also allow for a better repair/bond. I would take a moisture reading in the area, and if I felt it necessary, I would drill a hole on the top of the trough to check the core. If the core is bad, a gel repair, even a proper one will be very temporary as it won't correct the underlying problem, and while the repaired area may last a while, it's likely other areas will start to crack as well. The core can get wet here if the track didn't get sealed properly or the seal has failed. Hopefully the worst case scenario that I've painted is not the case here. Fingers crossed.

Is this boat new to you?

Thanks for the welcome! I don't own the boat, but am considering making an offer on it. I have a surveyor lined up to take a look at it if I decide to make an offer, but I wanted to get a sense from other owners if this is something common with mariners this age (and have worked on fixing it). As you said, probably worth trying to figure out why it happened in the first place!

Also welcome.....your surveyor should be able to check the underlying strata out for you....lots of times cracks like that form where there has been stress at a joint or between two areas that are flexing, quite repairable if done properly. Good luck man...........

Thanks! The broker said something similar about suspecting flexing being a potential culprit. Out of curiosity is that dark spot on the side a weep hole or something? it almost looks like this is a channel for water to run down to the stern cockpit, but I don't really understand what the intent of the design was.

A little off topic but based on what you wrote in the other thread about mariners/santegos, I thought it might be worth mentioning that there is a Santego model about an 89 if I remember correctly,one year only config which gives you the top hat stringers, centre bed,larger side windows,the nice big bridge and an extra small cabin with bunks.

It is the larger and wider 38' though, sorry can't remember the model number.That was my choice but the only one I found was overpriced for the condition.

Hi Bud37,

I know exactly the model you are talking about! It was originally the 3867 that later became the 640. There was a pretty nice one local here that sold 5 months ago and I missed it! One just was put under contract in Florida and there's another up in NY which may be the one you mentioned that is overpriced. They are pretty rare but seem to show up every once and a while.

http://galahadmarine.com/inventory/1989 ... d-6391587/

Here is a 380 for sale if that's something you are looking for.

nhm wrote:Source of the post Hi Bud37,

I know exactly the model you are talking about! It was originally the 3867 that later became the 640. There was a pretty nice one local here that sold 5 months ago and I missed it! One just was put under contract in Florida and there's another up in NY which may be the one you mentioned that is overpriced. They are pretty rare but seem to show up every once and a while.

Yup I remember now, it was a 90 3867 double cabin, and sorry the bed is to the side.......geesh, we looked at so many you lose track after a while......the one we tried to buy was very nice BUT needed a repower and every hose in that boat was dry cracked...I would have done it for the right price though......good luck with your search.......