Carver Owners Forum

Hello Carver owners. I am the new owner of a 1989 Carver Montego 2557 Express Cruiser. Just purchased in November 2017 in south west Ontario. This boat is equipped with a 5.7 litre - 260 hp - Mercruiser hooked to a Alpha 1 - Gen 2 outdrive. The motor has 496 hours and swings a 3 blade prop. People have been telling me that the 5.7 litre is under powered for this boat. Others tell me to swing a 4 blade prop with a one inch less diametre than the 3 blade to make the boat perform better. I would like some opinions from those who own this same Carver model with and without this power plant. I have not had this boat in the water so have not been able to test it. Please do not say to me - what - you bought a boat and you didn't test it? Yes that is correct but I am not a newbie to boating and the price was right. Thanks.

Not underpowered.

Remember that playing with props is only a function of trade off. You will either gain on the bottom end or the top end - you can't gain on both.

Until you get the boat out on the water and pin the throttle, you won't have any idea of what you need/should do. A simple adjustment of weight, changing of tabs, etc can have a big impact on a smaller vessel.

If you do need to "power up', there are other options that will give you HP or Torque for far less than anything else you may consider.

I agree with Lyndon, you wont break any speed records, but if the motor is running 100%, the bottom of the boat is clean and the outdrive and prop are in good shape it should run very well for you. I believe it will plane rather quickly and depending on load should cruise around 25-28mph without problem. You may want to find out if you have the original size and pitch prop. That will most likely give you the best all around performance.
Good luck and keep us posted.

I agree with all the above. I'd be surprised if she's under powered with that package unless there was an erroneous change made that's affecting performance. It sounds like you haven't driven her yet so I suspect you're going by what others have said. There are many things that can affect performance including the way she's driven. As mentioned, check the prop you currently have, then try and find what should be there to begin with for typical/average conditions. Current owns and Carver can help or a good prop shop. Amanda at United Propeller in Orillia knows her stuff and can probably tell you what you need based on some specs she'll need answers for. Even then, it's very vessel specific and you won't know how well a given prop performs or even if it's right for that engine until you get her out on the water and check your actual WOT rpm and how it compares to the engine's WOT spec.

Thank you for your quick replies and all very interesting. The boat spent it's entire life on Lake Simcoe in Ontario and was not run hard. Bottom has the anti-fouling black paint and shows no signs of blistering or dragging. Older original owners. From what I know about boats and what I have read on the specs on this power plant and prop pitch, I believe this one meets the original mfgs specs. I do believe the Alpha 1 was changed from Gen 1 and this is a Gen 2. I agree with all your comments and will be very interested to see how it goes sometime in June. Thanks for the info about Amanda in Orillia. I will keep you all informed about how it is going. This is a beautiful craft with lovely lines and great potential. Will be used mostly in Lake Erie and hopefully, back up to Georgian Bay with which I am very familiar - including all the shoals. LOL.

Well I hope u enjoy her! And I'm sure u will tweak her to ur liking!

I would not call it underpowered. I previously owned a 1996 Bayliner 2655 Ciera. It too had the 5.7/Alpha combo. My Bayliner topped out at 39 MPH at WOT. It easily cruised in the 24 to 30 MPH range. I think you will be OK with your choice. Best of luck, hope you have a great 2018 boating season.

I'm looking into the purchase of 1988 2257 and wondering what everyone has to say about these models. the one I am looking at is running twin 180's or 170's. just getting back on to the water after a few years land locked. any info is much appreciated. thanks