New Carver 3697 Owner

[MrMojoRisin]

Wow, what a transformation... you're giving me hope. Not sure why i never remember to take before and after pics, but i'm going to try to from here on out. I love the granite tops, and the new cushions and curtains look great. My wife will be jealous of how clean everything looks.

I do have a couple specific questions for you regarding some things in the pics, if you don't mind me asking...

You appear to have had the same leak we do in the dinette side of the solon. We haven't started digging yet, but wonder if you remember where your leak originated? Ours isn't bad, just damp with some mildew starting to develop on the cushions.

b8b224e6-c502-4902-8489-af2bf5eebccd.jpg

Also, these valances in main bedroom... I want to take them down so the wife can recover them to match the new curtains, but we ran out of time on our last trip. I did look at it quickly and couldn't see out how they were fastened so since i was late figured i'd just tackle them on our next trip out. Do you remember how they were attached?

valance.jpg

Ours didn't come with the icemaker from the factory, but that would have been a nice option to get. What is the device bedded into the counter top above the icemaker? Is that your blender?

Also, she really wants to do the (sheet vinyl) teak & holly look flooring throughout, but with the randomness and size variations in all the hatch lids, i'm thinking the floor will look patch quilty at best. So I'm going to show her how nice it can look with decent carpet on the floor.

Thanks for takign the time to post all those photos, my wife is going to love the inspiration... I'm sure you'll get tired of all my questions eventually, but it's good to have access to a resource like you as long as your willing to share. Also, just found out i'll be sharing a dock next year with gentleman who also has a 1987 Carver 3697. Small world...

Thanks again,

[waybomb]

We never had a leak there. That was from sitting outside 10 years. Now that we've fixed everything, we haven't seen any leaks. I'm guessing it came from the side windows having plugged up drain holes.

As for the valences, get your head behind there. You'll see blocks with screws. They are awkward, so you'll want a helper nearby for the last screw. You'll have to cut the wire to the lights back there before you lower the valence.

By the ice maker-I installed a TCC built in blender. It is a knock off of the original Nutone blender. They only made the TCC blender for a few years. I have one installed in my bar at home. We make frozen margaritas!

Personally, we like carpeting. White carpeting. Opens up the boat. And most of the floor is hatches!

[MrMojoRisin]

Yeah, our leak is definately coming from rain water infiltration... i'll look at my side window weep holes and see if that's the culprit. Figure it's either coming through there or through the door jamb and just puddling in that back corner of the seating which must be a lowpoint.

On the valences, i thought it might be tight working area. Did you rewire the lights when you put the valences back up, or are they not worth keeping in your opinion? Ours didn't appear to be working and just wondering if it's worth troubleshooting the issue.

That white carpeting looks great.. i can imagine how it makes it feel bigger in there. Just not sure we are disiplined enough to keep that white carpet looking pristine...

Appreciate your help.

[waybomb]

I found different lights and wired them all back in. The old lights were shot.
As for the carpet, we also made snap in sunbrella runners to keep the white carpet white. If we get shoe prints or dirt on them, we pull them up and throw in the washer. But then get them to the boat and installed before they completely dry and shrink

[MrMojoRisin]

I have another question for you when you have a minute. I’m working on my steering issue and am struggling to access everything through the three hatches on the back deck. Did you ever pull the entire back deck out? If so, how big of a job was that? It looks like a pretty tight fit to get out with the padding on the inside if the back deck walls. After reading about how you and your took off your radar arch and windshield, I figured maybe you may have pulled that up too when working on your engines?

[waybomb]

I never needed to. Where i couldn't fit, my wife did. She climbed in the starboard side to get to a broken pipe for the trim cylinders on that side.
A buddy did his. Stairs to the bridge have to come off. The straps supporting the exhaust must come off. The water drains had to be disconnected. He said there was some sort of mild adhesive holding it down along with the perimeter screws. It took some effort to break it free he said. He had to do it again a few years later and it came right out. Generator issues.
I think you could remove the steering stuff and rudder without removing the panel. Take the exhaust out and you'll fit in there. I think.

[MrMojoRisin]

I’m sure mines been pulled previously as they rebuilt the port motor in 23/24 and swapped out the generator somewhat recently. Looks like at least half of the perimeter screws you mentioned were never reinstalled. I’m going up on Saturday to mess around for a bit so I’ll try to get down in there and see how much room there is. The wife is coming along, so maybe I’ll convince her to squeeze in there.

Also, If you get a second, I posted a new topic in the AC/heat thread, but I saw someone mention that sometimes people don’t dig that deep into the forum to see the thread. Not sure how much you had to mess with your AC? But do you know the gph on your ac water pump and if that one pump handles both AC units?

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8842

[waybomb]

I saw your post but I don't know what the pump output is. I know I bought an new one, an exact replacement of what was there.
Hoping someone else can answer that.

[g36]

I made a comment on your new other post about the ac pump