Now I am looking at a Carver

bigblockcutlass

bigblockcutlass

Member
May 9, 2010
832
Michigan
Boat Info
1998 Carver 370 Voyager
1990 270 sea ray sundancer twin 4.3L
1987 Power Play 230 Conquest
1987 Fo
Engines
454
I have a Carver 370 Voyager 1998 model. What can be told about this model. What's the head room? Pro's and cons?

this boat may be at a price I can't pass up.
 
I was going to buy one once. It was through a liquidator in California. Nice people. The liquidator arranged for a survey. The surveyor called me and said the hull was wavy. He felt the glass had shrunk on the mold at each bulk head due to fast a cure or lack of resin. His recommendation was do not buy. I did not buy and the liquidator refunded my full deposit. No idea if this was a one time mistake or could be a problem with the manufacture.
 
bigblockcutlass said:
I have a Carver 370 Voyager 1998 model. What can be told about this model. What's the head room? Pro's and cons?

this boat may be at a price I can't pass up.
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Do what you wish! I've been told that they aren't very "sea worthy", and where we boat on Lake Erie, it could call for a very "uncomfortable" ride.

We looked at one in Huron, OH. It has been for sale for 5 years. It is very nice looking and we loved the layout. If you're interested, here is a link: http://www.huronlagoons.com/files/1114/8062/6364/37CAR00SpecPage1.pdf

I know of another one a year or two older in Sandusky, but I can't remember where it's at right now...

We really considered the Voyager, but decided to go with the Hatteras due to quality, beam, cockpit size and sea worthiness!

Good luck!
 
I will say there are a lot of older Carvers around still afloat. I have a buddy with an '88 Mariner (hard on the eyes in my opinion) and he loves it. Very roomy and they are on it every weekend.

Have you seen the new Carvers?.....quite a departure from their previous designs.

Screen Shot 2016-12-10 at 9.28.47 AM.jpg
 
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Quint4 said:
I will say there are a lot of older Carvers around still afloat. I have a buddy with an '88 Mariner (hard on the eyes in my opinion) and he loves it. Very roomy and they are on it every weekend.

Have you seen the new Carvers?.....quite a departure from there previous designs.

View attachment 47587
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Man, I've always thought Carvers to be somewhat silly-looking (no offense to current owners), but that's a great looking boat.
 
Quint4 said:
Have you seen the new Carvers?.....quite a departure from there previous designs.

View attachment 47587
Click to expand...

It's a sad day when I look at that picture and think "It's too bad the new Carvers are what I envision new Sea Rays should look like. And the new Sea Rays are what I envision new Carvers should look like." That new Carver is really one beautiful boat!
 
The new Carvers are really nice looking boats. IMHO: The older ones are an acquired taste.
That being said:
A friend had an older 32' Carve Montego. Although only 2 feet longer than my old Sea Ray, it felt like a much larger boat by a lot. His boat had twin big blocks with Vee drives, my 300 Sundancer had twin small block I/O's. Naturally, mine had much better performance than his both in cruising speed, time to plane, and fuel economy. The odd thing was that my 300 Sundancer was a better riding boat all around including when conditions were a little sloppy. I think that's the trade off for the bigger cabin with much more headroom in the Carver.
Not sure about hull construction between the two manufacturers, but mechanical components and hardware are all the same. From what I could see the fit and finish were pretty close too.
If I were more interested in comfort at the dock than handling away from it I would absolutely go for one of those older Carvers if it were in nice shape and got a clean bill of health from a surveyor. They offer a ton of room for their size.
But if performance and handling away from the dock were more important to me I would probably stick with the Sea Ray.
 
You guys are crazy. That thing is a chunk! I guess some guys are chubby chasers.
 
blaster said:
You guys are crazy. That thing is a chunk! I guess some guys are chubby chasers.
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Looks a lot like all late 80's early 90's bridge boats from Sea Ray, Silverton, and other.....
 
My buddy had the same boat. We traveled Lake Erie end-to-end along side him a few times. While not stellar, it ran just fine in more than a couple bad lakes, I wouldn't call that vintage Voyager un-seaworthy. They are very heavy at low center as the engines are mid-cabin, big wheels, fiberglass stringers as opposed to balsa.

While my Sundancer always handled the waves much better (of course), they did just fine.

Now the Carvers that are tough on the lake are the modern era Mariners...... they ride like styrofoam cups.

Depending on condition, that's a great boat.
 
There's something to be said for no core or any wood at all for that matter below the waterline.

The 370 voyager is a stretched 350 voyager which was also at one point the same hull in a lot of ways as the 350/355/356 Motor Yachts.

I have personally run 2 of them with different power plants, while they aren't going to go out crabbing in the bearing sea, neither is any Sea Ray. I have logged over 900 hours on my 1994 370 Motor Yacht and have zero complaints in its performance or handling of rough water. I often go places when others stay tied to the dock.

If anyone can point out a discernible difference in build quality between Carver, Sea Ray, or Silverton please show me. I have attended hundreds of surveys of all brands and have yet to have a Carver fail a survey from any structural standpoint, other brands I cannot say the same.

Every brand has a white elephant model (Carver Mariner) or others, but their hull shapes are all very different model to model. I've been on some terrible riding Carvers with flat aft sections and I have been on some terrible riding Sea Rays.

All of this is obviously my own opinion after having lived with one for 22 years. If and when I buy an express boat it will be a Sea Ray, but as far as bridge boats go Carver has it figured out. Take a look at mid 90s interiors on both brands, quite different.
 
Carver370 said:
There's something to be said for no core or any wood at all for that matter below the waterline.

The 370 voyager is a stretched 350 voyager which was also at one point the same hull in a lot of ways as the 350/355/356 Motor Yachts.

I have personally run 2 of them with different power plants, while they aren't going to go out crabbing in the bearing sea, neither is any Sea Ray. I have logged over 900 hours on my 1994 370 Motor Yacht and have zero complaints in its performance or handling of rough water. I often go places when others stay tied to the dock.

If anyone can point out a discernible difference in build quality between Carver, Sea Ray, or Silverton please show me. I have attended hundreds of surveys of all brands and have yet to have a Carver fail a survey from any structural standpoint, other brands I cannot say the same.

Every brand has a white elephant model (Carver Mariner) or others, but their hull shapes are all very different model to model. I've been on some terrible riding Carvers with flat aft sections and I have been on some terrible riding Sea Rays.

All of this is obviously my own opinion after having lived with one for 22 years. If and when I buy an express boat it will be a Sea Ray, but as far as bridge boats go Carver has it figured out. Take a look at mid 90s interiors on both brands, quite different.
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Very Positive. How is the head room, I'm 6'1" and the back cabin or Salon does not look very big in the picture's? How longs is the bed? Yes, I have not seen this boat yet. It is over 4 hours away and will not have time to look at it till after the Holidays. this is a friend of a friends boat.
 
Old Carvers I believe are known to be not seaworthy and generally underpowered. That said, they are wonderful liveaboards with spacious accommodations. The new Carvers of 2015+ are a different story. The former CEO of Sea Ray Rob Parmentier left Sea Ray (after 30+ years there) about 2 years ago to take the helm as CEO of Marquis/Carver/Larson boats. I met him at the 2015 Fort Lauderdale show and he was the most down to earth boat "salesmen" I ever met. Regardless, he is working hard to transform Carver into a modern powerhouse and I think he's on to something...
 
Carver370 said:
I have personally run 2 of them with different power plants, while they aren't going to go out crabbing in the bearing sea, neither is any Sea Ray. I have logged over 900 hours on my 1994 370 Motor Yacht and have zero complaints in its performance or handling of rough water. I often go places when others stay tied to the dock..
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Personally I am not a big fan of Carvers, but I have to admit that is based solely on the looks of the exterior, and I have never been on one in the open ocean.

I think this is a fairly accurate statement. Any of the flat bottom planing boats in the 30 to 45 foot range are going to roll around in bad conditions IMO.

If we we we were truly concerned with taking on bad weather, wind, and waves, we would have heavy displacement tugs, or a trawler style boat. The Nordhaven 40 can circle the globe.
 
I think the new one pictured is a sharp boat! Chubby?? Look at the new 400,590,650 Sea Rays. They have the bloated, stubby nose proportions.
 
BBC, I owned a 40 silverton convertible,23,000 lbs with 454 crusaders.The hulls are very similar to the carvers.I have had that boat in 12-14 fters and it wasnt fun but it wouldnt be fun on any boat on lake erie.There are quite a few of those in the lake huron waters and bay city area and i have talked to a few owners that all loved thier boats.I would say look at one closer to home if you get the opportunity before the 4 hr drive.
 
Skuza said:
I think the new one pictured is a sharp boat! Chubby?? Look at the new 400,590,650 Sea Rays. They have the bloated, stubby nose proportions.
Click to expand...

I never knew that Sea Ray made over 400 million boats


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